Discourses of Weakness in Modern China (Paperback)

Paperback. From the time of Chinas defeat in the Sino-Japanese war of 189495 until the 1930s, the assumption that China was a weak state dominated political discourse in China and beyond. In those discussions, China was seen as lacking competitiveness in a world that was increasingly being understood in harsh Darwinian terms. Aiming to better understand contemporary Chinas self-image and identity, this volume traces both the emergence of the narrative of Chinas alleged national ruin and the discursive construction of China as the Sick Man of East Asia. Discourses of Weakness in Late 19th and Early 20th Century China. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.