Chinese Elites Research Articles

Tianxia Under the Sea: China’s Quest for Maritime History

This article examines how the Chinese political and academic discourses have constructed a narrative of China as a peaceful maritime power and the role that underwater archaeology has played in narrating China's rise. The ancient Chinese concept of tianxia (天下) is a central part of the Chinese elites’ discourse on maritime policy. This concept, translated as “all under heaven,” forms part of China's effort to produce historical statecraft using textual sources and underwater archaeological artefacts. In this narrative, the historical figure of Zheng He became a prominent representative of China's peacefulness, refuting concerns regarding the purposes of a more assertive Chinese foreign policy. Studying tianxia under the sea thus contributes to forming a better understanding of the production of narratives respecting China's rise. In particular, underwater archaeology is highlighted as an authoritative source of evidence underpinning and reinforcing narratives of China as an ancient and peaceful maritime nation.

Made in China: Chinese Re-Conceptualization of the Ideal of Judicial Independence (1906–1937)

Abstract Judicial independence has always been an important theme of China’s judicial reforms, both historically and in recent years. This article sheds light on how Chinese elites and intellectuals created a unique concept of judicial independence in the context of early twentieth-century China, seeking to trace the historical roots of the ongoing judicial reform in the People’s Republic. This uniqueness was characterized by three features: the heterogeneity within the Chinese conception of judicial independence, the reinterpretation of judicial independence into a tool for reinforcing China’s sovereignty, and the applauded control over courts and judges. These features resulted from the inherent tension within China’s pursuit of a modern state. By examining the early discourse and reform efforts, this paper not only highlights the historical struggles for judicial independence, but also, it contributes to understanding contemporary China’s distinctive path in judicial modernization, deviating from liberal constitutionalism.

Zhangzhou Immigrants between China and the Spanish: Diplomatic Conversations Concerning the 1603 Incident in Manila

Starting in 1573 with the establishment of Manila, the circulation of Chinese goods along the trans-Pacific route brought the Ming Dynasty and the Spanish Empire into contact. Consequently, many people from Fujian Province, especially Zhangzhou city, went to Manila and facilitated the operation of the city. This paper examines the interactions of Zhangzhou immigrants in Manila, focusing their roles and living situations in Parián, the designated neighborhood for the Sangleys. In particular, the diplomatic conversation concerning the 1603 Incident is analyzed to elucidate how the Sangleys were perceived by both the Ming court and the Spanish governors. Records produced by Chinese elites, local gazetteers, and Spanish correspondence reveal the conflicts and negotiations between the Ming government and officials of the Spanish Empire concerning this matter, as well as local and state differences in views. While the contributions of the Sangleys were recognized and used to promote the moral superiority of both sides, they were not seriously considered by either the Chinese court or the Spanish government. The Sangleys offer a unique perspective on the positioning of these two state powers: Each desired to maintain a peaceful relationship yet simultaneously adopted a cautious stance. This study illuminates some of the connections and conflicts which emerged during early modern globalization.

Persian Astronomy in China

During the Tang dynasty (618–907 ce), a significant number of Persian nobles sought safety in China following the downfall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 ce. These Persians possessed a distinct cultural identity, which was highly esteemed by certain Chinese elites. In contrast to Indians who migrated to China during and before this period, with their influence primarily mediated through Buddhism, Persians played prominent roles in secular fields such as astronomy, medicine and commerce. This article explores the history of Persian astronomers in China, placing their presence within the broader context of knowledge exchange across Eurasia, with a focus on their lives, works and interactions with the Chinese. Although their impact on Chinese astronomy and culture may have been limited, their tradition later served as a precursor to the astral science of Perso-Islamic astronomers in China from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 ce) onwards. This is exemplified by a variety of Sino-Persian astral works such as the astronomical text Futian li 符天曆, the horoscopic treatise Yusi jing 聿斯經, the Ming astral anthology Mingyi tianwenshu 明譯天文書 and the Sino-Islamic Canon Huihui li 回回曆.

Management thought and practice in 1920s China

This article significantly revises our understanding of ‘scientific management’ in 1920s China. First introduced in 1911 via transpacific networks, scientific management gained traction among Chinese elites of the 1920s as a method of both national industrialisation and social change in line with the May Fourth spirit of ‘Mr. Science’ and ‘Mr. Democracy’. As such, Chinese discourse re-interpreted Taylorism as a capacious but progressive tool to encourage the ‘scientific spirit’ among ordinary Chinese. Industrialists around greater Shanghai engaged with these re-interpretations and more of their firms experimented with these ideas than previously thought. Yet, they did so in diverse ways that reflected managers’ layered commercial, political, and intellectual motivations.

Machine-learning applications to authoritarian selections: The case of China

Elite selection in China has drawn significant attention given the importance of the country. Instead of relying on qualitative assessments from historical and personal insights, this study utilized machine-learning techniques to evaluate the promotion prospects of Chinese elites. By incorporating over 251 individual features of 18,179 officials from 1982 to 2020, I built up an ensemble model to calculate the promotion probabilities of the previous Politburo members of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Methodologically, this study finds that the machine-learning predictions yielded approximately 20% higher accuracy compared to the classical model, which employed the generalized linear model with theoretically identified variables. Moreover, this paper offers valuable insights into Chinese politics by highlighting that Xi Jinping’s selection of central officials has diverged from historical patterns, while his decisions on provincial promotions do not exhibit notable differences from those made by his predecessors.

Seaweed modernity: Empire, state, and the Sino-Japanese relations

Seaweed, which had long been adopted by traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of inflammation and tumorous swelling, became a marine crop with increased political and economic importance in early 20th century China. Chinese consumers and manufacturers embraced a global discourse spread from Japan and the West that highlighted the dietary and industrial values of seaweed and its extracts. Chinese elites also identified the social value of seaweed in reducing nutrition disparities between coastal and inland China. The global circulatory processes of seaweed knowledge co-existed with the continued Japanese imperialism and growth of Chinese nationalism in the first half of the 20th century, which led to periodic boycotts of Japan-imported seaweed or increases in the tariffs levied on them. From the 1930s, the Kwantung Marine Productions Experimental Station based in Dalian began cultivating Laminaria Japonica, a type of brown seaweed, along the Yellow Sea in southern Manchuria. At the heart of this colonial scientific program was an attempt to mitigate Chinese nationalist sentiment with the “homegrown” marine products, overcome Japan’s wartime shortage of raw materials, and enhance the self-sufficiency of Manchuria following the outbreak of the Asia Pacific War.

Building colonial Hong Kong: Speculative development and segregation in the city – A book review

Cecilia Chu, an urban historian, was surprised at her studies that unmasking the 19th-century colonial land tenure system resulted in “good government” in Hong Kong. She found the colonial governance evolved to respect traditional Confucian values of impartiality, integrity, and a commitment to the public interest. The need for Hong Kong government to be self-sufficient by Britain was the original driver for this to happen; that is, the requirement to sell public land to raise revenue from the European and Chinese Speculators essential for the development of Hong Kong. Chu’s research revealed that both events and politics over time required the government to move beyond laissez-faire economics and to become interventionist to tackle diseased slum areas and unsafe buildings and to shape new urban development to deliver healthier housing and better environments. Overseas experience of epidemics had led to a growing understanding of the relationship between health and economy in the 19th century. Populations fleeing Hong Kong during epidemics served to demonstrate that the city needed to be healthy if it was to prosper. This caused the government to adopt interventionist policies. In particular, the government intervened in its land sales strategy to reduce fiscal revenue income from sales to induce the private sector to contribute towards social provision in public health, housing and modern town planning. It also had a bearing on colonial segregation strategies to reflect different expectations of the European and native Chinese communities. Crucially, while the colonial administration remained in power, greater involvement of the Chinese elites in the bureaucracy gave legitimacy portraying Hong Kong as a “land of justice.” This demonstration of “good government” helped maintain the loyalty of the Chinese merchant elites and native Chinese population.

Kuasa Elit Lokal dan Kapitalis Pasca Otoritarianisme: Perspektif Pribumi dan Etnis Tionghoa

The study of capitalism in Indonesia cannot be separated from the two capitalist groups, namely the Indigenous and ethnic Chinese who dominate the economy in Indonesia. This article describes the power of local elites and post-authoritarian capitalist capitalists by looking at how Indigenous and Chinese ethnic groups reproduce political roles and their involvement in the national economy. The main objective is to find out how the position of local elite power and capitalists in Indonesian political practice. The method used in this study uses a phenomenological approach developed by Husserl and Heidegger which looks at individual experiences and individual existence. In general, this study concludes that the indigenous and ethnic Chinese elites are the differentiator where the ownership of capitalization by ethnic Chinese is part of the history of capitalism in Indonesia which then reaches all provinces in Indonesia through economic transformation in which material ownership becomes so strong domestic investment in Indonesia is different from the indigenous groups themselves, which are unequal because in general the natives cannot develop a national scale economic pattern.

Making Sense of the Odes


 
 
 Prior to the emergence of the formalized commentarial traditions of the Early Imperial era (221 BCE–220 CE), the Odes seem typically to have been encountered “in motion” or “in use” as quoted speech in early historical and philosophical works. By studying the way the Odes are used in an understudied text—the Guoyu 國語 (Discourses of the states), probably compiled in the late Warring States era (ca. 475–221 BCE)—this article explores how historical speeches and anecdotes were used as an early form of commentary, variously contextualizing, explaining, paraphrasing, glossing, and interpreting the Odes. Before the invention of comprehensive, systematic commentaries associating each poem with a particular historical context and meaning, texts like the Guoyu provided early readers with guides to understanding and using classical texts, and many of their exegetical forms and strategies anticipate the commentarial traditions of the early empires. This article shows that historical speeches were one way in which early Chinese elites were trained in how to read and use the Odes appositely and sensitively, and that we can think of such speeches as a form of commentary.
 
 

Chinese Global Orders: Socialism, Tradition, and Nation in China–Russia Relations

While many use rational IR theory to explain Chinese foreign policy behavior, this paper follows global IR to employ interpretivist theory to examine how Chinese elites understand their country’s role in the world. In particular, it explores the Chinese global order ideas of socialism, tradition, and nation through a comparative analysis of how they work in China–Russia relations, especially after China’s 20th Communist Party Congress in 2022. The first section presents a critical analysis of the realist understanding of the China–Russia–U.S. strategic triangle. It argues that the socialist concept of “united front work” better explains Chinese (and Russian) policy in terms of short-term “tactical triangles.” To probe China’s long-term global order ideas, the second section explores narratives of tradition to examine the concentric circles model of global order seen in Chinese tianxia and Russian Eurasianism. To understand these competing Russocentric and Sinocentric global orders, the third section explores how each country’s official historiography highlights narratives of the nation and especially how national rejuvenation requires correcting the “national humiliation” of lost territories. Rather than see these narratives in a linear chronological history — i.e., from tradition to socialism to nationalism — this paper considers how they overlap in socialism, tradition, and nation, a non-linear dynamic triad of global order ideas. It concludes first that further research is necessary to examine the interrelation of these three narratives: while nation and tradition are often employed to support the overarching narrative of socialism in recent years, this could certainly change. The conclusion then argues that while these narratives may be coherent theoretically, they have not been very successful in achieving Beijing and Moscow’s foreign policy objectives.

우두 접종의 보편화 과정과 그 영향

In this paper, we investigated what kind of efforts were made to expand vaccination amid a smallpox epidemic in Shanghai in 1938-39, as well as the significance of such efforts.
 In Shanghai, various strategies were employed to achieve universal vaccination. When it was first introduced, theories of Chinese medicine were borrowed to help people’s understanding, and various media outlets were used to promote the effect and safety of vaccination. Health institutions in the foreign concession and the Chinese elites helped to expand free vaccination. At the time, vaccination was not mandatory, and people voluntarily visited a clinic for innoculation. Between 1932 and 1937, the number of fatality from smallpox fluctuated and did not reach a threatening level due to the vaccination effort.
 However, upon the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the number of smallpox patients and the subsequent death toll surged. Some of the refugees who fled to the foreign concession to avoid the war had smallpox, and the disease spread from there. The Japanese military force that occupied Shanghai began mandatory vaccination in a bid to protect the health of Japanese people and soldiers as well as the safety of Japan.
 Setting aside justifications for war and pillage of the colony, the Japanese occupation helped to expand universal vaccination to an extent. Statistical data indicate that the number of vaccination applied by Japan’s health institutions is significant, and the military institution enabled forced vaccination. Various institutions including the Japanese military force, health institutions, hospitals, clinics, charity organizations in the foreign concession joined hands for the shared goal of fighting against smallpox. Due to the nature of an epidemic that does not distinguish between friends and foes or across races, an odd cooperative relationship was formed in Shanghai.
 The significance of an increase in vaccination can be observed in that its infrastructure and method were replicated to fight cholera. Specifically, the two approaches―active and forced innoculation by the authorities and free innoculation in the form of traditional charity work―were first made to increase vaccination and then fully applied to expanding cholera inoculation. Vaccination also paved the way for universalization of inoculation. At the time, the Chinese people were not familiar with the method of cholera inoculation, and its effect was dubious. They suspected that the Japanese injected poison and shunned cholera inoculation. When a rule was implemented that banned people without a certificate of cholera inoculation from traveling to other regions, people forged certificates. In comparison, over a century had passed since vaccination was introduced in China, and people knew its effect well. For this reason, the public probably did not strongly oppose forced vaccination by the Japanese.
 However, this is merely in comparison with cholera inoculation, and the goal of universal vaccination was not attained. Smallpox continued to break out after 1939, and many people remained reluctant to receive vaccination. For peaceful ruling, the People’s Republic of China had to endeavor for vaccination from the beginning of its foundation as did the authority of the foreign concession and the Japanese military force. Reasons for a failed attempt to achieve universal vaccination despite tenacious efforts need to be investigated from various angles including political, social and cultural aspects.

To what extent do young chinese elites comply with COVID-19 prevention and control measures?

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital for individuals to comply with the government’s prevention and control measures. This study aims to explore determinants of college students’ compliance behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis study conducted an online survey among 3,122 individuals aged 18 and above from March to November 2022 in China. Individuals’ compliance behaviour was divided into protective behaviour (that includes wearing a mask, maintaining a physical distance, and getting vaccinated) and restrictive behaviour (that includes offering health codes and a nucleic acid test certificate). Individuals’ compliance motivation was divided into calculated motivation (including the fear of being infected, the fear of being published, and previous experience of pandemic prevention) and normative motivation (including the sense of social responsibility and trust in government). We defined young people aged between 18 and 24 with a college degree as young elites, and constructed ordinary least squares linear regression to compare their compliance behaviour with young people without a college degree (young non-elites), and non-young people with a college degree (non-young elites).ResultsAlmost three years after the outbreak of the pandemic, Chinese individuals retained a high degree of compliance with COVID-19 prevention and control policies, particularly with respect to the provision of health codes. Young elites were more compliant with getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, providing health codes and testing results than their counterparts. The sense of social responsibility and trust in government were the major drivers of young elites’ compliance behaviour during the pandemic. Young elites who were male, had a rural “hukou”, and were not a member of the China Communist Party were more compliant with COVID-19 prevention and control measures.ConclusionThis study found that young elites in China had high policy compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. These young elites’ compliance behaviour was driven by their sense of social responsibility and trust in government rather than the fear of being infected and the fear of being punished as a result of violating the regulations. We suggest that in the context of managing health crises, in stead of introducing punitive measures to enforce citizens to comply with the management measures, promoting citizens’ sense of social responsibility and building a trusting relationship with citizens contrite to the enhancement of citizens’ policy compliance.

Chinese elites, hill stations and contested racial discrimination in interwar colonial Malaya and the Philippines

Chinese elites, hill stations and contested racial discrimination in interwar colonial Malaya and the Philippines

Visualizing Divergence: Rhetorical Education and Historical Imagination in China and Korea (ca. 1314–1644)

Abstract: This essay explores how basic computer programming and data visualization provides new tools to understand the respective development of rhetorical education and historical imagination in China and Korea during the same period of the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Gathering data from large databases that contain thousands of collections printed in China and Korea, I show that a critical divergence emerged during the mid- and late sixteenth century in the field of rhetorical training. Specifically, the historical interests of Chinese elites gravitated toward the most recent episodes in the history of their own dynasty, while Chosŏn elites were increasingly devoted to the earliest phase of the Central Civilization. These observations complement existing studies that have focused on connections between China and Korea, and offer a starting point for understanding parallels and divergences between different regions and realms in East Asia.

Regime Creation for the South China Sea Dispute: the Feasibility of the Creation of the South China Sea Council

Abstract This article explores the feasibility of creating a regime for the benefit of managing and resolving the South China Sea dispute in accordance with an analysis of a strand of thought in political science (institutional liberalism). The South China Sea is closer to a non-regime situation; however, the relevant circumstance of the region is ripe enough to discuss regime creation. This article shows how regime creation is feasible and beneficial to the claimants, not least China (the most important player), as opposed to the conventional wisdom among Chinese elites regarding the danger of the internationalization of the dispute. The establishment of a soft-law maritime regime (the “South China Sea Council”) and its operational particularity are suggested with reference to the Arctic Council.

How not to deal with a rising China: a US perspective

Abstract Will China displace the United States as the world's leading power by the centenary of Communist rule in 2049? The outcome will depend on many unknowns including what the two countries do over the next three decades. US leaders are likely to rely on their mental maps of how the world works. The primary sources of their mental maps tend to come from historical analogies and from international relations theories. Both are highly imperfect representations of reality. Historical metaphors and analogies are rife in the debate over how to understand the current rise of China, but three are particularly salient: a Thucydides trap; a new Cold War; and 1914 sleepwalkers. This article discusses the merits and demerits of relying on each of these analogies in turn, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of prior mental maps that guided US policy-makers during the post-Cold War era. Chinese elites expect to replace the US as the leading global power by 2049. How should the US respond? Two prevalent historical analogies are misleading: a Thucydides trap about power transition, and a new Cold War that ignores the three-dimensional nature of US–China interdependence. More promising is the cautionary narrative of sleepwalking into the First World War. A successful strategy must lay out conditions for a cooperative rivalry starting with a careful net assessment of power resources and the formulation of feasible goals.

A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I by Fu Jin, and: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century II by Fu Jin

Reviewed by: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I by Fu Jin, and: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century II by Fu Jin Tarryn Li-Min Chun A HISTORY OF CHINESE THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY I. By Fu Jin. Translated by Zhang Qiang. London and New York: Routledge; Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 04 2020. 330 pp. 22 B/W Illustrations. Hardback, $325.00; Paperback/eBook, $99.95. A HISTORY OF CHINESE THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY II. By Fu Jin. Translated by Zhang Qiang. London and New York: Routledge; Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 11 2020. 268 pp. 22 B/W Illustrations. Hardback, $160.00; Paperback/eBook, $48.95. In A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century, Fu Jin offers a comprehensive overview of Chinese theatre from 1900 to 2000 that demonstrates both a capacious attitude toward genre and close attention to the influence that political, social, and economic factors have had on content, form, and the lives of Chinese theatre artists. Fu Jin is a leading Chinese theatre historian and critic affiliated with Shandong Normal University and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, and his Chinese-language work has long been considered essential reading for scholars and students of modern Chinese drama. First published in Chinese by China Social Sciences Press in 2016–2017, this latest work of historiography is no exception, and a new translation series published by Routledge and China Social Sciences Press makes it available in four English-language volumes. The first two volumes were released in 2020, with the remaining two published in 2021. While the scholarship itself is rigorous and insightful, the usefulness of its publication in English is tempered by poor translation and the prohibitive cost of the print editions. The first volume, A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I (hereafter "Volume I"), is divided in two parts that examine the rise of jingju (Beijing opera) and other xiqu genres, theatrical reform campaigns (xiju gailiang yundong) at the turn of the twentieth century, and shifts in the market for the performing arts during this same [End Page 409] period. One of the most notable and valuable contributions of this first volume is that, although Part I "New Dramas and New Stages" begins with the familiar history of jingju in the late nineteenth century (Chapter 1), Fu Jin does not remain focused on China's best-known xiqu genre for long. Instead, by Chapter 2, he expands his geographic range well beyond Beijing and delves deeply into how "minor genres" (xiao xi), such as flower-and-drum (huagu), "folk minor" (tanhuang), yangge, and laozi, emerged and merged with forms such as chuju (Hubei), huju (Shanghai), chang-xi ju (Changzhou/Wuxi), yueju (Zhejiang), and pingju (Tianjin). Chapter 3 then turns to more overt attempts to "reform" the Chinese theatre among Chinese elites and intellectuals and the rise of "new drama" influenced by Western theatre, a perspective which complements the previous chapter's focus on the grassroots and popular taste. As Fu Jin describes each individual form, he also carefully details a range of different factors influencing its development: performance elements such as instrumentation and role types; changes in the stage apparatus and technology; political control and morality-based censorship; broader changes in urbanization, transportation, and communication; and the roles played by significant individuals. This methodology continues throughout subsequent sections of the book, with each using specific genres to illustrate broader points about the trajectory of theatrical development. Part II, "Updating Concepts and Adapting Theatrical Industry to Market Requirements," comprises three chapters split between Volume I and Volume II, marking a structural difference from the original and making for a rather abrupt conclusion to Volume I. In terms of content, however, Part II offers another important corrective to histories of modern Chinese drama that would draw a straight line from late Qing reformers to the debates on traditional theatre that raged in the early decades of the twentieth century. Instead, Chapter 4 demonstrates the innovation and influence of theatrical "clubs" that emerged through-out China in the early Republican period, such as the Yisu Club in...

Trade and Diplomacy: The Failure of Preparing for the Chinese Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in 1851

This article explores British efforts to organize a Chinese section for the famous Great Exhibition of 1851. It details the difficult negotiations and compromises that took place among British administrators, Chinese imperial authorities, and local merchants in order to secure a Chinese display that promoted the imagined virtues of free trade. The article argues that Britain’s failure to solicit the active support of Chinese elites reflected the strained commercial and political relations in the period between the two Opium Wars. By probing the global origins of Great Exhibition, the article provides a more comprehensive picture of Sino-British encounters in the mid-nineteenth century.

A Tradition of Invention: The Paradox of Glorifying Past Technological Breakthroughs

This article examines how the notion of a tradition of invention, which took shape in China in the nineteenth century, became entrenched there by the 1920s. It begins by looking at how invention received heightened attention from Chinese elites in the May Fourth era, when many of them upheld the primacy of science for national salvation while science’s very rectitude was being contested. It then explores how these elites took up and contributed to narratives of a past inventiveness as a way of imagining possibilities of a better future, the most notable expression of which was the idea of the “four great inventions.” Finally, it delves into a particular paradox that underlay this glorification of prior scientific and technological achievements. While staking claim to a tradition of invention may have been ultimately for the purpose of charting a course toward a technoscientific tomorrow, the fixation on those past accomplishments led many Chinese across China’s long twentieth century to either ignore or downplay domestic developments in science and technology that were actually taking place. Ironically, then, the nagging sense of inferiority that underlay the lauding of ancient inventions came to be reinforced rather than alleviated by that very act.