Chinese nationalist discourse: contents and orientations

何謂現當代中國之民族主義? 此種民族主義如何想像出「中華民族」這個共同體? 中國民族主義之話語是否在習近平擔任中共中央總書記以來有所變化? 本論文試圖通過有關民族主義之理論, 中國研究文獻與中國民族主義話語之分析來探討以上幾個問題. 方法論上, 本論文提供兩種二分法: 其一為民族主義話語「公民–領土」與「族裔–文化」之不同內容, 其二為民族主義「尋求建立政體」與「維護既有政體」之不同方向. 本作者適用此兩種二分法來重新解釋幾代中國政治領導層之人物所講出來的民族主義話語之內容與方向. 因此, 此篇論文將打造理論, 敘述與「社會現實」之間的對話來闡明中國政治至關重要方面之一 : 即「中華民族」持續不斷的再定義. 了解到現當代中國民族主義之內容與方向在很大程度上有助於我們對中國人民共和國政治之認識, 更能夠讓我們進一步地理解在「大中華」所存在的政治與社會問題之一. 不僅如此, 本論文所體現之學習方式具有延伸性, 而因此能夠適用在其他個案上, 使民族主義學之文獻變得更為一致.What kind of nationalism exists in contemporary China, and how does that nationalism imagine the Chinese nation? Has the rhetoric of nationalism in mainland China changed since the ascent of Xi Jinping to the position of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? This thesis seeks to address these questions by analyzing theories of nations and nationalisms, secondary literature on Chinese nationalism, and a volume of primary sources representative of Chinese nationalist discourse with an emphasis on the Xi Jinping era. Methodologically, this study presents a dichotomy of nations as either ethno-cultural or civic-territorial in content and nationalisms as either polity-seeking (state-seeking and revisionist) or polity-based (nationalizing and status-quo reinforcing) in orientation. These distinctions are then applied to reinterpret the content and orientation of official nationalism across generations of Chinese political leadership. This study therefore generates a dialogue between theories, narratives, and “social realities” that illuminates a critical aspect of Chinese politics: the ongoing redefinition of “China” as a nation. Discovering the nature of Chinese nationalism in this context is crucial not only for an understanding of politics in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but indeed for greater clarity on a key social and political issue throughout “Greater China.” Furthermore, the approach embodied herein can be applied to other cases to bring greater consistency to the literature of nationalism studies