Post-Olympic Powershift: The Return of the Middle Kingdom in a Post-American World

SHANGHAI -- When scholars from across China gathered here this week in the afterglow of the Olympics to assess their country's role in the world, their pride shone as bright as the waxing Mid-Autumn Festival moon. More than a patriotic triumph, the "best games ever" were seen as a knockout blow against a West on the wane after 500 years.

To those charged with thinking professionally about China's future, the Beijing Olympics marked the advent of a new era in which the Middle Kingdom would emerge again out of the mists of history -- not as a hegemonic superpower, but as the superior civilization in a post-American world.

Whether one agrees with this view or not, it is unquestionably the driving spirit behind the powershift in the world order today and bears a close hearing in the West.

Among the political heavyweights at the third annual World Forum on China Studies, convened in a monumental Stalin-era exhibition hall now dwarfed by a towering sea of neon-rimmed, Godzilla-scale skyscrapers, was Zheng Bijian. He is the former vice-chair of the Central Party School, confidant of the current Communist Party leadership and author of China's "peaceful rise" doctrine.

Zheng argued that China's dream of escaping Western subjugation since the Opium War (1840-42) had finally been realized in the "new awakening" of the last 30 years of "reform and opening up." Now awakened, the whole nation was engaged in sorting through "a hundred schools of thought" about the way ahead in a globalized economy.

Indicative of the civilizational time frame in which the Chinese see themselves, Zheng compared this historical moment to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.).

In the view of this party ideologist, an awakened China had proven the superiority of its way over the grand Western theories of "a clash of civilizations" and triumph of the West at "the end of history" through solving the "riddle of the century" by abruptly lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty and underdevelopment.

This success had proven, beyond any empirical doubt, the neo-Confucian wisdom of Deng Xiaoping to "seek truth from facts" and, step by step, like feeling one's way across a shallow river, "constructing socialism" in tune with local characteristics and rising in peaceful development. This offers the world a third way between the models of conflict or domination that emanate from the Western mind.

The reawakened Middle Kingdom, according to Zheng, "would not be puffed up with self-importance, divorcing itself from economic globalization and modernizing with the door closed." Nor would the new China "belittle itself" with dependence on the West but "act independently with the initiative in our own hands."

This new China, Zheng argued, would resist the path of the rise of the Western powers "with their colonialist plundering of the world's resources in the process of industrialization" as well as the ill-fated paths of the "military nations like Germany and Japan who waged wars to reshape the world."

The new China would also avoid seeking superpower hegemony like the former Soviet Union "under the cover of the so-called world revolution." Instead, based on its remarkable success, the new China would seek an "open, non-exclusive and harmonious" relationship with all others to "mutually open up the route to world development."

Lest the resurgent Confucian sentiments behind this worldview might be lost on the rest of the world, other prominent thinkers underlined the civilizational character of China's project. Zhang Xianglong of Beijing University's philosophy department highlighted the "non-universalist" nature of Confucianism and thus the emphasis on truth being grounded in particular, concrete circumstances instead of universally applicable standards -- whether the Western concept of universal human rights and democracy or the Marxist idea of universal laws of development. Because of its non-universalism, Confucian civilization seeks "pragmatic discourse" with others following their own path rather than seeking to lord it over them.

It is easy to see in this brief summary of the Confucian worldview the basis of all the slogans repeated ad nauseam by China's leaders today -- "seek truth from facts," "socialism with Chinese characteristics," "peaceful rise" and "harmonious society."

Reinforcing Zheng's claim of China having found a harmonious third way, Zhang argues that a "clash of civilizations" or the "end of history" can "only occur when universalist cultures encounter each other or prevail over each other. When two non-universalist cultures meet, there may well be friction; but total warfare that aims at mutual annihilation is generally avoided. When, however, two universalist cultures meet, even though they may compromise and negotiate to ensure their temporary safety, in the long run they are in principle engaged in a to-the-death struggle."

Indeed, Zhang notes, Buddhism and Taoism coexisted for millennia in China. Other scholars even posited that Confucian virtues constitute China's "soft power."

Tan Chung, who for many years was the dean of the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, views the Beijing Olympics not just as the coming-out party for the new China, but for the reappearance of the Confucian sensibility in world affairs.

"The magnificent success of the Beijing Olympics," he says, "objectively marks the transition of the world from the 'geopolitical paradigm' to the 'geo-civilizational paradigm' in which China takes the lead."

In Tan's view, China, as has been the case historically, is not interested in maximizing power through the conquest of territory like a superpower, but in the integration of civilizations through harmonious co-existence.

Tan is particularly struck by the 5,000 years of harmonious coexistence between India and China -- marred only by the 20 years between 1958 and 1978 when both civilizations were infected with Western nationalist notions -- as well as by the fusion of cultures in Central Asia known as "Serinda" or "Indochina" in Southeast Asia.

"In the Western hemisphere," as Tan labels it, "all the brilliant ancient civilizations like Babylonia, Egypt, Greece and Rome have become ruins without being handed down. This was because there was no 'geocivilizational paradigm' among them. The 'geopolitical paradigm' pushed them to scramble for territory and indulge in mutual destruction. The basic difference between Eastern and Western hemispheres lies here."

For Tan, the success of the Olympics will allow China to "bid farewell to the sorrowful feelings of history, discard the pursuit of power and return to its civilizational vocation of advocating a culture of harmony."

He cites the famous adage of Confucius in the Analects that the "Qi" state -- which pursues power -- is to transform into the "Lu" state -- which seeks higher cultural development -- and ultimately transform into the "Tao," or truth-prevailing state. (On the mundane level, Tan already sees that, filled with pride and esteem in the Olympic aura, Chinese are smoking and spitting less.)

Of course, no one need be naive about what the influence of a neo-Confucian China means for Western values in the coming century. For example, Zhang Wei-Wei, famous as one of Deng Xiaoping's favorite interpreters, confidently predicts that as power shifts east, the tired old debate in world affairs about "democracy vs. autocracy" that so irritates the Chinese authorities will, following the highly successful Chinese experience, be replaced by a more pragmatic and less conflictive discourse about "good governance vs. bad governance."

And it goes without saying that the exercise of Confucian authority is not beyond the brutal enforcement of internal harmony against rebellious children, as everyone remembers from Tiananmen Square in 1989.

But it would be equally foolish for the West, whether out of ignorance or cynicism, to dismiss the profound civilizational impulse behind China's rehabilitated self-image. For anyone who cares to look, it is written all over the proud face of post-Olympic China.

Comments

[vinny]

good post... mostly about the successful use of rhetoric china's fascist leaders use to maintenance the social classes... one thing that i've noticed about the upper class chinese students who come to america for their education is, that while they are super nice and quite apolitical, they are seldom creative in their thinking..­. "truth from facts" is a philosophy that would hardly lead to innovation when the state is the one telling you what the facts are... foregoing Republicans dismantling our public education and research institutions, the United States will continue to be a source of ingeniuty and innovation as long as we are willing to face the realities of the world and construct a common vision together..­. Obama's Energy Independence in 10 Years is a good example of vision that could push us ahead in the global market place...

[DAE]

How lacking in insight. You have no ability to see the nose in front of your face. Social classes, yes the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people know about the social inequalities generated by breakneck economic development and they are addressing those issues. As if we don't have social classes? The GINI index a measure of economic inequality is greater in the US than China. I'm sure you're one of those who decried the police response to protests (by foreigners) in Beijing during the Olympics. Hopefully you were as indignant about the use of police power in Denver and St. Paul. I'm sure you support Tibet independence but never give a thought about the captive nations Aztlan , Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Lakotah right here in the US. I know many more Chinese students than you as I speak Chinese and have been very active in hosting Chinese students abroad for over 30 years. You comments about them betray a profound ignorance. They are prejudiced and have no basis in reality.

[RobHunt]

"you never give a thought about the captive nations Aztlan , Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Lakotah"

What a riot! Hawaiins voted in OVERWHELMING numbers to join the union, over 90%. Even if every single voter who voted against was a NATIVE Hawaiian, a majority of native voters was for it.

Peurto Rico is even better. Every few years they get a vote; independence, statehood, or staus quo as protectorate. Guess how they vote every single time. The next time their vote should be limited to just the first two options.

The Mexican Cession was signed by both parties to put an end to a war. Should such treaties carry no weight today? Perhaps you think we here in the US should still be subjects of the British Crown but I don't.

As for the Lakota Sioux, they too were conquered by us and the assertion they still exist as a separate "nation" is sheer lunacy. All they really want now is to have exclusive gaming rights anyway. I say screw 'em.

[daphnl]

I will have to agree with you. It's sometimes frustrating to have discussions and debates (especially political) with graduate Chinese students in the US. An article that conveys my feelings precisely is this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/education/29student.html

[Antifascist-08]

Well, if nothing else we should be nice to China because they own a lot of our debt.

Ooops, how did that happen?

[yappnmutt]

well given the obvious future fir the USA with regard to china the USA must bomb china now not later.

[Gathled]

Let's not forget about the thousands of missiles pointed at Taiwan.

[OrganOfThought]

.... or the thousands of missiles we have pointed at Cuba

[daphnl]

The US is pointing thousands of missiles at Cuba now?

Gathled's note about missiles pointed at Taiwan is hard evidence that China is capable of increasing aggression despite its claims to "peaceful rise". The facts speak for themselves.

In 1998, 150 Chinese PLA ballistic missiles were aimed at Taiwan
In 2002, 300 Chinese PLA ballistic missiles were aimed at Taiwan
In 2005, 730 Chinese PLA ballistic missiles were aimed at Taiwan
In 2007, 900 Chinese PLA ballistic missiles were aimed at Taiwan
In 2008, 1400 Chinese PLA ballistic missiles are aimed at Taiwan

[larry278]

This new ethic &/or philosophy is suited to China; it is confusing, laden with paradox, contradictions & isn't understandable by anyone. One will see many volumes of sophistry on the new China, its philosophy. ethics, aims, etc which use many words but say nothing. No one will understand any of it. It will render Chinese thought into swill which repels all & will be ignored as it rots & fouls the air down wind. In time it will evaporate into a dried scum which even flies will ignore. In other words, it will resemble Americanism as practiced in the 1st Cold war from 1945-90.

[RasAlula]

Wow, thank you for that very interesting article. Very unique prespective and much more interesting than the usual doom and gloom that "China is taking over the world!"

[LiberalBuzz]

IF you think, and from your post I would come to that conclusion easily, then a repressive government that has yearly executions in the thousands, imprisons people on a whim, pretends there is no ecological disaster in the making in their entire country, a place where rives are do polluted people die from falling in them, where the air is so bad that the only way to have the olympics was to shut down traffic, a place where throwing people out of their homes so they can construct facades to give a great impression, and on and on, mean they have a superior civilization?

And saying they have lifted millions out of poverty by putting Americans and other countries people out of work and this country allows NO unions, NO healthcare for workers, NO vacations, NO time off,IF you get sick you are fired, IF you complain you are fired and possibly imprisoned.

AND this country allows no free press.

NO questioning their government.

AND YOU THINK THIS IS A SUPERIOR CIVILIZATION?

WHAT are you smoking?

[Dynamohum]

In some ways it may not be superior, but dwarves the nation closest to it in human population. Unleashing their form of capitalism coupled with the population is going to possibly bring the rest of the world to halt. Given the consumption rate is getting extremely voracious and the expansion rate within their borders of everything modern, they are becoming a behemoth version of all the positive and negative consequences of capitalism.

[wonderingstar]

LiberalBuzz you wrote:

"this country allows NO unions, NO healthcare for workers, NO vacations, NO time off,IF you get sick you are fired, IF you complain you are fired and possibly imprisoned­."

You clearly do not stay current on what is actually going on in China, but just repeating a lot of neo-con misinformation.

On unions, China is actually pressuring big companies to allow unions to form, and even Walmart has formed its first union.

See "China Tells Businesses to Unionize"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/business/worldbusiness/12yuan.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This has been going on for years. See this 2006 article about Walmart.
http://wakeupwalmart.com/news/20060513-wsj.html

The information is out there available at the click of a search on Google.

Please learn more about this subject and stop spreading misinformation.

This is what it means to "Seek truth from facts".

******************
Of course, one can debate the function and effectiveness of a Chinese union in improvement of working conditions and salaries. But the fact that the government has taken the side of the workers on this (after 20 years of bending over backwards to provide tax incentives for multinationals to establish export industries and not doing much to support workers' rights during that period as the former cradle-to-grave security of the state-owned enterprises were gradually reduced and eliminated for many workers) offers hope of improvements to come.

[JonG345]

I Obama wants us to even think something, they have to put it in an ad.

PUT IT IN AN AD!!!!!

[jotunloki]

This didn't come from Obama

[fitzinyourface]

Yea,

Why don't you go ask the people of Tibet how that Confucian authority is working for them.

China is just the latest pretender for the title. Soon enough they will get back in line behind all the others: England, France, Germany, Russia and Japan.

The USA is still the heavy weight champ. Sorry, I know how much that troubles you all.

[DAE]

Tell it to the Iraqis.

[OrganOfThought]

very good

All the bad things that China has done and continues to do have been out performed by us by several orders of magnitude. We (general ignorant public) got tired of feeling guilty about our war crimes and we needed an outlet to vent. China was convenient in many ways (politically and economically).

[tc399]

The Bush legacy will be forever reported as the singlehanded destruction of Western civilization.

[princelyfrank]

Great post! China does not have to be our enemy. In fact, we better hope that they are not our enemy, because if that is the case, they will crush us. There's no percentage in fighting an opponent who will mop the floor with you.

[Yermammy]

I WAS going to comment, but you pretty much said it all. Good comment. Here Here!

[Osprey3]

I too welcome friendly relations with China (and other Asian nations). But China will not be crushing the U.S anytime soon, at least not militarily­...somethi­ng about our huge nuclear arsenal!

[DAE]

China does not wish to crush us. You are projecting.

[jotunloki]

China cannot even feed itself, it has almost no natural resources. As global warming gets worse and countries start keeping most of their food for themselves, China will collapse, but probably not without a lot of bloodshed.

[GhiaccioPronto]

no 'geocivilizational paradigm' in the west? Nothing handed down from the ancients?hmm

well. phonetic writing, logic-->scientific method, spring to mind, off hand, but these are mere trifles.

We are doomed aren't we. Well resistance is futile, I love dogma, comes especially handy when you want to explain why you are eating someone else's lunch.

[pfc1369]

Not bad, Pronto.

As an old China hand, and one with not the slightest animosity toward that hoary, complex and fascinating civilization, I'm certain the Chinese are enjoying that lunch as only the Chinese can!

[GhiaccioPronto]

Hey, I'm glad somebody is looking forward to something. I've never seen anything like the pride and joy, anywhere, maybe if I'd been in Moscow when Gagarin landed. Compare that to, oh say this, very very sad story, by a truly tragic (Like in Greek) woman, which I re-read yesterday after 7 years

http://italian.about.com/library/fallaci/blfallaci01.htm

[FebM]

The Olympic games were the greatest show of power in recent history, its the new age the battle of the minds but it left me cold knowing all this is from western inventions, yet we are still arguing about creationism, or if global warming is man made. We are ready to go with mediocrity, and anti-intel­lectualism against our own. Be afraid, our empire is imploding faster than we thought.

[DAE]

Western inventions? Boy are you ignorant. Western civilization was given a kick start by Chinese innovation and technology that was light years ahead of Europe until the Industrial Revolution. If it wasn't for the introduction of the printing press, paper, gunpowder and fire arms, rocketry, ocean faring navigation techniques and a slew of other inventions from China in the 15th and 16th centuries you'd still be living in a hovel eating cabbage in central Europe.

[PhantomAviator]

..

It's the application that's important. The Chinese might have done all that stuff, but they were more interested in killing that exploring.

Too concise?
.

[lynini]

Couldn't agree more with your ..."We are ready to go with mediocrity, and anti-intel­lectualism against our own. Be afraid, our empire is imploding faster than we thought.".­..

The war between Obama and Palin is the greatest and the scarest example. This really shouldn't be happening in the greatest nation in the world. Perhaps, after all, history is indeed repeating itsself; this time around, America is starting the Middle-Kingdom-like decline, the way exactly what happend with China a few centuries ago - closed, single-minded, arrogant, and in denial....

Think again.

[Kassandra]

I meant China...I always have trouble typing that word! ):-[

[Kassandra]

Well, since Chain has been around for what? about 4000-5000 years.....­I'd think that is not altogether a surprise. They have a spiritual tradition that, like India has lasted throughout the millennia. Not a "religious" tradition; a SPIRITUAL one, which revers all life and has great emphasis on philosophy.

America is a fetus compared to them. We must change ourselves if we ever expect to survive. Perhaps the difficulties facing us now will teach us a bit of humility and that $$$ and having things is not the ultimate goal in life. Maybe we'll even relearn the value of working/helping each other together in our communities

[Pyecraft]

'America .........w­e must change ourselves.­..teach us a bit of humility.'

How true. And there would have been no more apt a place to have begun this process than in front of these past Olympics' global audience. Sadly, of course, we only saw more of the same old empty hubris.

In the 110 metre hurdle final, your US athletes were well beaten into a silver and bronze medal by a Cuban, yet on completion of the race they both immediately ran over to hog the world's cameras, shoving into our faces yet again, that tiresome old one-fingered slogan, shouting: 'We're number one baby!'.

This self-denial then, is plainly how the rest of the world is coming to view today's America - not that America cares, or has ever cared about such opinion, although soon enough, she just might need to, following her helplessly headlong plunge into a terminal theocracy, and its attending dark-age philosophy.

Still, the US should not look to China, the new number one, for guidance. There are perfectly fine examples of real democracy scattered around the world, many of which America herself has helped sustain - whose inhabitants would be well satisfied with a silver/bronze finish.

Why can't Americans?