Feb 19,2018 Open Forum

China’s Discourse of “Civilization”: Visions of Past, Present, and Future

In early 2017, Chinese president Xi Jinping gave a speech at a domestic national security seminar in which he boldly stated his aspiration to have China take on leadership of a new global order in a “post-Western era.”1 In this speech, he used the word “civilization” or “civilized” (wenming) three times: once to refer to […]

Alison Kaufman

Century of humiliation , Chinese civilization , Chinese Communist Party , community of common destiny

Oct 15,2015 Special Forum

Xi Jinping as Historian: Marxist, Chinese, Nationalist, Global

“Only by having a correct recognition of history can it be possible for us to open up a better future. … Forgetting history signifies betrayal.”1 In February 2014, a little over a year after Xi Jinping ascended to power as the secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and then the president of the […]

Alison Kaufman

China Dream , China's national rejuvenation , Chinese history , Chineseness , National identity , Victory Day