Before describing his perception of Chinese identity and Chinese identity education, Wen discussed the rich meanings of the Chinese nation. According to him, the Chinese nation is complex and can be interpreted differently by individuals.
Guo [国, country] has multiple meanings. In Western contexts, the
concepts of nation, state and country are distinguished from each other. However, in the Chinese context, Guo can refer to nation, state, country and political system. (Wen)
As was discussed in Chapter Two, in the Chinese context, the Chinese nation and China are treated as interchangeable concepts, and indeed, no clear-cut distinction between them was mentioned in the interview. Since the interview with Wen was conducted after the fieldwork in Phoenix Primary School had been finished, I shared with him some key findings regarding the practice in the school and stakeholders’ perceptions. When I touched on the topic of teachers’ confusion about the distinction between the Chinese nation and the Communist Party of China (CPC), Wen provided his views.
Teachers equipped with knowledge of citizenship are able to understand the difference between nation and party. Apparently, some teachers lack that knowledge. Considering the political system in China and the influences of Chinese culture, I think it is not difficult to understand why that confusion is so prevalent among teachers. First, China is a socialist country under the leadership of the CPC. For some people, loving China equals to loving the CPC. Second, Confucianism has exerted a profound influence on individuals’ understanding of the political system. In Chinese culture, there is a tendency among individuals to personify governments and governors as their parents, who always take care of ordinary people the way parents do for their children. I think some teachers’ perceptions may be shaped by this influence… To some extent, I think their argument that loving China equates to loving the CPC government is right. Guo [国, country] is a political entity led by a particular government. Which Guo do you have a sense of belonging to if you do not love the government? (Wen)
From Wen’s perspective, the Chinese nation and the CPC are distinct concepts, and using them interchangeably indicates a person’s limited knowledge of citizenship. However, he did admit that the Chinese nation and the CPC are intimately linked, and he tried to explain the rationale underlying the understanding of teachers who consider the two concepts to be synonymous. First, as the ruling party of China since 1949, the CPC plays a significant role in the Chinese government. To a certain degree, the CPC and the government it rules represent the Chinese nation in a political sense. Therefore, individuals’ identification with the party and the government can be regarded as a form of Chinese identity. A second key influence on Chinese identity is Confucianism. The
bureaucracy in ancient China selected good and capable people for public service, and officials were likely to be regarded as parents who took actions for the sake of the public as children. Therefore, individuals tended (and, to a degree, continue to tend) to express gratitude to the government and governors as a way of showing their senses of belonging to the Chinese nation.
5.1.1.2 Parental love
According to Wen, national identity and patriotism are distinctive concepts. For him, national identity refers to cognition of the nation of one’s origin, while patriotism is a value manifested in individuals’ emotions and behaviours. To illustrate his perceptions of the Chinese nation, Wen used the word ‘patriotism’.
Being patriotic means that you accept the nation’s good and bad points. Parents would not refuse to love their children because they are not good-looking… You are the master of the nation. You should be proud of its advantages and frustrated by its disadvantages… The problems of the nation are also your problems. You should dedicate yourself to solving the problems. (Wen)
Wen used the metaphors of parents and children while analysing the relationship between the Chinese nation and its people. Three implications can be drawn from his argument, one of which is that patriotic sentiment is a kind of parental love. Just as taking care of children is parents’ duty, it is the duty of individuals to love the Chinese nation. This is the inverse of the notion described in the previous section that the government assumes a parental role while the citizens are the children for whom it cares; although these two perceptions are the inverse of one another, they exist simultaneously in the Chinese consciousness. Second, treating the nation as a child indicates that optimistic attitudes towards its future are encouraged. Individuals are expected to take pride in the advantages and achievements of the Chinese nation, while understanding that making mistakes is inevitable in the Chinese nation’s development. Third, as a Chinese proverb goes, “Tianxia xingwang, pifu youze” [天下兴亡，匹夫有责, The rise and fall of a nation rests on every one of its citizens], the fates of individuals and the Chinese nation are bound together. Individuals are expected to take actions to help the Chinese nation solve its problems.
Being patriotic implies showing support for the nation and expressing criticism of the nation to some extent. However, blind criticism should be avoided. (Wen)
As Wen argued, in addition to showing support for the Chinese nation, patriotic people should be able to criticise it. However, such critiques should be based on reasonable evidence. Despite this caveat, Wen made no reference to the extent to which evidence can be regarded as reasonable.
I dislike seeing the TV full of programs about the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)… It is not good to stimulate patriotic sentiment among individuals through reinforcing national humiliation… However, I cannot agree with some foreigners’ argument that the Chinese people should forget history. We would not have dignity anymore if we did whatever other countries asked… I think it is important for Chinese people to draw lessons from the past and make China prosperous and understood by outsiders. (Wen)
According to Wen, China’s tragic history is relied on too heavily to foster individuals’ Chinese identity. The example he gave to support this opinion is the prevalence of war content on television, but he was implicitly arguing that this can be witnessed not just on TV, but in schools and beyond, and that he regards this as an unpleasant phenomenon. Teaching about national humiliations should enable people to learn from the past and make China stronger instead of cultivating hostile attitudes towards other countries.
5.1.1.3 Practical considerations
Wen elaborated on some practical issues that ought to be considered in conducting patriotic education. The content of patriotic education was not of specific concern to him. Instead, he paid considerable attention to the instructional strategies that should be adopted.
Teachers should be equipped with knowledge of pedagogy and psychology to conduct patriotic education. It is important to reflect on the ways in which children of different ages construct their awareness of the nation. Complex topics of nation that are not in accordance with children’s understanding should not be discussed in class… Children ought to be allowed to construct their understandings of the Chinese nation in their own ways. (Wen)
In the first place, Wen argued that patriotic education, particularly in primary schools, should be conducted taking younger children’s ways of learning into consideration. Teachers should be familiar with pedagogy and psychology in addition to possessing subject knowledge. However, Wen believes that in practice, patriotic education does not live up to his ideals. Many teachers, as Wen argued, lack corresponding knowledge, and are therefore unable to reach desirable educational outcomes.
Patriotic education should allow students to develop critical thinking; otherwise they are vulnerable. For instance, Northern China relies on heavy industry, and therefore has been experiencing more severe smog than in the South. Every country encounters the issue of smog during industrialisation. Students equipped with this background information will not reach the conclusion that the air in other countries is sweeter. (Wen)
Wen reinforced the importance of students’ critical thinking by citing a controversy that took place at a University of Maryland graduation ceremony in 2017. A Chinese student gave a speech in which the comparative air quality in China and the US was used as a metaphor for freedom of speech and democracy. The speech, which conveyed anti-Chinese sentiment to some degree, triggered a fierce discussion among people from all walks of life in China. Despite his suggestion that critiquing the nation to some extent is a way of being patriotic, Wen argued that the student’s criticism of China demonstrated a lack of critical thinking. Wen made no reference to the rationale behind his opinion. However, considering Wen’s quote in Section 5.1.1.2, it might be assumed that he regards the student’s statement as a kind of blind criticism, unsupported by solid evidence. Wen’s interpretation of the student’s statement partly reflects a culture in which traditional patriotic education pays considerable attention to the positive aspects of China, while overlooking its shortcomings. Under this influence, students may easily come to believe that China is a perfect country. Upon seeing the wider world, they may discover that the opinion they formed in school is too idealistic to be realistic, and consequently change their attitudes towards China entirely, which achieves the exact opposite of the goal of patriotic education. Therefore, to cultivate students’ critical thinking and allow them to construct knowledge independently, both of the positive and negative aspects of the Chinese nation, as Wen argued, should be introduced in schools.
5.1.2 Policy expert’s perceptions of global identity education