The Political System of China - Coursework Example

Politics of China In international political system, China is one of the most outstanding and unique participants. By being one of the oldest civilizations in the world, it is a powerful source of traditions and historical continuality. In this context, the extent of its territory and the limited number of ruling dynasties on it demonstrates the rare example in the world history. Nevertheless, the monumental events in the end of previous century turned China in a matter of years into one of the weakest actors in international relations, which had never happened during the whole existence of this country. However, several years of searching for an appropriate model of governing resulted in establishment of Communist state doctrine and economic prosperity. Precisely, by now China has turned into the second largest economy in the world. Therefore, after continuously being powerful but isolated, nowadays China appears as potential next superpower on international stage. However, current behavior of Chinese leaders directed by pragmatic partnership and unwillingness to act individually by counter positioning to other global leaders breaks usual Western understanding of superiority in international relations. In this context, it is interesting for European scholars to investigate Asian countries. In case of China, it is also an unusual example of certain traditional traits that are not yet forgotten in the inner environment of this country. In a given paper, historical investigation of cosmopolitanism, Confucian morality and Buddhism appear. In addition, Chinese civilization is incapable to leave behind millennia-period of imperialistic rule. Thus, certain traits of this governing of Chinese history is also mentioned here. Finally, the key events of the twentieth century that transformed China so radically are presented in order to evaluate their role, analyze the way they had developed, comprehend their involvement in the final result of China’s contemporary superpower position, and define the inner threats that can cause changes in current Chinese situation. From the very beginning of its existence, China was an autocratic state. In this context, the rule of dynasties was important for it and lasted to the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition, the fact that Chinese state is one of the most ancient ones in the world underlines this specific background as crucial in comprehension of Chinese nature. In particular, the first dynasties known for the contemporary scientists start their existence approximately from 2000 B.C. In that time, the period of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors defined Chinese cultural and political existence. Unlike Western history where ancient times are rarely determining contemporary political situation, Chinese core traits take their roots so long ago. In fact, ancient China analysis is important in order to comprehend the worldview of contemporary Chinese people who respect their history and traditions for all these years. In this context, the element of cosmopolitanism appears. Actually, as “The Records of the Five Emperors” (the chapter in the Records of the Historian) states, “The geographic space under the influence of ancient Chinese was the entire world or ‘all under heaven’, being ‘all corners on which the sun and moon shone’, as well as ‘all boundaries struck with wind and rain.’” (Chun, 2009, p. 21). And so, due to the fact that Chinese people from ancient times perceived the whole world as their home, they have never felt the necessity to try their best in order to convince the others in their priority. In contemporary world, it means that being a superpower does not make to ordinary Chinese people any sense, as they believe that from the very beginning China was a superpower as the core country in the world that is the closest to the skies. Also, the ‘all under heaven’ concept itself includes not only the plain geographical dimension but also political and ethical authority established by the rule of the emperor (Chun, 2009, p. 22). In fact, economic system was also under emperor’s control (Chun, 2009, p. 24). So, it is relevant to state that such an attitude formed in ancient China strongly effects both Chinese ordinary life and the foreign policy of China on the highest level nowadays. As for the latter, the contemporary strategy of pragmatism chosen by China in international relations is illustrative for this thesis. Because Chinese people do not have any ambitions to compete with Western states, they are never involved in open global conflicts. Due to the logic created in ancient times, they do not take any territory far away from their region in Asia as important to them. Thus, in international relation China in not an aggressive player in contrast to its regional foreign politics. Consequently, contemporary China even on the highest level feels an influence of the ideas that firstly appeared not just centuries but millennia ago. Then, the process of unifying China driven by Qin dynasty in general and Qin Shi Huang in particular rooted in 250 B.C. In fact, the geographical enlargement of China taken to the extreme in the previous years with the appearance of Warring States allowed Qin Shi Huang to reunite the country under the new rules; this time, moral prescriptions played the most significant role in the new spiritual type of China (Chun, 2009, p. 24). Among the key factors that influenced Chinese historical development, the extent of its territory had been always playing a significant role. In that period, Confucian works firstly appeared to serve as the ground to claim superiority of Chinese culture and ethical values in the near future (Chun, 2009, p. 25). In short, it provided the privilege of paternalism, respect and patience. With the historical development, the power of this new moral system proved itself in the long-running rule of the most powerful Chinese dynasties like Han dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.C.), Tang dynasty (618-907), Ming dynasty (1368-1644) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911). In fact, all these future royal families always found their social backbone in Confucian ethics. Alongside with Confucianism, in the second period of Han dynasty rule (started from 23 A.C.) Buddhism was widely sponsored in Chinese state. In fact, this event does not fit the above-mentioned logic of Chinese cultural privilege in the world. As Yi-Jie (1988) characterizes this phenomenon, historically Buddhism was one of the three major importations in China with western culture and Marxism in the future (p. 415). However, the ability of China to influence its neighbors is visible in the case of this cultural importation as the popularity of Buddhism in the whole South and Eastern part of Asia is deeply connected with its importance in China itself. In the context of borrowing, in Chinese case Indian Buddhism tended to seek for equivalents in local views on fatality, non-being, morality, purity, techniques of trances and thaumaturgy (Gernet, p. 215). In general, Buddhist influence on Chinese political perception is visible in deepening of concentration on the internal development and reliance on moral authorities. The following period of imperial rule in China after Han dynasty lasted for more than a millennium before it was changed. Even though the peculiarities of ruling style for numerous dynasties were different, the traditional ethics formed in ancient times played a significant role for all of them. In this context, the role of widely famous the Great Wall of China is illustrative. Even though Qin Shi Huang Di started its construction in order to protect just unified country from external threats, most of the further dynasties not only continued this building (Zimmermann 1997) but also worked on separating the country from outside world. The extent of this process is impressive as the Great Wall is the only object visible on Earth from space. Nevertheless, social and ecological effects of it resulted in deeply rooted artificial divisions that became the reality for Chinese inhabitants (Carlisle, p. 58). In other words, such a traditional worldview accepted and developed for centuries in China reduced its ability to exercise flexible politics in the coming centuries of dynamic changes in the global context. Therefore, the appearance of Opium Wars as symbolic clash between Chinese and European civilizations took place at the end of nineteenth century. In fact, it was also supplemented by the struggle with Japan. Consequently, the defeat of China in these wars meant above all the defeat of imperialistic rule in this country. In fact, it led to the huge disintegration within the society that pushed it to search for the new type of rule (Gernet, 1996, p. 608). At the beginning, the 1898 Reform Movement appeared as the representation of public opinion and its political demands (Fairbank and Feuerwerker, 1986, p. 59). As the result previous economic growth, involvement of China in the world trade and upper social organization, Chinese Revolution appeared in 1911 and demolished the previous political and social system. In fact, the historical period between 1911 and 1949 demonstrates ”very little order or continuity” (Whyte, 2003, p. 3). This restless time in Chinese history is deeply connected with the name of Sun Yat-sen. For instance, in 1919 there was a specific event when young Chinese people impressed by Western views publicly attacked Confucian morality by blaming it in China’s defeats and stagnation (Whyte, 2003, p. 9). Finally, Nationalist party experienced the bitter times of struggle for power after the death of Sun Yat-sen in March 1925 and resulted in breaking in two parts.; in this context, ‘Centrists’ with Chiang Kai-shek and Left-Kuomintang defined all the further political development of China (Fairbank and Feuerwerker, 1986, p. 117). For the first time, ‘Centrists’ won the political battle, but this attempt was not successful enough. Even though the Nationalist Party won in 1927 and Chiang Kai-shek united the country, the ruling style of him was not progressive enough and failed in the period of several years. For instance, his reformation of family customs simply promoted order and traditional morality (Whyte, 2003, p. 10). For instance, Nationalists decided to eliminate youth from politics. As they explained it, “to permit these young boys and girls, not yet [having] attained maturity, and without sufficient knowledge and experience, to participate freely in the affairs of the nation is not only sacrifice the life of our race in the future, but also to allow them to treat the entire nation and human society as playthings” (Fairbank and Feuerbank, 1986, p. 122). In fact, such an argumentation sounds in the best traditions of Confucian times; therefore, in the cultural sphere this type of government can defined rather regressive than innovational. Moreover, the type of government was corrupt and demonstrated its inability to solve basic national tasks (Meisner, 1999, p. 5). In addition, the sense of moral consensus within the society in the conditions of regional militarists attacks was not yet re-established (Fairbank and Feuerwerker, 1986, p. 116). One of the greatest achievements of Communist rule is clearly visible in economy. As Gifford (2007) noticed, “in the West, there were more than a hundred years for the dust of the Industrial Revolution to settle before the Technological Revolution came along. In China, the two revolutions are happening simultaneously” (p. xix). Precisely, the level of change is tremendous. In 1952, China’s industrial base was even smaller than Belgium’s; but now, global community consider China as the world’s second largest industrial producer (Meisner, 1999, p. 7). In addition to global level of this success, such a development is revolutionary for the whole environment established by the previous years in Chinese history. In this context, the way of thinking that had been serving for years as the background of bringing-up in China prevented capitalist framework of enterprise independence and risk-taking to appear. In particular, Confucian logic created an economical basis where agriculture played the central role and farmers were more privileged than artisans and merchants (Wakeman, 2009, p. 44). However, the above-mentioned achievement cannot be simply connected with market reform form Deng Xiaoping in 1979; actually, it began in Mao era from 1949 (Meisner, 1999, p. 7). Moreover, in the dimensions of national unification, family and morality such a brand-new period in Chinese history brought much more effective reformations than all the previous periods in general. Unlike Nationalist Party, Communists proclaimed most of the traditional family values as backward and saw the development of family morality in socialist model created in Soviet Union (Whyte, 2003, p. 10). Also, Communist Party found the instruments to deal with landlords and foreign rule on its territory, which allowed it to establish state-sponsored industrialization and social integration within the national borders (Meisner, 1999, p. 6). To put it clear, Communist period in Chinese history not only managed to bring back in a short period the reasons for imperialistic feeling of dignity and power of this country but also made it more evident for the whole world around this state. In fact, on issue of democracy there is a clear attitude in contemporary China that springs from its historical background. It is widely known that communist regimes lack democratic traits in contemporary political world. In addition, certain problems in the sphere of human rights are caused by huge loses in social, human, and environmental spheres during the industrialization leap (Meisner, 1999, p. 9). As Chinese people themselves define it, “there have always been changes in government, but it’s just the history of one emperor being replaced by another. The system never changes, just the people at the top” (Gifford, 2007, p. xxi). The reason for such a blame is deeply rooted in constant failure of political transformations within the country. In case of Mao times, it is evident that no socialist system appeared, as internal producers simply could not control both the conditions and the results of their activity (Meisner, 1999, p. 9). When Deng Xiaoping promised his “Socialist Democracy”, he also failed but had already done it in both cases. In fact, China rather turned to capitalism and allowed Tiananmen disaster to happen and be accepted and almost forgotten. However, in certain spheres of political life Communist rule was good for China. In fact, for the first time in the last centuries of Chinese history, it lives in peace for more than fifty years (since 1949). In this context, political stability guaranteed by modern Chinese Communist Party created an opportunity to gain wealth and prosperity (Gifford, 2007, p. 15).At the same time, Chinese ordinary people nowadays experience the ability to use the broader range of choices they ever did before (Gifford, 2007, p. 18). Previously, Confucian ethics prevented the establishment of democracy in this country. As Chun (2009) determines it, “the despotism of the emperor stood opposite to the liberalism that evolved from the Chinese patriarchal system, seriously impeding the progress of the Chinese nation” (p. 28). By having clearly paternalistic nature, it defended the perfect virtue of “human-heartedness” (Chun, 2009, p. 25). In fact, this important concept is not only corresponding with contemporary concept of human rights pre-eminence in international relations but also is more convincing as it is supplement by the strong moral ideals supported by the society from the ancient times. Precisely, it established the necessity not only to respect the freedoms and rights of the other people (rational component) but also to love those who surround you meaning a more powerful emotional purpose of the consideration in the society. Thus, the very ability to convince Chinese people that they are wrong in their beliefs is more complicated than in European case as rational arguments are weak in front of the mythological thinking. Only strong social shocks and transformations like revolutions in the circumstances of economic stagnation could overcome such an ethics. In this context, at the times of Confucian rule, China believed that it could overcome European military with the belief in peace and harmony; however, events of 1911 Revolution changed the internal situation in this country (Wakeman, 2009, p. 46). The events on Tiananmen Square had actually supplemented the political situation within China by one more important social factor. As Gifford (2007) states it, “the Communist Party leaders made an unwritten, unspoken deal with the people of China: stay out of politics, and you can do anything you want” (p. 15). In this context, the discussion whether or not Marxist theory as created in Europe theoretical framework able to fit Chinese character in the long-term perspective appears. In the opinion of Yi-Jie (1988), the fact that Marxism unites man and heaven, thought and action, and subject and object in its core is the most important factor that can support its existence in Chinese spiritual environment (as it happened with Buddhism lots of centuries ago) (p. 422). In other words, the reasons that caused failure or weakness of communism in other countries are not relevant in the case of China. In the given situation, Marxist concepts fit the traditional worldview of Chinese people, which guarantees its necessity and vitality. In this context, even an issue of closed Marxist system in contemporary globalized world (Yi-Jie, 1998, p. 423) is corresponding with previous China’s problem on international stage with the appearance of Opium Wars and battles with Japan. Therefore, the very choice of Marxist theory as the state Chinese doctrine guarantees its vitality in the given social fabric, task of economic prosperity, and political indifference. In order to sum up, Chinese political history is one of the most unusual on the world perspective. By having starting millennia ago, it succeeded in establishing several principles that served as a powerful social base that rulers of this country could rely on for the centuries. In this context, cosmopolitanism created several millennia ago is still visible even in the contemporary China’s behavior on international stage. In fact, the concept of ‘all under heaven’ is corresponding with current pragmatism and patience. In addition, Confucian paternalistic moral system was a sustainable background of imperialism. Actually, even these days it can compete with human rights concept as it not only provides the same dual respect between people but also has an emotional roots in family relations. Finally, the example of Buddhism importation shows the ability of Chinese philosophical worldview to incorporate foreign concepts and re-think it in its own terms. In this context, the renaissance of China after numerous defeats from West and Japan, unique development of nationalist revolution, and the most successful in economic terms establishment of Marxist system are illustrative enough. Precisely, nationalist revolution showed the defeat of democratic institutions in Chinese environment. In the case of this country, the freedom of local landlords and the impossibility of the leaders of Nationalist Party to change only the necessary elements in traditional thinking almost destroyed already weak country. In contrast, communist development in China did not end with the economic crisis as in Soviet Union. In the matter of years, socialist morality and autocratic style of providing national unity turned China into economically prosperous actor on the global stage. In addition, it is an extraordinary example of successful Industrial and Technological revolutions conducted at the same time. All this together, show the vivid role of traditional attitudes and ideas in the existence of contemporary China. Therefore, such an ability of Chinese people to be themselves in any critical situation can be taken as the background of its success in turning to the real superpower in contemporary international system. Hence, even though China experience some threats and problems, in the strategic positioning it has chosen the most appropriate model of the development. References: Carlisle, L. (n.d.). Walls and their Impacts in a Worldwide Historical Context. 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(2003). China’s Revolutions and Intergenerational Relations. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies in the University of Michigan. Yi-Jie, Tang (1988). The Relationships between Traditional and Imported Thought and Culture in China: From the Standpoint of the Importation of Buddhism. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 15, 415-424. Zimmermann, D. (1997). The Great Wall of China. ICE Case Studies. Retrieved from http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/wall.htm Read More