What Is China?: Territory, Ethnicity, Culture, and History Territory, Ethnicity, Culture, and History

Chinese Natives Rarely Attempt To Explain Their Country To Outsiders; Everything They Know Is China, And Everyone They Know Is Chinese. China Is So All-absorbing That The Idea Of Helping Foreigners Understand Its Customs, Traditions, And History Seems Pointless. In This Book, Ge Zhaoguang Has Undertaken The Task Of Explaining China To Foreigners. He Examines The Historical And Cultural Background Of China's Emergence As A Major World Power From A Chinese Perspective. Ge Argues That The Meanings Of China And Chinese Culture Regularly Change And Avoid A Single Definition, And That Honest Discussion Of These Different Meanings And How They Arose Give Us A Better Route To Understanding Both Historical And Contemporary China. He Puts Forward His Solution As An Alternative To What He Sees As Writings That Are Too Eager To Deconstruct And Perhaps Dismiss The Idea Of China As A Historical Entity Altogether. By Offering A General Scholarly Overview Of China, Ge's Book Begins To Overcome The Disjunction Between American Knowledge About China And Chinese Understanding Of The Country.-- Introduction: On The Historical Formation Of China And The Dilemma Of Chinese Identity -- Worldviews: From All-under-heaven In Ancient China To The Myriad States In The Modern World -- Borders: On Chinese Territory -- Ethnicity: Including The Four Barbarians In China? -- History: Chinese Culture From A Long-term Perspective -- Peripheries: How China, Korea, And Japan Have Understood One Another Since The Sixteenth And Seventeenth Centuries -- Practical Questions: Will Cultural Differences Between China And The West Lead To Conflict?. Ge Zhaoguang ; Translated By Michael Gibbs Hill. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Ge Zhaoguang, an eminent historian of traditional China and a public intellectual, takes on fundamental questions that shape the domestic and international politics of the world's most populous country and its second largest economy. What Is China? offers an insider's account that addresses sensitive problems of Chinese identity and shows how modern scholarship about China—whether conducted in China, East Asia, or the West—has attempted to make sense of the country's shifting territorial boundaries and its diversity of ethnic groups and cultures.Ge considers, for example, the ancient concept of tianxia, or All-Under-Heaven, which assigned supremacy to the imperial court and lesser status to officials, citizens, tributary states, and tribal peoples. Does China's government still operate with a belief in divine rule of All-Under-Heaven, or has it taken a different view of other actors, inside and outside its current borders? Responding both to Western theories of the nation-state and to Chinese intellectuals eager to promote "national learning, " Ge offers an insightful and erudite account of how China sees its place in the world. As he wrestles with complex historical and cultural forces guiding the inner workings of an often misunderstood nation, Ge also teases out many nuances of China's encounter with the contemporary world, using China's past to explain aspects of its present and to provide insight into various paths the nation might follow as the twenty-first century unfolds.

Ge Zhaoguang, an eminent historian of traditional China and a public intellectual, takes on fundamental questions that shape the domestic and international politics of the world's most populous country and its second largest economy. What Is China? offers an insider's account that addresses sensitive problems of Chinese identity and shows how modern scholarship about China-whether conducted in China, East Asia, or the West-has attempted to make sense of the country's shifting territorial boundaries and its diversity of ethnic groups and cultures. Ge considers, for example, the ancient concept of tianxia, or All-Under-Heaven, which assigned supremacy to the imperial court and lesser status to officials, citizens, tributary states, and tribal peoples. Does China's government still operate with a belief in divine rule of All-Under-Heaven, or has it taken a different view of other actors, inside and outside its current borders? Responding both to Western theories of the nation-state and to Chinese intellectuals eager to promote "national learning," Ge offers an insightful and erudite account of how China sees its place in the world. As he wrestles with complex historical and cultural forces guiding the inner workings of an often misunderstood nation, Ge also teases out many nuances of China's encounter with the contemporary world, using China's past to explain aspects of its present and to provide insight into various paths the nation might follow as the twenty-first century unfolds Ge Zhaoguang, an eminent historian of traditional China and a public intellectual, takes on fundamental questions that shape the domestic and international politics of the world's most populous country and its second largest economy. What Is China? offers an insider's account that addresses sensitive problems of Chinese identity and shows how modern scholarship about China - whether conducted in China, East Asia, or the West - has attempted to make sense of the country's shifting territorial boundaries and its diversity of ethnic groups and cultures. Ge considers, for example, the ancient concept of tianxia, or All-Under-Heaven, which assigned supremacy to the imperial court and lesser status to officials, citizens, tributary states, and tribal peoples. Does China's government still operate with a belief in divine rule of All-Under-Heaven, or has it taken a different view of other actors, inside and outside its current borders? Responding both to Western theories of the nation-state and to Chinese intellectuals eager to promote "national learning," Ge offers an insightful and erudite account of how China sees its place in the world. As forces guiding the inner workings of an often misunderstood nation, Ge also teases out many nuances of China's encounter with the contemporary world, using China's past to explain aspects of its present and to provide insight into various paths the nation might follow as the twenty-first century unfolds. -- From dust jacket Chinese natives rarely attempt to explain their country to outsiders; everything they know is China, and everyone they know is Chinese. China is so all-absorbing that the idea of helping foreigners understand its customs, traditions, and history seems pointless. In this book, Ge Zhaoguang has undertaken the task of explaining China to foreigners. He examines the historical and cultural background of China's emergence as a major world power from a Chinese perspective. Ge argues that the meanings of China and Chinese culture regularly change and avoid a single definition, and that honest discussion of these different meanings and how they arose give us a better route to understanding both historical and contemporary China. He puts forward his solution as an alternative to what he sees as writings that are too eager to deconstruct and perhaps dismiss the idea of China as a historical entity altogether. By offering a general scholarly overview of China, Ge's book begins to overcome the disjunction between American knowledge about China and Chinese understanding of the country.-- Provided by publisher Contents Preface Translator’s Introduction Introduction: On the Historical Formation of “China” and the Dilemma of Chinese Identity Worldviews: From “All-Under-Heaven” in Ancient China to the “Myriad States” in the Modern World Borders: On “Chinese” Territory Ethnicity: Including the “Four Barbarians” in “China”? History: Chinese Culture from a Long-Term Perspective Peripheries: How China, Korea, and Japan Have Understood One Another since the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Practical Questions: Will Cultural Differences between China and the West Lead to Conflict? Afterword Notes Index Ge Zhaoguang addresses sensitive questions of identity that shape the politics of the world’s most populous country. This insider’s account teases out nuances of China’s encounter with the contemporary world, using its past to explain its present and to provide insight into paths the nation might follow as the current century unfolds.