All Academic, Inc. Research Logo

Info/CitationFAQResearchAll Academic Inc.
Document

Narratives to Live By: The "Century of Humiliation" and Chinese National Identity Today
Unformatted Document Text:  Narratives to Live By: The “Century of Humiliation” and Chinese National Identity Today Peter Hays Gries The University of Colorado, Boulder Prepared for Panel 5-3 “New Approaches to Identity” at the American Political Science Annual Meeting, Chicago, 3 September 2004. On 12 May 1999, following the US bombing of the PRC embassy in Belgrade and the deaths of three Chinese, the People’s Daily ran an editorial entitled “This is not 1899 China”: This is 1999, not 1899. This is not… the age when people can barge about in the world just by sending a few gunboats… It is not the age when the Western powers plundered the Imperial Palace at will, destroyed the Old Summer Palace, and seized Hong Kong and Macao… China is a China that has stood up; it is a China that defeated the Japanese fascists; it is a China that had a trial of strength and won victory over the United States on the Korean battleground. The Chinese people are not to be bullied, and China’s sovereignty and dignity are not to be violated. The hot blood of people of ideas and integrity who opposed imperialism for over 150 years flows in the veins of the Chinese people. US-led NATO had better remember this. 1 The People’s Daily is the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Western pundits, therefore, tend to dismiss such writings as “propaganda,” attempts by the CCP to bolster its nationalist credentials through appeals to “victimitis.” This paper, in contrast, takes such rhetoric seriously, exploring the role that the past plays in Chinese nationalism today. Seeking to read beyond the headlines, I argue that Chinese national identity at the dawn of the 21 st century cannot be understood apart from evolving narratives of China’s national past. The Belgrade bombing, in the dominant Chinese view, was not an isolated event; it was, rather, the latest in a long series of “Western” (Xifang, here including Japan) aggressions against China. In the People’s Daily editorial, 1899, the plundering of the Imperial and Old Summer Palaces,

Authors: Gries, Peter.
first   previous   Page 1 of 21   next   last



background image
Narratives to Live By:
The “Century of Humiliation” and Chinese National Identity Today

Peter Hays Gries
The University of Colorado, Boulder


Prepared for Panel 5-3 “New Approaches to Identity” at the
American Political Science Annual Meeting, Chicago, 3 September 2004.


On 12 May 1999, following the US bombing of the PRC embassy in Belgrade and the deaths of
three Chinese, the People’s Daily ran an editorial entitled “This is not 1899 China”:
This is 1999, not 1899. This is not… the age when people can barge about in the world just
by sending a few gunboats… It is not the age when the Western powers plundered the
Imperial Palace at will, destroyed the Old Summer Palace, and seized Hong Kong and
Macao… China is a China that has stood up; it is a China that defeated the Japanese
fascists; it is a China that had a trial of strength and won victory over the United States on
the Korean battleground. The Chinese people are not to be bullied, and China’s
sovereignty and dignity are not to be violated. The hot blood of people of ideas and
integrity who opposed imperialism for over 150 years flows in the veins of the Chinese
people. US-led NATO had better remember this.
1
The People’s Daily is the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Western
pundits, therefore, tend to dismiss such writings as “propaganda,” attempts by the CCP to bolster
its nationalist credentials through appeals to “victimitis.” This paper, in contrast, takes such
rhetoric seriously, exploring the role that the past plays in Chinese nationalism today. Seeking to
read beyond the headlines, I argue that Chinese national identity at the dawn of the 21
st
century
cannot be understood apart from evolving narratives of China’s national past.
The Belgrade bombing, in the dominant Chinese view, was not an isolated event; it was,
rather, the latest in a long series of “Western” (Xifang, here including Japan) aggressions against
China. In the People’s Daily editorial, 1899, the plundering of the Imperial and Old Summer Palaces,


Convention
All Academic Convention can solve the abstract management needs for any association's annual meeting.
Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf.
Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets!
Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more!
Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering.
Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more!
Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches!
Click here for more information.

first   previous   Page 1 of 21   next   last

©2008 All Academic, Inc.