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China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory
This book seeks to demystify the re-ascendancy of China as a civilization state. China's politics and society are examined in the light of its living civilization, which is the only one of the ancient civilizations that has survived to this day. The book also contrasts China's development with that of the West and Japan. By combining the impact of internal political and socio-economic developments in China and its external relations (from the silk routes, the tribute system, to the modern day), it unravels the existing myths, puzzles, and paradoxes surrounding China and questions the adequacy of most of the Western political theories (such as realism in international relations) in an attempt to explicate China's re-emergence as a world power. It attempts to tackle squarely the question: Is China a threat to world order? The book traces the rationale for contemporary developments in China to the roots in the country's tradition as well as foreign influences and seeks to unravel the puzzle about the unique China Model that defies conventional thinking in political economy, with its sustained and incredibly rapid economic growth over the past three decades. This study on China's second rise provides a broad background that includes a meaningful scrutiny of the country's behavior during its first rise (713-1820) and beyond. In comparing China's ongoing second rise with its first ascent, the book not only refocuses on and reinterprets the example set during its first rise, but also takes into account the crucial lessons it learned during its century in eclipse in the interregnum, for the effects they have on the country's current orientation and behavior. The book follows an interdisciplinary approach, combining the cultural, intellectual-historical, normative-ideological, and social-scientific perspectives, to lend a more solid grasp of the present-day China. It ends with an educated speculation, based on the foregoing analyses, on the contours of a Pax Sinica that is likely to result from the impact of China's second rise as a world power.
1113060506
China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory
This book seeks to demystify the re-ascendancy of China as a civilization state. China's politics and society are examined in the light of its living civilization, which is the only one of the ancient civilizations that has survived to this day. The book also contrasts China's development with that of the West and Japan. By combining the impact of internal political and socio-economic developments in China and its external relations (from the silk routes, the tribute system, to the modern day), it unravels the existing myths, puzzles, and paradoxes surrounding China and questions the adequacy of most of the Western political theories (such as realism in international relations) in an attempt to explicate China's re-emergence as a world power. It attempts to tackle squarely the question: Is China a threat to world order? The book traces the rationale for contemporary developments in China to the roots in the country's tradition as well as foreign influences and seeks to unravel the puzzle about the unique China Model that defies conventional thinking in political economy, with its sustained and incredibly rapid economic growth over the past three decades. This study on China's second rise provides a broad background that includes a meaningful scrutiny of the country's behavior during its first rise (713-1820) and beyond. In comparing China's ongoing second rise with its first ascent, the book not only refocuses on and reinterprets the example set during its first rise, but also takes into account the crucial lessons it learned during its century in eclipse in the interregnum, for the effects they have on the country's current orientation and behavior. The book follows an interdisciplinary approach, combining the cultural, intellectual-historical, normative-ideological, and social-scientific perspectives, to lend a more solid grasp of the present-day China. It ends with an educated speculation, based on the foregoing analyses, on the contours of a Pax Sinica that is likely to result from the impact of China's second rise as a world power.
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China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory

China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory

by James Chieh Hsiung
China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory

China Into Its Second Rise: Myths, Puzzles, Paradoxes, And Challenge To Theory

by James Chieh Hsiung

Overview

This book seeks to demystify the re-ascendancy of China as a civilization state. China's politics and society are examined in the light of its living civilization, which is the only one of the ancient civilizations that has survived to this day. The book also contrasts China's development with that of the West and Japan. By combining the impact of internal political and socio-economic developments in China and its external relations (from the silk routes, the tribute system, to the modern day), it unravels the existing myths, puzzles, and paradoxes surrounding China and questions the adequacy of most of the Western political theories (such as realism in international relations) in an attempt to explicate China's re-emergence as a world power. It attempts to tackle squarely the question: Is China a threat to world order? The book traces the rationale for contemporary developments in China to the roots in the country's tradition as well as foreign influences and seeks to unravel the puzzle about the unique China Model that defies conventional thinking in political economy, with its sustained and incredibly rapid economic growth over the past three decades. This study on China's second rise provides a broad background that includes a meaningful scrutiny of the country's behavior during its first rise (713-1820) and beyond. In comparing China's ongoing second rise with its first ascent, the book not only refocuses on and reinterprets the example set during its first rise, but also takes into account the crucial lessons it learned during its century in eclipse in the interregnum, for the effects they have on the country's current orientation and behavior. The book follows an interdisciplinary approach, combining the cultural, intellectual-historical, normative-ideological, and social-scientific perspectives, to lend a more solid grasp of the present-day China. It ends with an educated speculation, based on the foregoing analyses, on the contours of a Pax Sinica that is likely to result from the impact of China's second rise as a world power.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9789814324717
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date: 03/22/2012
Pages: 340
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations xiii

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 Chinese Civilization: Origins and the Puzzle of Its Longevity and Renewal 1

1.1 Definition of Civilization, in Relation to Culture and History 2

1.2 Contributing Factors to the Longevity of Chinese Civilization 5

1.2.1 The Ecological Factor 5

1.2.2 Cultural-Religious and Institutional Factors 6

1.2.3 Sequentiality of Certain Developmental Stages in History 8

1.3 Conclusion 11

Chapter 2 "Confucianization" of China, Rise of the Keju System, and the Aftermath 15

2.1 Confucianization: Definition and Overview 15

2.1.1 Initial State-Sponsored Adoption of Confucianism 16

2.1.2 The puzzle of the Adoption of Confucianism 17

2.1.3 A New Structure of Power Relationship and Elite Circulation 21

2.1.4 The Effects and Consequences from the "Confucianization" of China 22

2.1.5 The Myth of the Supposed Confucian "Orthodoxy" 25

2.1.6 Impact of Confucianism on Chinese Culture and Politics 27

2.2 Non-Development of Capitalism: Was Confucianism to Blame? 30

2.3 Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism in Europe 32

2.4 Why No Private Capitalism Arose after the End of the Feudal System in China 33

2.5 Confucianism and Modern China: An Update 37

2.5.1 The Riddle of Some Weaknesses of Confucianism 37

2.6 From the Confucian Legacy to the Post-1949 China: A Conceptual Conversion 41

Chapter 3 China's First Rise as a Superpower (713-1820 A.D.) 47

3.1 Traditional China in the World Economy 48

3.1.1 Science and Technology 50

3.2 Legacies of the Near-Modern Period (From the 7th Century Onward to 1800) 52

3.3 Warts and All: An Evaluation of the Chinese Legacy from Traditional Times 55

3.3.1 Lack of a Democratic Tradition from China's Past 56

3.3.2 Lack of a Law-Abiding Spirit in Chinese Tradition 61

3.3.3 More on the Penchant for "Rule of Propriety" 64

3.4 Ultimate Lessons from China's Political Tradition 66

3.5 Concluding Remarks 68

Chapter 4 Dawn of the Modern Age: Paradox of China's Response to the West 71

4.1 The Dawning of the "Modern Age" On China: A Revisionist View 72

4.2 The Puzzle of the Fragility of the Former Chinese Superpower at the Coming of the West 77

4.3 Modernization for Survival in Response to the West 81

4.3.1 Foreign Encroachments: The Stimulus for Reform 81

4.3.2 China's Responses, Viewed in Retrospect 84

4.4 The End of the Dynastic Era: Postmortem and Prognosis 89

Chapter 5 The Puzzle of the Rise of Communism: Maoist China in Retrospect 93

5.1 The Search for a Universal Ethos and Its Upshot 94

5.2 The Chinese Revolution and Marxism as Viewed (and Molded) Mao Zedong 97

5.2.1 The CCP's Revolutionary Legitimacy 100

5.2.2 Inherent Appeals of Marxism-Leninism 101

5.2.3 The Goals of the CCP Revolutions as Molded Mao 102

5.3 The Lingering Puzzle of the Communist Conquest of Power in China 103

5.3.1 Chiang Kai-shek's Faults and Misfortunes 104

5.3.2 Mao's Adroitness in Turning the Tides Against Chiang 109

5.4 A Re-Evaluation of Maoism and Its Legacy 114

5.4.1 Mao in the Scale of History: Memorable Feats and Faults 114

5.4.2 Paradoxes in Mao Zedong Thought: A Thoughtful Re-Assessment 116

5.4.3 A New Apotheosis of Mao and Re-Reading of History 121

5.4.4 A "Revisionist" Rethinking on Mao's Economic Programs 122

Chapter 6 Dengist Reforms in Post-Mao China: The Great Leap Outward and Its Legend 127

6.1 The Forgotten Interlude 127

6.2 The Transition to the Dengist Era 130

6.3 The Paradox of the Dengist Reform 131

6.3.1 Redirection of the Developmental Pathway: The Dengist Imprint 131

6.3.2 A "Revolution from Above" and the Costs of Its Success 137

6.4 Consequences of the Dengist Reform 138

6.4.1 Economic and Social Costs to Deng's Reforms 139

6.5 Emergence of a Partially Marketized Economy: Aftermath of Tiananment 140

6.6 The Puzzle and Myth of the China Model 141

6.7 The "Chinese Way" to the China Model 144

6.8 More on the Puzzle of the China Model 146

Chapter 7 The China Model, the Dengist Legacy, and Political-Economy Theory 149

7.1 The Essentials of the China Model 149

7.2 The Institutional Structure of the China Model: Macroeconomic Guidance and Control 153

7.3 Unitary State and Provinces: Calculated Decentralization 159

7.4 Center-Periphery Balance in the Institutional Reform 160

7.5 The China Model and the Phenomenon and of Rapid and Sustained Growth 164

7.6 The Non-Obvious in the Myth Surrounding the China Model 168

7.7 The Intangibles that Round out the China Model Myth 171

7.8 The "Paradoxicals" in the China Model 177

7.9 An Evaluation and a Look into the Future 183

7.10 The China Model and Challenge to Classical Liberalism 193

Chapter 8 China's Second Rise: Challenge to World Order or International Relations Theory? 199

8.1 Assessing China's Re-Rise 199

8.2 The China Threat: Old and New Meanings 200

8.3 The Epistemology of the China Threat Theory 207

8.3.1 The China Difference 209

8.3.2 Anarchy Versus Hierarchy 211

8.3.3 The Explanatory Power of a Hierarchic Model: From the "East Asian System before the West" 213

8.4 Interpreting China's Rise: Dissidence and Intellectual Climate Changes 221

8.4.1 First Wave of Intellectual Climate Change 224

8.4.2 The Second Wave of Intellectual Climate Change in the China Threat Debate 228

8.5 Paradigmatic Divisions on How to Assess China's Second Rise and the Future World Order 233

8.6 The Puzzle of the (Re-) Rise of China as a Civilization State 234

8.6.1 The Spirit and Core Characteristics of the Chinese Civilization-State 237

8.6.2 Foreign-Relations Implications of the Chinese Civilization-State 241

8.7 China's Re-Rise as Ascertained from a "Trans-Civilizational" Perspective 243

8.7.1 Evaluation of China' Behavior During Its First Rise 243

8.7.2 As a Chastened China Re-Emerges from Its Century-Long Interregnum of Decline 245

8.7.3 Does China Under Communist Rule Make Any Difference? 247

8.7.4 China's Behavioral Patterns During the Run-Up to Its Second Rise 251

Chapter 9 The Romance of China's Re-Rise and the Riddle of a Pax Sinica 263

9.1 Implications of China's Second Rise 263

9.2 The New World Order to Follow: Co-Dominium or Pax Sinica? 267

9.3 Regional Implications under Pax Sinica 277

9.4 A Happy Note and Three Caveats 282

References 285

Name Index 307

Subject Index 313

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