國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

    Having been the most important economic power of East Asia for centuries and having expanded her cultural influence over an ever larger area, China’s violent confrontation with Europe in the First Opium War (Yapian zhanzheng, 鴉片戰爭, 1839-1842) and the ensuing ‘unequal treaties’ (bu pingdeng tiaoyue, 不平等條約) that started the so-called ‘century of humiliation’ (bainian guochi,百年國恥), dramatically put this historical position into question. As a result, Chinese intellectuals began to doubt the viability of Confucianism, and a periodof cultural self-criticism set in. This explains why the West was adopted as a normative model for China’s development away from Confucianism, and towards‘modernity’. The role of the West as a ‘normative power’ may have remained rather uncontested until the early 2000s, but the most recent decade has witnesseda renewed Chinese self-assertiveness accompanied by a re-appreciation for Confucianism. China is also increasingly advocating her developmental path as an alternative to the ‘Washington Consensus’. This article discusses the nature of the Confucian state’s normativity, and puts forward a hypothesis on why contemporary China witnesses a return to Confucian values.