Revisiting Chinese Political Culture: The Historical Politics Approach

Abstract

Western Political science cannot adequately address China’s development in the twenty-first century. The inadequacy is due to a general neglect of historical methods and an obsession with progressive views in the discipline. As a result, the study of China’s political culture is torn away from Chinese history and loses itself to become another version of modernization thesis. This article calls for the application of a historical politics approach and a poly-chronic view of history to the study of China’s political culture. The article examines four potential core value components of China’s political culture, namely the quest for great unification, the preference for political order, the orientation towards substance, and the deference to authority and hierarchy. Results show that those values have historical continuity and China-specificity thereby demonstrating the value of the historical politics perspective.

Singing the Old Song: The Historical Politics of the Masyumi Party in the 1950s in East Java, Indonesia

“…Related to this argument, I argue that on a strategic level, Masyumi also used historical narratives to increase his influence in East Java. Some papers have used the politics of the past as a perspective (Lu & Yan, 2022;Purwanta & Novianto, 2022). is is because memories of the past oen effectively bound groups of people together (Gong, 2001, p. 26) and became part of the party's strategic material.…”

A Cross-cultural Comparison of ELT Curricula of Senior Secondary Schools in Mainland China and Hong Kong

“…The inclusion of science and technology-related modules in the Mainland China curriculum aligns with China's "Revitalizing the Nation through Science and Education" initiative, first introduced in the "Decision on Accelerating Scientific and Technological Progress" issued by the Central Committee and the State Council of the Chinese Communist Party in 1995 (Liu et al, 2021). Furthermore, it reflects China's tradition of emphasizing history and politics due to its extensive cultural heritage and political traditions (Lu & Yan, 2022). Additionally, the Mainland China curriculum underscores "civil obligations" and "social responsibility," indicating a strong emphasis on nurturing a national identity (MOE, 2017).…”