Zhao Tingyang, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Abstract: The ‘China dream’ has become a public topic open to debate this year, partly due to new chairman Xi Jinping’s encouraging claim of it, reminding people of the Chinese pursuit of national revival for more than a century. Interpretation of the governmental message is not the aim of this paper. Instead, I will try to develop a historical and philosophical analysis of Chinese pursuits that might be said to be China’s dreams. My understanding of China’s dreams remains basically similar to my earlier discussion in a paper titled “American dream, European dream and China’s dream” (Transcultural Dialogue No. 18, 2006). That is, China’s dreams have been painful dreams during hard times, the dreams to survive by modernization (actually westernization), so as to catch up with the great powers, at the unhappy cost of self-devaluation of Chinese culture and tradition. Consequently, the China dream has not yet fully demonstrated its Chineseness as meant to be or expected to be, but rather partly, or mainly, has been a westernized dream up until now. The expression China dream (中国梦) may not always be the dream of China (中国之梦), unless it can develop the ideal of China. In this paper, I will examine challenging questions related to Chinese pursuits, practical efforts and theoretical ideals.
About the HYI Working Paper Series: The Harvard-Yenching Institute is pleased to make available working papers by HYI affiliated scholars on topics in the humanities and social sciences, with special attention to the study of Asian culture.
The HYI Working Paper Series welcomes submissions from all HYI-affiliated faculty and fellowship grantees (including graduate students). Scholars are invited to post papers either in English or in an Asian language. To submit a paper, please email strogatz@fas.harvard.edu.
The views expressed in the HYI Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. HYI Working Papers have not undergone formal review and approval. Such papers are included in this series to elicit feedback and to encourage discussion. Copyright belongs to the author(s). Papers may be downloaded for personal use only, and may not be cited without the author’s permission.