APCG China

from masterprep videos notes

mandate of heaven

an ancient Chinese political and philosophical doctrine that justified the rule of the emperor, stating Heaven granted the right to rule to a virtuous leader, the "Son of Heaven," who must govern justly for the people's welfare.

Dynastic rule

• confucian values

• scholarship → bureaucracy

• isolation → cultural identity

• expansion/invasion → ethnic/cultural tension with other Asian people

Resistance to imperialism

• clash between chinese nationalism and foreign imperialism

century of humiliation

• revolution of 1911 → ouster of foreign devils

Maoism

• marxism/leninism suit to China

• rejected inequality implied by vanguard of proletariat

• focused on strength of peasants

collectivism

Maoism

• valuing the good of community above individual

struggle and activism

encouraging people to follow the value of socialism

mass line

Maoism

teaching and listening on everyone’s part

• 사람에게 귀 기울리다

• communication between party and people/peasants

egalitarianism

Maoism

hierarchy was traditional organizing principle of China, but Mao supported equality among all

• 힘들면 다같이 힘들어야함

struggle and activism

encouraging people to follow value of socialism

self-reliance

Maoism

instead of relying on the elite to give directions, people were encouraged to rely on their own

“알아서 먹고 살아라”

• no government support

Deng Xiaoping

• practical leadership → dramatic turn around of Chinese economy

• socialist planning, capitalist free market

• social views continued strict alignment with communist tradition

Political Culture of China

• authoritarian governance: centralized power and social harmony prioritized over individual rights

• collectivism: group interests valued over individual freedoms

• pragmatism: market reforms under communist control (black cat, white cat principle)

• nationalism: emphasis on unity, historical grievances

Sources of Legitimacy

• historical legitimacy: communist party’s revolutionary victory in 1949

• performance legitimacy: economic growth and poverty reduction

• nationalism & sovereignty: defense of territorial integrity

• ideological legitimacy: Marxism-LEninism adapted to China

Traditions in Chinese Politics

Confucian influences: moral governance, meritocracy, respect for hierarchy

Mandate of Heaven: ancient belief in divine approval for rulers; modern echos in CCP rule

Centralization: strong unitary state control over provinces and localities

• people are okay with this because long history of centralized government

mass campaigns: maoist tradition of mobilization; modern poverty alleviation drivers

authoritarian power

Historical Tradition

• Chinese people: subjects, not participants

• competes with tendency towards decentralization

confucianism

Historical Tradition

• order and harmony

• submission to authority of emperor

• small group of people making decisions for people

bureaucratic hierarchy based on scholarship

Historical Tradition

• emperors surrounded by highly organized bureaucratic elites based on confucian scholarship

• highly competitive examination system

The “Middle Kingdom”

Historical Tradition

• Zhongguo

• China as the center of civilizations

Communist ideologies

Historical Tradition

• intersection between Confucianism and Maoism

• Deng Xiaoping theory: Perestroika without glasnost

Confucianism and Maoism

Confucianism:

• mandate of heaven

• vision of an ideal society based on harmony and obedience

• hierarchical social and political organization; rulers and subject have unequal polisition

• emphasis on loyalty to family: filial piety

Maoism:
democratic centralism

• vision of ideal society based on self-reliance and struggle

• egalitarian social structure; mass line between rulers and subjects

• emphasis on loyal to the state

Chinese Communist Party Structure

• national party congress: meets every five years to approve leadership and policy

• central committee: 370 members, implements decisions of party congress