Agony over national-imperial identity : interpreting the coloniality of the Chinese New Left
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Cultural Dynamics
Publication Date
2015
Volume
27
Issue
2
First Page
241
Last Page
252
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Keywords
Chinese New Left, coloniality, inter-imperiality, national identity, sovereign power
Abstract
European thought, rather than an overarching ideology imposed on the colonized, offers a concatenation of keywords and narratives for people to imagine their national community, yet, sometimes serving as political prison for the others, especially those internal and neighboring ones. Henceforth, coloniality does not reside merely in European or US domination but also in multiple relationships and scalar dynamics of the non-European context. In this article, I analyze the discourse of the Chinese New Left, who repudiate the West and affirm a new Chinese sovereign power, thereby resonating with concerns and orientations originating in the new world situation that puts China back in the global power center. I argue that their discourse, despite its left-wing rhetoric, is an expression of agony over national–imperial identity rather than of the powerless. It has found favor among academic conservatives who render ancient Chinese imperial concepts into conceptual tools available for the state to consolidate its legitimacy and political order. A new Chinese sovereign power is discursively envisioned in the co-formations and interconnectivity of the imperial imaginaries of the short-lived German Empire, Pax Americana, and the legacy of Qing Empire.
DOI
10.1177/0921374015585223
Print ISSN
09213740
E-ISSN
14617048
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2015 SAGE Publications. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Ip, I.-c. (2015). Agony over national-imperial identity: Interpreting the coloniality of the Chinese New Left. Cultural Dynamics, 27(2), 241-252. doi: 10.1177/0921374015585223