The idea of ​​China...a disputed history

A bold response from a famous historian to two simple, yet controversial questions: What is considered part of China, and who is considered Chinese? China has become a capitalist superpower by investing in globalization. Now that it has consolidated its position and emerged as a major competitor to the United States, its leaders are looking inward, focusing on suppressing dissent and strengthening cohesion. This has resulted in an increasingly nationalistic cultural agenda, celebrating a Chinese identity rooted in Middle Kingdom mystique and nostalgia for heroic twentieth-century resistance. But Chinese nationalism, like other forms of nationalism everywhere, is fraught with dangers. Few Westerners, and even fewer Chinese, realize that the idea of ​​China itself is subject to change. In this comprehensive history, Xu Guoqi explores the transnational construction of Chinese identity. “The Idea of ​​China” describes an identity in a constant state of renewal. Through dialogue and confrontation with neighbors, distant strangers, and Chinese speakers and writers within the country, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the diaspora, the idea of ​​China has been repeatedly reshaped over time. Even well-established cultural formations such as Confucianism were re-imported into China after being translated in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and elsewhere. The idea of ​​China has always been, and continues to be, a constant process, being invented, undermined, and reformulated to meet the changing needs of kings and bureaucrats, industrialists and intellectuals, allies and adversaries. Xu's account of history is as controversial as it is precise, and his conclusion is clear and unambiguous: China, at its core, is built on a shared history. Accepting this truth means beginning to move beyond the simmering great power rivalries that threaten international peace and stability today.