Events of the 20th century as a cause of a heightened sense of Chinese national identity
The suggestion (by Peter Zarrow), in regards to how the post-revolutionary Chinese used to perceive the notion of ‘nationhood’, appears thoroughly legitimate (361). The reason for this is that the revolutionary events established a number of the objective conditions for the Chinese to grow less tribally minded. After all, the very paradigm of a Republican governorship presupposes the citizens’ willingness to prioritize the interests of the larger community (to which they happened to belong), over their tribally localized agenda. In the aftermath of the Revolution of 1911, the Chinese realized themselves citizens, in the Western sense of this word. That is, while retaining their cultural traditions, the Chinese had found themselves in the position of being able to think beyond the cognitive limitations, posed by what account for the values of a traditional living in China.
In this respect, the effects of the mentioned Revolution were concerned with the process of Chinese citizens becoming increasingly ‘Westernized’. As Brooks noted: “Chinese politicians and urban intellectuals gradually conceived that it was necessary to recreate China using a portion of the lexicon of the Western nations” (163).
The validity of this statement can be illustrated, in regards to the passage of a number of different egalitarianism-promoting laws (such as the marriage law of 1931), which took place in China during the course of the historical period in question (The Northern Expedition 25). At the same time, while becoming ever more open-minded, it was only natural for the Chinese to grow both: increasingly aware of the fact that they should be loyal to China, on one hand, and less concerned with trying to live up to the provisions of the regionally localized sub-cultures, on the other. This once again illustrates the legitimacy of the earlier mentioned Zarrow’s idea.
Explanation of success of Chinese Communist Revolution
I cannot possibly subscribe to Hinton’s idea that the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949 had a profound effect on the workings of the Chinese people’s consciousness (xii). In fact – it was specifically due to these people’s endowment with the so-called ‘holistic’ mentality, which causes its affiliates to experience the acute sensation of a communal solidarity, that the Communist Revolution was made possible, in the first place. As Westad pointed out: “Some scholars now underline the charismatic character of Mao Zedong’s political style as an important element in the party’s successes” (5). Yet, it is specifically in the solidarist societies (such as the Chinese one) where charismatic leaders emanate a particularly strong appeal to the masses.
The thesis’s validity can be further illustrated, in regards to the fact that, contrary to what it is being commonly assumed, the Chinese Communists never tried to undermine the traditional ways of living in China. For example, according to the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China, passed in 1950: “Parents have the duty to rear and to educate their children; the children have the duty to look alter and to assist their parents” (363).
As it can be well seen, there is nothing ‘revolutionary’ about this particular provision – it is being thoroughly consistent with the long-lived custom about how parents and children are supposed to relate to each other in China. This also explains why in China, the people’s adherence to the ideals of Communism coexisted perfectly well with their strongly defined nationalist sentiment (Bearing Witness 327) – something that continues to be the case even today. Thus, I have no other option but to reinstate once again that Hinton’s idea does not seem to stand much of a ground.
Works Cited
“Bearing Witness.” The Search for Modern China. Eds. Pei-Kai Cheng, Michael Lestz and Jonathan Spence. New York: W.W. Norton, 1991. 325-329. Print.
“The Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China.” The Search for Modern China. Eds. Pei-Kai Cheng, Michael Lestz and Jonathan Spence. New York: W.W. Norton, 1991. 361-366. Print.
Brook, Timothy. “Collaborationist Movement in Occupied Wartime China.” Nation Work: Asian Elites and National Identities. Eds. Timothy Brook and Andre Schmid. Lansing: University of Michigan Press, 2000. 159-190. Print.
The Northern Expedition 2014. Web.
Westad, Odd Arne. Decisive Encounters. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003. Web.
Zarrow, Peter. China in War and Revolution, 1895–1949. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.