China's Search for Modernity

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • He Ping

      Pages 1-21

3. The Inquiry into History

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 23-23

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   2. China’s Historical Stagnation: Social and Economic Aspects

      • He Ping

      Pages 25-47

   3. China’s Historical Stagnation: the Scientific Aspect

      • He Ping

      Pages 48-69

4. The Examination of Culture

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71

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   2. Toward a New Chinese Idea of Culture

      • He Ping

      Pages 73-92

   3. Re-imagining the East-West Divide: Culture and Personality

      • He Ping

      Pages 93-116

5. Culture and Modernization

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 117-117

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   2. The Significance of China’s Cultural Tradition for Modernization

      • He Ping

      Pages 119-144

   3. The Imagination of Modernity and Pre-Modernity in the 1990s

      • He Ping

      Pages 145-153

   4. Intellectuals and the Discourse

      • He Ping

      Pages 154-167

   5. Conclusion

      • He Ping

      Pages 168-172

6. Back Matter

   Pages 173-228

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Twenty years after a return from fundamentalism to economic reality, China has become the world's tenth largest economy and an increasingly important global power. Despite the rise of fundamentalism and post-modernism, the pursuit of modernity was an ongoing historical movement in late twentieth century China. He Ping focuses on China's quest for and experience of modernity. Implicitly comparative, the author discusses broad aspects of both Chinese and western civilizations, including their scientific traditions and socio-economic structures, with reference to modernization. He seeks to enhance our understanding of the cultural changes behind China's phenomenal rise and provides a fresh case study for the global cultural discourse.

• bibliography
• China
• culture
• economy
• Tradition

"Provides an insider's deep reflection on the intellectual and academic development that accompanied China's rapid modernization...Implicitly comparative, this erudite book analyzes broad aspects of Chinese and Western civilizations, such as their scientific traditions, cultural cores, personality traits, and social institutions. It examines Chinese scholars' reflective criticism of the so-called 'backward Chinese cultural tradition,' their debate over modernization strategy and their vision of modernity and hence it reveals how modernity is requested, discoursed and experienced in one of the oldest civilizations recently. It undoubtedly enhances our understanding of the rising China and the global cultural discourse on modernity." - Zhang Xupeng, Springer

• Sichuan University, China

  He Ping

HE PING is Professor of History at Sichuan University, China. Among his writings are The Glory of Empire: Tracing Ancient Roman Civilization and Afghanistan: The Intermixing and Clash of Civilizations.

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