7. Brave new China?

Since the ascension to power of Xi Jinping, China has become less liberal at home and more assertive overseas. It is likely it will change further. ‘Brave new China?’ questions whether China today really is a ‘brave new world’ even though a glance at the Shanghai night cityscape may make it appear to be so. China has constantly had to engage in a balancing act between the state, the party, and the people. What do the Chinese people think? Are they allowed to be unhappy? Are they allowed to openly discuss their views without being infantilized by an over-protective state and party? The Chinese journey continues.

5. Is China’s economy modern?

Is China’s status in the 21st century economic superpower that moves the world’s markets, impoverished developing country—or both? China’s economy has seen amazing growth in recent decades. In 2014, the IMF listed China as the world’s largest economy. ‘Is China's economy modern?’ defines the characteristics of a modern economy and relates them to China’s situation by looking at Chinese economic patterns during the last thousand years. If the characteristics are enthusiasm for growth, capital investment, and industrialization then the answer is ‘yes’. The greatest challenge for Chinese policy makers has been how to maintain the current growth rates without accelerating inflation. Environmental pollution is also a growing concern.

4. Is Chinese society modern?

Equality is a modern goal of many societies, both dictatorships and democracies. Chinese society has changed profoundly in many ways in recent decades. ‘Is Chinese society modern?’ analyses relations between men and women, countryside and city, and duties and obligations of the state and people in order to see how far Chinese society has modernized and whether this is at odds with the maintenance of the Chinese identity. There are aspects of contemporary Chinese society that have not changed: religious practice, preferences for male children in the countryside, and stress on hierarchy. Other aspects have seen massive change: a globalized economy, the language of equality and rights, and the closeness of the state and the people.

3. Making China modern

Chinese 20th-century politics appears as a story of constant conflict. The clash between the Nationalists under Chiang Kaishek and the Communists under Mao Zedong lasted for decades. ‘Making China modern’ looks at the legacies of Mao and Chiang and the context surrounding them. The early 20th century could be seen in terms of their clash, or as a long modernizing project by two parties that agreed on as many issues as they disagreed. The parties had shared goals, such as reducing rural poverty, maintaining a one-party state, creating a powerful industrialized infrastructure, and establishing a strong centralized state. What can be said about the Chinese political system since 1989? How much has changed?

6. Is Chinese culture modern?

The idea that China’s culture is tied up with its place in the modern world has persisted since the Opium Wars. Chinese culture is highly valued around the world in terms of literature, films, artists, and ideas. The desire to find a culture that is both modern and derived from Chinese inspirations continues to drive Chinese artists’ ambitions. ‘Is Chinese culture modern?’ considers cultural progress and the international reception of China’s writers, artists, architects, and film-makers. During the 20th century, China tended to absorb cultural norms from around the world. To some extent, this trend is being reversed and China is beginning to project out cultural influence (or ‘soft power’).

2. The old order and the new

The Chinese past is often viewed as a corrupt, ‘feudal’ chaos held back by Confucian thought. However, the imperial Chinese state was also driven by a system of mutual obligation that resulted in a dynamic political and social culture. ‘The old order and the new’ considers how China has changed from the first Chinese encounter with the outside world up until the first stage of modern mass politics. Western political thought had an impact on China after the Opium Wars in the 19th century. Japanese culture also exerted an influence. The early 20th century was a time of great upheaval for China, fostering many political debates on topics such as nationalism, socialism, and feminism.

1. What is modern China?

China is the world’s most populous country with a rapidly growing economy, an expanding political presence, and at the beginning of the 21st century, 1.3 billion people lived there. ‘What is modern China?’ looks at what China looks like today. China is going through a massive period of change. It is a major actor in the world markets. Despite its image of prosperity, it is fast becoming one of the world’s most unequal societies. China is also suffering from a resource and environmental crisis. China today is a mix of indigenous social influences and customs and external influences. Does China regard itself as modern?