Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate: Memories of Empire in a New Global Context (Studies in Security and International Affairs)

China's sense of today and its view of tomorrow are both rooted in the past--and we need to understand that connection, says China scholar Charles Horner. In Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate, Horner offers a new interpretation of how China's changed view of its modern historical experience has also changed China's understanding of its long intellectual and cultural tradition. Spirited reevaluations of history, strategy, commerce, and literature are cooperating--and competing--to define the future. The capstone of modern China was the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and its rejection of Confucianism, capitalism, and modernity. Yet today's rising China retains few vestiges of what Mao wrought. What then, Horner asks, is post-Mao, postmodern China? Where did it come from? How did it get here? Where is it going? Contemporary views of the great periods in Chinese history are having a significant influence on the development of rising China's national strategy, says Horner. He looks at the revival of interest in, and changing interpretations of, three dynasties--the Yuan (1280-1368), the Ming (1368-1644), and the Qing (1644-1912)--that, together with the People's Republic of China, provide examples of great power success. The future of every major country is now connected to China's, and this book explains how China, now seeing itself as the complex and thriving result of the old and the new, is poised to change the world. China's sense of today and its view of tomorrow are both rooted in the past—and we need to understand that connection, says China scholar Charles Horner. In Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate, Horner offers a new interpretation of how China's changed view of its modern historical experience has also changed China's understanding of its long intellectual and cultural tradition. Spirited reevaluations of history, strategy, commerce, and literature are cooperating—and competing—to define the future.The capstone of modern China was the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and its rejection of Confucianism, capitalism, and modernity. Yet today's rising China retains few vestiges of what Mao wrought. What then, Horner asks, is post-Mao, postmodern China? Where did it come from? How did it get here? Where is it going?Contemporary views of the great periods in Chinese history are having a significant influence on the development of rising China's national strategy, says Horner. He looks at the revival of interest in, and changing interpretations of, three dynasties—the Yuan (1272-1368), the Ming (1368-1644), and the Qing (1644-1912)—that, together with the People's Republic of China, provide examples of great power success.The future of every major country is now connected to China's, and this book explains how China, now seeing itself as the complex and thriving result of the old and the new, is poised to change the world. Cover ......Page 1 Rising China and its postmodern fate......Page 6 Copyright ......Page 7 Contents......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 A Note on Romanization and the Pronunciation of Chinese......Page 14 Prologue......Page 18 CHAPTER 1 A Memory of Empire: The New Past of Old China......Page 32 CHAPTER 2 The Yuan Dynasty and the Pax Mongolica......Page 39 CHAPTER 3 The Ming Dynasty and the Pax Sinica......Page 51 CHAPTER 4 The Qing Dynasty and the Pax Manjurica......Page 71 CHAPTER 5 The Proletarian Dynasty of Chairman Mao......Page 102 CHAPTER 6 The History of the World as China’s Own......Page 116 CHAPTER 7 China’s Continent and the World City......Page 126 CHAPTER 8 A Peaceful Rise and Memories of Violence......Page 162 CHAPTER 9 The Strange Death of the Soviet Empire......Page 174 CHAPTER 10 “The Chinese People Are a Heap of Loose Sand”......Page 183 CHAPTER 11 Rising China’s Grand Design......Page 200 Epilogue......Page 210 Notes......Page 216 Bibliography......Page 224 C......Page 232 D......Page 233 H......Page 234 K......Page 235 M......Page 236 P......Page 237 S......Page 238 T......Page 239 X......Page 240 Z......Page 241 A Memory Of Empire: The New Past Of Old China -- The Yuan Dynasty And The Pax Mongolica -- The Ming Dynasty And The Pax Sinica -- The Qing Dynasty And The Pax Manjurica -- The Proletarian Dynasty Of Chairman Mao -- The History Of The World As China's Own -- China's Continent And The World City -- A Peaceful Rise And Memories Of Violence -- The Strange Death Of The Soviet Empire -- The Chinese People Are A Heap Of Loose Sand -- Rising China's Grand Design. Charles Horner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 207-214) And Index. As China debates its past, how will it define its future? In this work, Horner offers a different interpretation of how China's changed view of its modern historical experience has also changed China's understanding of its long intellectual and cultural tradition