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May 9 - "China, Past and Present" with Dr. Bill Johnson As the first in a series of speakers for this years Policy-makers seminar, professor Johnson gave a general overview of Chinese history in the context of major traditions or periods. Beginning in the imperial period, he explained the importance of the Confucian gentry class and differentiated between the meritocracy of ancient China and the feudal system of ancient Europe. The second tradition, according to professor Johnson, attempted to refute the Confucianism of the first. In response to the western powers that were encroaching on Chinese sovereignty, the focus turned to liberation from subservience to authority, including the emperor. The Japanese threat to China's survival reinstated statism in the third tradition. Sun Yat-Sen felt that to make the nation free China must sacrifice the freedom of the individual. This sentiment carried through the era of Mao Zedong. Mr. Johnson described this third tradition, which encompasses early Chinese Communism as an aberration in the line of overarching Chinese history. The Reform Era after Mao's death makes up the fourth tradition. Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms have been accompanied by a resurgence of traditionalism. Marxism becomes less applicable as private interests and capitalism grow more acceptable. Clearly change is occurring in this period. Professor Johnson indicated that China is more open than many in America recognize and that the responsibility for China's political future is in the hand of policymakers because since the imperial period China has been extremely subject to its external environment and America's behavior toward China will make a great impact its direction. |