Chinese Military Modernization in the 1980s

1982 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 231-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Additional Benefit ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Military Strategy ◽  
General State ◽  
The Past ◽  
Military Modernization ◽  
Chinese Military

Since the deaths of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in 1976 and the ensuing concentration on the Four Modernizations, increased attention has been paid to whether, and to what extent, China will be able, or wish, to bring its military machine and its military strategy more closely in line with that of “advanced” countries. The term usually applied to this question is “military modernization.” Such a term possesses the advantage of pointing to how changes in military investments are related to the Chinese Communist Party's overall programme of general economic recovery after the Cultural Revolution and how military affairs fit into the Party's plans for the next two to three decades. Extending the meaning of the concept and relating it to the general state of China's political economy has the additional benefit of drawing attention away from exclusive emphasis on one component of Chinese military affairs, “people's war,” that overworked and by now sterile term to which both Chinese practitioners and western analysts were slave for the past four decades. “People's war” as a strategy and a useful concept continues, but it is no longer the umbrella term for understanding Chinese military issues. Indeed, it has been modified by the Chinese themselves, under the rubric” people's war under modern conditions.”

How popular Confucianism became embarrassing

Focaal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (58) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Steinmüller
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Central China ◽  
The Public ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Everyday Action ◽  
Public Evaluation ◽  
Main Entrance

In the past, most farmhouses in central China had an ancestral shrine and a paper scroll with the Chinese letters for "heaven, earth, emperor, ancestors, and teachers" on the wall opposite the main entrance. The ancestral shrine and paper scroll were materializations of the central principles of popular Confucianism. This article deals with their past and present. It describes how in everyday action and in ritual this shrine marked a spatial and moral center. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) the ancestral shrines and paper scrolls were destroyed, and replaced by a poster of Mao Zedong. Although the moral principles of popular Confucianism were dismissed by intellectuals and politicians, Mao Zedong was worshipped in ways reminiscent of popular Confucian ritual. The Mao poster and the paper scroll stand for a continuity of a spatial-moral practice of centering. What has changed however is the public evaluation of such a local practice, and this tension can produce a double embarrassment. Elements of popular Confucianism (which had been forcefully denied in the past) remain somewhat embarrassing for many people in countryside. At the same time urbanites sometimes inversely perceive the Maoist condemnation of popular Confucianism as an awkward survival of peasant narrow-mindedness—all the more so as Confucian traditions are now reinvented and revitalized as cultural heritage.

Newborn Socialist Things

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Coderre
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
The State ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Way ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

Contemporary China is seen as a place of widespread commodification and consumerism, while the preceeding Maoist Cultural Revolution is typically understood as a time when goods were scarce and the state criticized what little consumption was possible. Indeed, with the exception of the likeness and words of Mao Zedong, both the media and material culture of the Cultural Revolution are often characterized as a void out of which the postsocialist world of commodity consumption miraculously sprang fully formed. In Newborn Socialist Things, Laurence Coderre explores the material culture of the Cultural Revolution to show how it paved the way for commodification in contemporary China. Examining objects ranging from retail counters and porcelain statuettes to textbooks and vanity mirrors, she shows how the project of building socialism in China has always been intimately bound up with consumption. By focusing on these objects—or “newborn socialist things”—along with the Cultural Revolution’s media environment, discourses of materiality, and political economy, Coderre reconfigures understandings of the origins of present-day China.

Slow Growth of Labour Productivity in Chinese Industry, 1952–81

1983 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 641-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Michael Field
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Slow Growth ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chinese Industry ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

Since the death of Mao Zedong in the autumn of 1976, Beijing's economic advisers have been trying to explain what went wrong with the Chinese economy during the past 25 years and, in particular, why the growth of productivity has been so slow. Their findings are pieced together in the series shown in Tables 1 and 2. These Figures demonstrate the impact of the Leap Forward (1958–60), the Cultural Revolution (1966–69), and the final struggle against the “gang of four“ (1976).

scholarly journals Through the Past Darkly: Some New Sources on the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party

1985 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Saich
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Chinese Revolution ◽  
The Past ◽  
Differences Of Opinion ◽  
Liberal Attitude ◽  
The Chinese Communist Party

The current stress of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party on the necessity of “seeking truth from facts” and the accompanying more liberal attitude to research have led to a re-vitalisation, as in other areas, of the study of party history. The portrayal of Mao Zedong in a more fallible light and the ending of the overemphasis on his role in the Chinese Revolution have led to the study, or re-study, of aspects of Chinese communist history in which Mao was not directly, or only marginally, involved, and to evaluations, or re-evaluations, of the contribution of other communist leaders. The contemporary view that the concept of “two-line struggle” has been overstressed in past historiography, particularly during the Cultural Revolution decade, has also helped historians in China to provide a more “objective” account of the role of other key figures. Differences of opinion no longer have to be castigated as outright opposition nor do later “failings” by individuals necessarily lead to a search by historians to expose a “counter-revolutionary” past throughout.

Classical Methods

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward N. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Warring States Period ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Warring States ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Chinese Military

Abstract The literature of warfare records the insights of past generations into one of the most harrowing and trying elements of the human experience. The classical works from the Warring States period created the base of military thought in China that also influenced much of East Asia. According to Mao Zedong, these ancient texts bore special importance as literature, sources of study, and inspiration for the people of China. This hard-purchased expertise reflected the experiences of the past that present scholars must carefully study, especially as new works of military thought within the Chinese literary base appeared in the twentieth century, penned and spoken by Mao himself. These new texts demonstrated a steady continuity from the earliest Chinese military-philosophical literature. Most notably, these common concepts included a consistent conceptualization about the role of warfare in society, the importance of complementary opposites, capitalizing on strengths and exploiting weaknesses, and adaptability to changing dynamics. The influence of Mao’s writings ensured these precepts continued to exercise an important influence upon the People’s Republic of China, creating the base of military-philosophical literature in the prc.

The Political Economy of Local Governance in Yemen

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Benoit Challand ◽  
Joshua Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Self Rule

This paper provides an historical exploration of local governance in Yemen across the past sixty years. It highlights the presence of a strong tradition of local self-rule, self-help, and participation “from below” as well as the presence of a rival, official, political culture upheld by central elites that celebrates centralization and the strong state. Shifts in the predominance of one or the other tendency have coincided with shifts in the political economy of the Yemeni state(s). When it favored the local, central rulers were compelled to give space to local initiatives and Yemen experienced moments of political participation and local development.

Hispano-Hebrew strophic poetry

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Ulf Haxen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Jewish Population ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
European History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belles Lettres ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

The conquest of Spain by the Arabs, allegedly prompted by leaders of the Jewish population after the fall of the Visigothic regime, 711, opened up an era in Medieval European history which stands unmatched as far as cultural enlightenment is concerned. Philosophy, belles lettres and the natural sciences flourished in the academies established by the Arab savants in the main urban centres. In the wake of the cultural revolution, a new branch of scholarship came into being – Hebrew philology. From the midst of this syncretistic, Mozarabic, milieu a remarkable poetic genre emerged. The study of Mozarabic (from Arabic, musta’riba, to become Arabicized) poetry has proved as one of the most fertile and controversial fields of research for Semitist and Romanist scholars during the past decades.

The Anarchical Society and a Global Political Economy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis W. Pauly
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Financial Risks ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Famous Book ◽  
Economic Ideology ◽  
Hedley Bull ◽  
Systemic Crises ◽  
Complex Capacity

If Hedley Bull came back today and revised his most famous book, he would likely devote a chapter to the economic forces that transformed our world during the past four decades. Among other systemic changes, the radical unleashing of finance and the partial return of a pre-1914 economic ideology justifying open and integrating capital markets might surprise an advocate of the virtues of the states system. But by following Bull’s reasoning, his model of empirical observation, and his underlying moral sensibilities—as well as suggestions from his constructive critics—this essay traces the emergence since the late 1970s of a variegated global capacity to assess systemic financial risks, design collaborative policies to prevent systemic crises, and manage them when they nevertheless occur. The challenge of deeply legitimating that nuanced and complex capacity remains, which, as Bull anticipated, means that considerations of justice must soon be addressed.

Mapping Power

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Political Economy Analysis

Electricity is critical to enabling India’s economic growth and providing a better future for its citizens. In spite of several decades of reform, the Indian electricity sector is unable to provide high-quality and affordable electricity for all, and grapples with the challenge of poor financial and operational performance. To understand why, Mapping Power provides the most comprehensive analysis of the political economy of electricity in India’s states. With chapters on fifteen states by scholars of state politics and electricity, this volume maps the political and economic forces that constrain and shape decisions in electricity distribute on. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it concludes that attempts to depoliticize the sector are misplaced and could worsen outcomes. Instead, it suggests that a historically grounded political economy analysis helps understand the past and devise reforms to simultaneously improve sectoral outcomes and generate political rewards. These arguments have implications for the challenges facing India’s electricity future, including providing electricity to all, implementing government reform schemes, and successfully managing the rise of renewable energy.

Talk like an Egyptian? Epistemological problems with the synthesis of a vocal sound from the mummified remains of Nesyamun and racial designations in mummy studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49
Author(s):  
Uroš Matić
Keyword(s):  
Human Remains ◽  
General State ◽  
Considerable Part ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Egyptian Mummy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media

AbstractThe paper examines epistemological problems behind a recent study claiming to provide a synthesis of a vocal sound from the mummified remains of a man named Nesyamun and behind racial designations in Egyptian mummy studies more generally. So far, responses in the media and academia concentrated on the ethical problems of these studies, whereas their theoretical and methodological backgrounds have been rarely addressed or mentioned only in passing. It seems that the media reaction has targeted the synthesis of a sound rather than other, equally problematic, assumptions found in Egyptian mummy studies. By focusing on the epistemological problems, it will be demonstrated that the issues of greatest concern are endemic to a general state of a considerable part of the discipline of Egyptology and its unreflective engagement with the material remains of the past, especially human remains.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document