Narratives of the Korean War in Chinese High School History Textbooks

Abstract

This article surveys the characteristics and changes of China's historical understanding of Korea by examining the descriptions of the Korean War in its high school history textbooks. Twelve textbooks published from 1978 to 2008, which used the former USSR-style of Lishi jiaoxuedagang or the American style of Lishi kechengbiaozhun, were analyzed. China is a country that uses history education as a main mechanism of its ideological education, which establishes its ideology and justifies the party. Since China has reformed its educational framework in accordance with the demands of the times, an analysis of Chinese history textbooks is a suitable way to comprehend China's understanding of other countries. An analysis of the history of war and, in particular, the Korean War will provide a clear understanding of China's awareness of Korea. Although its official stance regarding the Korean War has not changed much, what has changed is the use of a relatively objective description from its exclusively ideological viewpoint shown in past textbooks. The textbooks also consider the relations between North and South Korea apart from its interpretation of the war solely as a confrontation between China and America.