Rivalen oder Genossen? Die Spielarten des Nationalismus in der VR ChinaJunhua Zhang

ASIEN – Nr. 64 (1997) pp. 27–47

As a by-product of modernisation Chinese nationalism has a relatively short history. In order to define the nature of modern Chinese nationalism, which today is gaining strength, a differentiation between state-nationalism and nationalism of the people is required. Whereas the first is an instrument of the state which tries to legitimate itself and to realise the ambition of Greater China, the latter functions in a sense of ideology as an articulation of opinions held by a certain part of the Chinese society which can be considered to be both victim and rival of state-nationalism. By relying on the official information, people-nationalism displays its character of a victim. Nevertheless, the people-nationalists, amongst them the authors of the book „China Can Say No“, will be taken as a challenge by the state power. It is attempted to analyse the emotions and prejudices amongst Chinese people on which both types of nationalism are grounded, to find out their differences as well as their similarities. Based upon the results of this analysis the author tries to shed some light on the further development of modern nationalism in China.