the confluence of power, fear and the core throughout modern chinese history

8/10/2019 The Confluence of Power, Fear and the Core Throughout Modern Chinese History

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The Confluence of Power, Fear and the Core Throughout Modern Chinese History: A

Need for Dialogue and Compromise in the Peoples !epu"lic of China

#rian $leason

Fear and paranoia ha%e played a &ey role in shaping the mindset, and therefore thepolicies, of numerous Chinese leaders throughout history' The encroachment of foreign

powers and the acceptance of foreign ideas often threatened Chinese rulers grip on

power, so although these leaders emphasi(ed the need to preser%e the )core* +ti, theyfailed to clearly and con%incingly define it in a way that would unite the Chinese people

around them' -n reality, their ultimate goal was to maintain power in the face of

increasingly popular foreign ideas and technology that could not only challenge the

Chinese )methods* +yong and the Chinese power structure, "ut also the Chinese coreitself' Howe%er, due to foreign maneu%ering to gain power in China, Chinese leaders

ha%e "een a"le to associate the foreign democratic concepts with foreign meddling, and

thus dismiss them collecti%ely as su"%ersion' .%er since /ei 0uan first "roached the

merits of American democracy, Chinese intellectuals ha%e gradually contemplated a%ariety of foreign political methods in an effort to restore Chinas greatness, "ut Chinese

rulers ha%e at "est implemented a filtered %ersion of these methods in a way that wouldensure their power remained intact' These foreign political concepts continued to "e

e1plored "y influential Chinese thin&ers li&e Feng $uifen, 2iang 3ichao, 4un 0atsen and

others throughout the years, and ha%e e%en "een demanded in open protests'

At a pi%otal moment in Chinese history, citi(ens demands for the esta"lishment of these

democratic and power5chec&ing methods were ultimately crushed "y Deng 6iaopings

decision to use military force to suppress the 7898 Tiananmen 4uare protests' Dengsdecision, as well as similar decisions to uell the true spirit of democratic and power5

chec&ing reforms since the time of /ei 0uan, was in part a selfish decision made in orderto maintain power, "ut was partly made due to fear and paranoia of foreign conspiring tosu"%ert power in China' 0et this fear and paranoia was not completely unfounded;

colonial legacies and conspiratorial power gra"s in China and across the glo"e ha%e

allowed the Chinese Communist Party leadership to utili(e fear to legitimi(e their rule asthe protectors of a %aguely defined Chinese )core* from insidious foreign encroachment'

Foreign countries, especially those see&ing a democratic China, must respect Chinas

so%ereignty and allow homegrown democratic roots to grow through communication so

that frustration and fear do not persist' A crucial first step in addressing this fear is toinstitutionali(e a genuine dialogue "etween the Chinese people and the leadership, so that

each side can %oice their concerns and frustrations' The Chinese leadership has

historically failed to engage in a genuine dialogue with the people, resulting in anunnecessary "uildup of tensions that repeatedly "oils o%er into %iolence and unrest'

Through genuine dialogue, engagement and compromise, the Chinese people and

leadership must wor& together to mutually esta"lish the )core,* confirming to the world


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Historical Conte1t

#orn in 78=>, Deng 6iaopings ideological foundations and leadership decisions must "eunderstood within the conte1t of Chinas tur"ulent rollercoaster ride through the

introduction to democratic concepts, the dynastic transition to the first repu"lic,

escalating foreign encroachment, ci%il war, re%olution, mass star%ation, and e%entually,reform' Dating "ac& to the late 3ing period, Chinese intellectuals li&e /ei 0uan and Feng

$uifen "egan to e1plore the merits of ?4 democracy and chec&s on political power' -n

hisIllustrated Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries, /ei 0uan praises ?4 democracy"ecause it is pu"lic, which represents fairness and the common good' -t also adheres

closely to the will of the people, since go%ernment policy and the selection of high

officials all deri%es from the people "elow' /ei also tal&s a"out the need for the

leadership to engage the people, stating: )!eading the poem @#rilliant Are the Flowers,one e1claims with a sigh, @How well the author of this poem understood the go%ernance

of the empire' The first stan(a has @e%erywhere as&ing for counsel, the second has

@e%erywhere as&ing for instructions*7

2i&e /ei 0uan, Feng $uifen also praised ?4 democracy, noting:

Barious "ar"arians "oo&s show that, in America, the president rules the nation and that political

power is transmitted not to +the presidents son "ut to the wisePeople reportedly write down the

name of their fa%orite leaders and "allots and throw them into the "allot "o1, and the one who

wins the most "allots rises to presidency' The state go%ernors are elected through the same

procedure' There"y, the nation "ecomes wealthy and powerful, gradually surpassing in nationalstrength e%en !ussia, .ngland and France'

Democratic %alues garnered praise "ecause they increase pu"lic participation in myriadaspects of society' This &ind of communication and interaction is conspicuously a"sent

throughout much of Chinas history, which causes recurring pro"lems of frustration and

disconnection "etween the people and the leadership' Howe%er, despite their praise fordemocracy, neither /ei 0uan nor Feng $uifen ad%ocated the wholesale importation of

American democracy' ne supposed reason for their reluctance to ad%ocate a wholesale

import is that they didnt want to upset the Chinese )core,* which seems to ha%e always"een %iewed as sacrosanct within Chinese society, yet was ne%er clearly defined'E/hat

element of the )core* would ha%e "een upset or %iolated "y American5style democracy,

and why would that ha%e "een pro"lematic for Chinese society

-t is important to note that /ei 0uan and Feng $uifen were each connected to the

Chinese power structure and elements of the ruling esta"lishment' /ei 0uan o"tained the

pro%incial Guren in the -mperial e1aminations, wor&ed for the go%ernment and alwaysremained loyal to the 3ing leadership' Feng $uifen was a wealthy mem"er of the 4u(hou

gentry class who passed the ci%il ser%ice e1am and would ha%e met the emperor had his

7/illiam Theodore De, #ary, Sources of Chinese Tradition,+New 0or&: Colum"ia ?ni%ersity Press, 78=,

798'TheIllustrated Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries

E-f the core was defined, then we need a clear definition' The core seems to "e somehow lin&ed with

Confucian %alues, "ut e%en these were open for de"ate and reform' Consider the )tradition shattering

aspects of the New Policies* implemented "y .mpress Dowager Ci1i'


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father not passed away' /ei and Feng "oth ad%ocated far5reaching reforms that in%ol%ed

adopting western methods, which in turn impacted the diplomatic, fiscal, educational, and

military policies in China' 0et neither proposed anything that would ha%e undermined the3ing leadership in such a manner that the leaderships power could ha%e "een

Geopardi(ed' Ad%ocating a wholesale importation of American5style democracy, howe%er,

would ha%e certainly "een %iewed with suspicion "y the 3ing leadership, and perhapswould ha%e "een considered an outright attempt at su"%ersion' Thus, these men were

ahead of their time in terms of the reforms that they ad%ocated, "ut they were

simultaneously wal&ing a tightrope' They each praised elements of American democracy,"ut they &new where to draw the line'

Another influential indi%idual who sought a greater %oice for the Chinese people was

Confucian scholar 2iang 3ichao, who participated in Chinas first student demonstrationin 798I after the -mperial go%ernment signed a )humiliating* peace treaty with Japan

following the 4ino5Japanese /ar'>This monumental occasion emphatically challenged

the traditional norms go%erning social hierarchy and political dissidence in China and

"ecame a crucial turning point in the nations political history:

)eight thousand young Chinese scholars, who had come to #eiGing to ta&e the national ci%il

ser%ice e1ams, signed a petition e1pressing their opposition to the treaty' They then formed a lineone5third of a mile long in front of Duchayuan, the Censorate of the 3ing go%ernment, in protest'

Their pu"lic demonstration proclaimed for the first time that Chinese citi(ens had the right, indeed

the o"ligation, to regulate those "y whom they were go%erned 2iang "elonged to the first

generation of scholars who, instead of going into %oluntary e1ile when their entreaties werere"uffed "y the -mperial go%ernment, dared to organi(e a constituency outside of the go%ernment

to apply political pressure'*I

-n direct contrast to the traditional Confucian philosophy of o"edience to authority and in

defiance of e1isting standards that discouraged pu"lic political dissent, the "old

Confucian scholar determined that demanding accounta"ility from the leadership was ofthe greatest importance' -ne%ita"ly, the political leaders within the 3ing dynasty re"uffed

the scholars proclamations and responded "y proscri"ing the demonstration instead of

engaging the protesters, facilitating dialogue and attempting to attain a greater

understanding of their citi(enry as well as the o%erall political realities of the time' 0etdespite the protesters apparent failure to esta"lish regulatory o%ersight of the

go%ernment, it is imperati%e that the demonstration itself "e understood in the proper

historical conte1t; as China was in gra%e danger of "ecoming su"Gugated and potentiallydismem"ered "y more ad%anced imperial powers to the east and west, a new generation

of Chinese intellectuals li&e 2iang 3ichao were desperately searching for an

understanding of why the once great nation had fallen "ehind and how it could regain

prominence on the world stage' ?ltimately, )2iang came to "elie%e that the source of/estern wealth and power lay in democracy' He held that the energy generated "y

popular participation in the political process was what dro%e any dynamic society

forward'*

>r%ille 4chell,Discos and Democracy: China in the Throes of Reform' +New 0or&: Pantheon #oo&s,

7899'I-"id

-"id


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#y the turn of the =thcentury, the specific calls for reform were much more threatening

to elements of the ruling esta"lishment' -ronically, it was actually a mem"er of the rulingesta"lishment, the young $uang1u .mperor, who tried to promote the sweeping changes

of the Hundred Days !eform' -n the eyes of .mpress Dowager Ci1i and other

conser%ati%e mem"ers of the court, these reforms challenged core elements of Chinastraditional Confucian society, suggested a power su"%erting constitutional monarchy to

replace the a"solute monarchy, and potentially ga%e foreign countries a way to

manipulate the situation and gain power' Thus, .mpress Dowager had many of the peoplewho tried to introduce the reforms imprisoned and e1ecuted' Howe%er, in a further twist

of irony, many of the reforms that the 7== Days !eform sought to esta"lish were actually

implemented "y .mpress Dowagers court %ia the Penitential .dict and the "asic !eform

.dict of 78=7, e%en though the people who initially tried to introduce many of those samereforms were imprisoned and e1ecuted' Dowagers !eform .dict attempted to frame this

in terms of maintaining the )core* while changing the methods, stating: )Certain

principles on morality are immuta"le, whereas methods of go%ernance ha%e always "een

su"Gect to alteration'*

K

Dowagers !eform .dict refers to the )immuta"le principles of morality* +the corewithout defining them' Moreo%er, the .mpress implemented some of the reforms +the

methods, "ut only certain reforms, and only in a way that would not su"%ert her power

or her allies on the court' Consider the )tradition shattering aspects* of educationalreform' #y 78=I, the 3ing court a"olished the ci%il ser%ice e1amination, which )had

ser%ed as the orthodo1 path to official ser%ice and social ad%ancement for o%er a

millennium'* The decree esta"lished /estern5curriculum schools, commandeered local

temples, "attled against )superstition* and relegated the classically educated scholar to a)stoc& character'* Those who may disagree "y positing that these were merely changes to

the )methods* are o"ligated to define the )core* that could not "e altered'

Dowager did allow some methods to change, as she opened up the yanlu +pathways of

words to )an e1tent they had ne%er "een "efore, as all 3ing su"Gects were in%ited to

su"mit recommendations for reform'* Howe%er, these recommendations were re%iewed"y the #ureau of $o%ernmental Affairs, which only implemented those that were

appro%ed' Apparently, the methods can change as long as those in power appro%e'

Moreo%er, Dowager and her court too& full ad%antage of the reforms, since the New

Policies represented )a decisi%e mo%e toward the steady construction of a more intrusi%eand powerful modern state,* which was )a dramatic and sudden re%ersal of the centuries

long processof go%ernment shrin&age relati%e to the si(e of the society and economy

the state claimed to o%ersee'* Dowager and her court were selecti%e a"out which reformswould "e implemented, and they ensured that these reforms would enhance the states

power'9This highlights a different form of power su"%ersion' -nstead of "eing challenged

"y reforms from within the Chinese political system, .mpress Dowager seems to ha%e"een fearful of foreign schemes to e1ploit the Hundred Day !eforms, since there appears

K/illiam !ow, China's Last Emire: The Great !in", )!e%olution,* Cam"ridge, MA: #el&nap of Har%ard

?ni%ersity Press, +==8, I>'9-"id


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to "e e%idence that foreign powers were actually conspiring to e1ploit these reforms'8-n

the late 78thcentury Lorea, the Japanese had tried to e1ploit the progressi%es and wea&en

the power of .mpress Myeongseong, whom they e%entually assassinated' Thus, the truespirit of the Hundred Days !eform may ha%e "een crushed "y Dowagers own self5

interest, "ut it may ha%e also "een partly ruined "y the conspiring Japanese, who aimed to

e1ploit the reformists for their own "enefit'

These same &inds of fears demonstrated "y .mpress Dowager would reemerge a"out

almost a century later when Deng 6iaoping rose to power' Although Deng was aneconomic reformer, he maintained a strong grip on political power, refusing to let anyone

from within Chinese society challenge his authority' For e1ample, he initially supported

the 78K9 Democracy /all Mo%ement, in which acti%ists were encouraged to see& truth

from facts' 0et when demonstrators challenged his authority and claimed that the 2eninistsystem turned leaders into dictators, Deng put an end to the mo%ement and had the

dissenters imprisoned'7=

Turmoil continued to rage throughout the first half of the twentieth century as theChinese simultaneously fought the Japanese in%aders and ci%il war of competing

ideologies' Mao e%entually introduced the Hundred Flowers Campaign in 78IK toencourage a %ariety of %iews and solutions to national policy issues, which was launched

under the slogan: )2etting a hundred flowers "lossom and a hundred schools of thought

contend is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishingsocialist culture in our land'*77This encouragement of contending thoughts to promote

progress is actually the goal of li"eral democratic principles as well, the maGor difference

"eing that in a li"eral democracy, these contentions and resulting ad%ancements can

actually occur' ?nder Maos rule, the deluge of pu"lic criticism that was supposedlyencouraged "y the campaign was immediately uelled and the campaign itself was

uic&ly a"andoned after only si1 wee&s' 4ome historians speculate that the campaign was

actually a deception intended to e1pose Maos political opponents' /hile this cannot "epro%en definiti%ely, the effects "ecame o"%ious when intellectuals and other dissidents

were purged or persecuted and o%erall rights were further suppressed within Chinese

society'7

Dengs !eign

Deng 6iaoping outmaneu%ered Maos appointed successor, Hua $oufeng, and too&

control of the CCP' -n order to more fully understand the period of )Dengs reign,* it is

84ee 4tearling 4eagra%e,Dra"on Lady: The Life and Le"end of the Last Emress of China# Timothy

!ichard,$orty%fi&e years in China, Ch' 7; and !ichards Federation Theory7=

/ei Jingsheng, )The Fifth Moderni(ation,* in The $ifth Modernization: Chinas (uman Ri"hts

Mo&ement, )*+%)**, ed' James 4eymour, +4tanford, CA: Human !ights Pu"lishing $roup, 789=, >K5

8'77

!oderic& MacFaruhar, The (undred $lo-ers, 2ondon: 78=, E'7

Perry 2in&, 2egacy of a Maoist -nGustice' .ashin"ton /ost' July 79, ==K,

http:OOwww'washingtonpost'comOwp5dynOcontentOarticleO==KO=KO7KOA!==K=K7K=7>9'html'


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also essential to e1amine how other &ey mem"ers of the CCP interacted with Deng and

with each other during the reform era' Deng, along with other reform5minded CCP

mem"ers li&e Qhao Qiyang and Hu 0ao"ang, faced many challenges, especially theresolution of conflicting %iews on economic reforms within the Party leadership and the

opening of China economically while alle%iating fears of foreign e1ploitation among

some conser%ati%e Party mem"ers' For e1ample, in his recorded memoirs, Qhao Qiyangrecalls that Deng proposed 4.Qs, "ut the powerful CCP elder Chen 0un )had always

o"Gected to the idea'* Thus, Chen restricted the num"er of 4.Qs and prohi"ited 4.Qs in

4hanghai and QheiGang Pro%ince "ecause the region was )famous for its concentration ofopportunists who would, with their consummate s&ills, emerge from their cages if gi%en

the slightest chance'* Deng 2iun also attempted to pro%e that the 4.Qs would

degenerate into )foreign concession (ones'*7ENote the clear references to painful

historical memories of Chinas humiliation of foreign concession (ones, including the%itally important French concession (one in 4hanghai'

Chen was also critical of Goint %entures due to his "elief in 2enins theory of )finance


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#ecause they had no ri%als, most Chinese emperors worried more a"out how trade might enrich

undesira"le groups li&e merchants than they did a"out getting more riches for themsel%es; and

"ecause the state was so powerful, they could stamp out this alarming practice' -n the 7>E=s they"anned oceanice %oyages, and in the 7>K=s perhaps destroyed Qhengs records, ending the great

age of Chinese e1ploration'7>

Qhao Qiyangs memoirs note that some of the conser%ati%e Party mem"ers li&e 2i Peng

and others at the 4tate Council )too& "ac& power that pre%iously had "een handed down

to lower le%els and put controls "ac& on measures that had "een freed'* During Qhaosstruggle to implement economic reform, he stated that China was in the )preliminary

stage of socialism,* implying that capitalist methods could "e used to achie%e economic

growth' This drew criticism and suspicion from some of the conser%ati%es'

ne of the most important aspects of Qhaos memoirs that might "e easily o%erloo&ed is

his commentary on the internal communication failures within the CCP' -n one e1ample,

fellow reformer Hu 0ao"ang disagreed with Qhaos policy of emphasi(ing economic

efficiency instead of production figures and speed, "ut highlights the clear lac& ofcommunication' He notes: )the issues were raised at the P4C or secretariat meetings, so -

wasnSt sure what %iews 0ao"ang had or why he disagreed with my go%ernment wor&report'*7I

-n another illuminating e1ample, Qhao recalls Hu 0ao"angs ine1plica"le o"li%iousness+or perhaps willful diso"edience to Dengs calls for Party support in the 789E Anti5

4piritual Campaign to )weed out /estern influence in society'* Deng had "ecome

increasingly fearful of a )li"erali(ing trend* that was occurring in China, which is

somewhat ironic "ecause he was the dri%ing force "ehind economic li"erali(ation' fcourse, Deng was referring to the much disdained )"ourgeois li"erali(ation,* "ut around

this time it "egan to "ecome clear that Deng was "eginning to succum" to the fears offoreign influence and power su"%ersion'

Qhao also noted )Deng "elie%ed that a precondition of reform was an upholding of the

Communist Partys one5party rule' !eforms were precisely intended to furtherconsolidate the Communist Partys one5party rule' Deng firmly reGected any reform that

would wea&en that'* Furthermore, Qhao states that )Deng also regarded a system without

restrictions or chec&s and "alances, and with a"solute concentration of power, as ouro%erall ad%antage'* Deng %iewed this system as more efficient, and "elie%ed that due to

the difference in political systems, )the Americans cannot compete with the 4o%iet

?nion' Mao also "elie%ed the ?4 system was slow and inefficient' This is a %ery

prescient issue, as /ang Jisi and Lenneth 2ie"erthals3ddressin" 4S%China Strate"icDistrusthighlights pro"lems with the ?4 from the Chinese perspecti%e:

)Fourth, it is a popular notion among Chinese political elites, including some national leaders, that

Chinas de%elopment model pro%ides an alternati%e to /estern democracy and e1periences forother de%eloping countries to learn from, while many de%eloping countries that ha%e introduced

7>-an Morris, .hy the .est Rules for 5o-, 7K' Note: Morris is offering his interpretation of a point made

"y economist Da%id 2andes in The .ealth and /o&erty of 5ations'7I

/risoner of the State: The Secret 0ournal of 1hao 1iyan"2


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/estern %alues and political systems are e1periencing disorder and chaos' The China Model, or

#eiGing Consensus, features an all5powerful political leadership that effecti%ely manages social

and economic affairs, in sharp contrast to some countries where )color re%olutions* typically ha%e

led to national disunity and /estern infringement on their so%ereign rights'*7

4tudent demonstrations "ro&e out in 789 in se%eral cities, and the storming of a

municipal go%ernment "uilding shoc&ed Deng, who la"eled the demonstrations )theresult of la1 control o%er "ourgeois li"erali(ation'* Deng had as&ed Hu 0ao"ang to e1pel

li"eral writer /ang !uowang from the Party +who was implicated in the demonstrations

"ut Hu had not done it' Hus strange failure to e%en communicate with Deng, theparamount leader, on numerous occasions from the "eginning of the Anti54piritual

Pollution Campaign through the 789 student protests lead to Hus )resignation* from his

position as 4ecretary $eneral in 789K' These communication pro"lems within the Partywould later manifest themsel%es in the Partys failure to e%e communicate with the

student protesters during the 7898 Tiananmen protests, which could ha%e led to a

constructi%e dialogue and the strategic reduction of tensions'

Part of the Partys failure in the 7898 Tiananmen protests can "e traced to theirinattention to the people, especially the students and the youth' According to a 7899 4tate

.ducation Commission report on the ideological state of students,7Kthe "asic causes ofthe pre%ious student protests included corruption in the Party and lac& of access to

leaders' There is no record of Party officials responding in earnest "y ma&ing efforts to

increase accessi"ility to the students, and this pro"lem would resurface again during the7898 protests' Moreo%er, the report notes students complaints that )Children of high5

ran&ing officials getting leadership posts and children of high5ran&ing officials areU

setting up companies'* /e can draw some parallels to these same pro"lems today, asChinese citi(ens cynically condemn the 2i $ang incident, the e1tra%agant lifestyle of #o

6ilais son, and so on' There were also aspects of the report that must ha%e clearly

alarmed the Party, such as claims that )a small num"er of "ad elements ha%e infiltratedcolleges to stir up trou"le,* and )infiltration "y hostile foreign powers has also "een afactor'*

-n 7898, Hus death spar&ed a new student mo%ement that "egan to directly challenge thego%ernment' 4ince the go%ernment wouldnt engage them or e%en communicate with

them, student posters attac&ed the Party for inflation, ineuality and worsening li%ing

conditions and called on intellectuals to rise uand demonstrate against the go%ernment'Note that )rise up* is re%olutionary language "eing used against the Party leadership

the confluence of power, fear and the core throughout modern chinese history

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