This book analyzes Chinese nationalism from the perspective of social economics. It posits a conceptual framework in which national status is treated as a "luxury" while material consumption is considered as a "necessity" in people’s preferences, which implies that popular nationalism tends to increase with economic development. The book extensively uses the tools of game theory and behavioral economics to analyze inter-ethnical and international conflicts in historical and contemporary China.
The author’s economic approach to the subject of nationalism brings fresh and critical insights into the Chinese historical events and relations with foreign countries. For example, it helps resolve the following puzzles: Why did most Chinese support an ethnic minority, the Manchus, to be their ruler after the collapse of the Ming dynasty? In the Boxer Rebellion, why did the Qing dynasty declare war against more than eight foreign powers when it knew well that any of the countries could defeat China easily? What are the fundamental causes of the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War? Who is responsible for the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade?
This book attempts to answer the questions based on the theories of social economics and rational choice, which will interest those researching on nationalism, China studies, international relations, history and political economy.
Author(s): C. Simon Fan
Series: Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 233
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
1 Introduction
2 Economic Development and Nationalism
2.1 Popular Nationalism Does Not Exist for Most of the Human History
2.2 Status Seeking in Contemporary Times
2.3 National Pride, Collective Emotion, and Nationalism
2.4 An Economic Theory of Nationalism
3 Nationalism in Ancient ChinaHegemony in the Spring–Autumn Period
3.1 Eastern Zhou Dynasty
3.2 The First “Small Hegemony”: Duke Zhuang of Zheng
3.3 The Most Prominent Hegemony: Duke Huan of Qi
3.4 A Weak but Famous Hegemony: Duke Xiang of Song
3.5 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
4 Nationalism in the Song Dynasty
4.1 The Chanyuan Treaty: National Shame or Blessing?
4.2 Yue Fei: A Patriotic Hero of the Southern Song Dynasty
4.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
5 The Establishment of the Qing Dynasty
5.1 The Rise of the Jurchens/Manchus
5.2 The Collapse of the Ming Dynasty and the Establishment of the Qing Dynasty
5.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
6 The Qing Dynasty Was the Choice of Ancient Chinese
6.1 The Yangzhou Massacre
6.2 From the Queue Order to Manchu Assimilation into Chinese Culture
6.3 Chinese Loyalty to the Qing Dynasty
6.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
7 The First Opium War
7.1 Why Did the War Happen?
7.2 Lin Zexu’s Campaign to Suppress the Opium Trade
7.3 The First Opium War
7.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
8 The Second Opium War
8.1 The “Cold Peace” between China and Britain after the First Opium War
8.2 The Second Opium War
8.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
9 China’s Loss of Territories at the End of the Qing Dynasty
9.1 China’s Loss of Outer Manchuria to Russia
9.2 First Sino-Japanese War and China’s Loss of Taiwan to Japan
9.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
10 The Boxer War
10.1 The Background
10.2 The Boxer War
10.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
11 Reforms at the End of the Qing Dynasty
11.1 The “New Army”
11.2 Wuxu Reform
11.3 The Xinzheng Revolution
11.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
12 Why Did the Qing Dynasty Collapse?
12.1 “Imported Nationalism” and the Sudden Racial Resentment toward the Manchus
12.2 Mistakes of the Qing Rulers
12.3 The Xinhai Revolution and the Establishment of the Republic of China
12.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
13 The Second Sino-Japanese War
13.1 The Direct Cause of the Second Sino-Japanese War
13.2 Japanese Troops’ Atrocity Led to Japan’s Defeat
13.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
14 The Chinese Communist Party, the Soviet Union, and the Korean War
14.1 The Establishment and Growth of the Chinese Communist Party
14.2 Mao, Stalin, and the Korean War
14.3 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
15 The 1962 Sino-Indian War
15.1 Early 1950s: The Honeymoon Period between India and China
15.2 The Tibet Issue and Worsening Sino-Indian Relations in the Late 1950s
15.3 Rebellion in Tibet and India’s Reluctant Role
15.4 Territorial Conflict and the Clash of Nationalism
15.5 The Sino-Indian War
15.6 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
16 The 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
16.1 The 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
16.2 China’s Stated Reasons for the War
16.3 The Clash of Nationalism
16.4 New Explanations for Why the War Happened
16.5 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
17 The Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
17.1 Chinese Patriotic Education Campaign in the 1990s
17.2 China’s Tensions in International Relationships
17.3 The Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
17.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
18 Dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands
18.1 Historical Background
18.2 The Conflict in 2010
18.3 The Conflict in 2012
18.4 A Further Discussion Based on Economic Theories
19 Epilogue: toward a Theory of “Optimal Nationalism”
References
Index
