Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations

摘要

Scholars studying China are quite familiar with themes like national humiliation, nationalism as a new source of regime legitimacy vis-à-vis communism, and China's anti-US and anti-Japan polemic. Zheng Wang's book Never Forget National Humiliation captures the interrelated nature of these themes in a skilful manner and is a valuable addition to the study of Chinese nationalism. Wang analyses the commonly shared thinking of the Chinese about their place in the world and their view of how the world sees them (p. ⅹⅱ). His analysis attempts to explain the ultimate aim and implications of China's rise. He underscores that China's 'historical consciousness' revolves around 'myth' and 'trauma'-the dominant features of China's contemporary national thinking shaping its national identity. The 'historical consciousness' defines its national interests and tunes its motivations behind its international interactions, and is necessary to understand China's present foreign policy. Thus, the author discusses two variables in this context: historical consciousness and national identity in China's contemporary foreign policy.