Background on Nationalism & Gender in Republican China
The purpose of this section is to provide a basic understanding of nationalism and gender in Republican China (1911-1949). There will be a brief analysis of how and why Chinese nationalism developed, followed by another brief analysis of how gender expectations in society may have changed. The understanding of nationalism and gender in Republican China is important to this essay because it provides a background to the essay’s argument. In order to understand historians’ different conceptions of Western influence on Republican China, it is essential to know what went on during that period.
Chinese Nationalism:
The concept of nationalism originated from the West in Europe and its formation …show more content…
They were introduced to terms such as “national,” translated as guomin, which also mean “citizen,” and “nationalism,” translated as minzu zhuyi, as well as theories such as social Darwinism and Marxism. Using these terms and ideas, Chinese intellectuals would attempt to inform the public of what is an ideal nation for China and Western nationalism. More specifically, they used these concepts to inform the Chinese people of what they should do to make China a modern nation because the intellectuals concluded that “China’s position in the world arena was so poor because the Chinese were “not only a nation without a state, but also a people without a nation.”” Essentially, Chu and Zarrow make the claim that modern Chinese nationalism was inspired by Western theories to go against Western imperialism. The purpose of going against Western imperialism, uniting feelings of anti-imperialism and anti-foreignism is to save their …show more content…
They three reasons they offer to support their argument is meaning shifts as it is translated, the nationalist discourse has origins from Neo-Confucianism and that the reason for the development of nation and nationalism was dependent on Qing China’s circumstances. What this means is that Chinese intellectuals’ interpretation of Western ideas used were not only different from the West’s, but they were also used differently because of the differences in cultural ideology and circumstances. One the largest difference that defines their nationalism is the circumstance it resulted from. While the nationalism in the West was a result of the Enlightenment and, industrialization and imperialism, nationalism in China was a result of Western imperialism. Duara calls this type of nationalism as anti-imperialism
The purpose of this section is to provide a basic understanding of nationalism and gender in Republican China (1911-1949). There will be a brief analysis of how and why Chinese nationalism developed, followed by another brief analysis of how gender expectations in society may have changed. The understanding of nationalism and gender in Republican China is important to this essay because it provides a background to the essay’s argument. In order to understand historians’ different conceptions of Western influence on Republican China, it is essential to know what went on during that period.
Chinese Nationalism:
The concept of nationalism originated from the West in Europe and its formation …show more content…
They were introduced to terms such as “national,” translated as guomin, which also mean “citizen,” and “nationalism,” translated as minzu zhuyi, as well as theories such as social Darwinism and Marxism. Using these terms and ideas, Chinese intellectuals would attempt to inform the public of what is an ideal nation for China and Western nationalism. More specifically, they used these concepts to inform the Chinese people of what they should do to make China a modern nation because the intellectuals concluded that “China’s position in the world arena was so poor because the Chinese were “not only a nation without a state, but also a people without a nation.”” Essentially, Chu and Zarrow make the claim that modern Chinese nationalism was inspired by Western theories to go against Western imperialism. The purpose of going against Western imperialism, uniting feelings of anti-imperialism and anti-foreignism is to save their …show more content…
They three reasons they offer to support their argument is meaning shifts as it is translated, the nationalist discourse has origins from Neo-Confucianism and that the reason for the development of nation and nationalism was dependent on Qing China’s circumstances. What this means is that Chinese intellectuals’ interpretation of Western ideas used were not only different from the West’s, but they were also used differently because of the differences in cultural ideology and circumstances. One the largest difference that defines their nationalism is the circumstance it resulted from. While the nationalism in the West was a result of the Enlightenment and, industrialization and imperialism, nationalism in China was a result of Western imperialism. Duara calls this type of nationalism as anti-imperialism