Historical Change in Chinese Nationalism From May Fourth to the 1990s

Guoguang Wu

This paper compares two high tides of Chinese intellectual nationalism in the twentieth century: the May Fourth movement in 1919, and the resurgence of nationalism since the 1990s. Both periods witnessed profound social transformations within China and great changes in international relations and Chinese intellectual nationalism took quite different forms in terms of its relations with political authority, material interest, and value orientation, the three overlapping critical dimensions in political-social life according to Max Weber. Regarding the relationship between material interests and the nationalistic responses in Chinese history, it is well-known that modern Chinese nationalism originally arose “in search of wealth and power” at a time when the nation suffered from economic backwardness from the strongly-felt humiliation of imperialism.

In the 1990s, however, China emerged on the world stage as an ascending economic power. This paper argues that between these two periods the basic tenor of Chinese nationalism has undergone a profound change: from one laced with that strongly felt humiliation to one based on a self-congratulation; from one admired and liked to learn from the West to one that prepares itself to compete with the West; and from one that struggled to survive to one that dreams of being the ‘world leader’.

These changes are also reflected into the attitudes of Chinese nationalism toward political authorities. In the early twentieth century, Chinese political institutions were seriously questioned by intellectual nationalism as they could not make China rich and powerful, and nationalism was therefore a powerful spiritual force behind the great Chinese revolutions that resulted in the an increase in the state’s capabilities. The last years of the twentieth century, however, saw the rise of nationalism to endorse and reinforce the current regime’s legitimacy, its political institutions, and its authoritarian repression over citizens in in order to maintain political stability, foster economic development, and represent the Chinese nation in international struggles against the Western powers. With this statist feature, the resurgence of Chinese nationalism is also culturally chauvinist, claiming that traditional Chinese values are hopes for human societies. In this it provides a sharp contrast to the May Fourth nationalism that was anti-traditional in its attitudes toward Chinese values. Confucianism, a major target of cultural and political criticism in most of the twentieth century’s China, is now regarded a major resource for Chinese nationalism to revitalize Chinese national spirit.