Jan 27 2009
How Often Was China a Victim of Imperialism?
It is just amazing how many regimes survive incredible odds just because they gained independence for their respective nations. Castro in Cuba, Mugabe in Zimbabwe, and of course, CCP in China. Although most people don’t care for the intimidation or the lack of freedom they live under, they nevertheless make peace with themselves by invoking the great deeds their own oppressor accomplished against the foreign ones.
In China, the CCP’s legacy rests largely on the notion that the Chinese were awaken by a rude yet immensely superior Imperial force. From what I was taught since grade school, the situation was described as a self-reliant China suddenly overun by foreign powers who had long-hatched plans to enslave China. That China was ill-prepared, for it had been an isolated nation for millenniums.
This narrative makes CCP looks like a real leader: it stepped up in a time of total confusion and utter chaos, and led the nation to self-determination against almost insurmountable odds.
I don’t buy this narrative at all. To me, the history should be read as:
- As a nation, China is shaped by its constant interactions with foreigners throughout history.
- The anger toward Imperialism, as well as a sense of impetence in face of it, is largely stoked by the rise of Japan. In other words, the defeat at the hands of the Japanese is both a last draw and a rallying cry.
- The fact that modern Imperialism is such a shock to the Chinese is not because it is perpetrated by foreigners, or even militarily superior foreigners. Rather, it represents a superior civilization.
Therefore, my conjecture is that, national sovereignty or territorial integrity is just a MacGuffin in a larger play where the real emotional battles are at civilization level (not related to Huntington’s theme).
The “communists” prolonged the decline of the old Chinese civilization and was thanked for by the masses produced by such a civilization.
That is also why CCP can survive so many scandals, crimes and disasters.
More thoughts and proofs come later …
Can’t believe this. Just wrote this blog last night then today come across this article, 何晋：秦称“虎狼”考：兼论秦文化遇到的对抗. which basically says that Qin was an alien nation, forced itself upon China proper, and was eventually “Sinicized”. Again, this confirms my conjecture that China was never “isolated” and the fear of Modernization is the fear of being culturally defeated.