Civilising Citizens in Post-Mao China
Understanding the Rhetoric of Suzhi
Routledge Contemporary China Series

Political discourse in contemporary China is intimately linked to the patriotic reverie of restoring China as a great civilisation, a dream of reformers since the beginning of the twentieth century. The concept and use of suzhi ? a term that denotes the idea of cultivating a ?quality? citizenship ? is central to this programme of rejuvenation, and is enjoying a revival. This book therefore offers an accessible and comprehensive analysis of suzhi, investigating the underlying cultural, philosophical and psychological foundations that propel the suzhi discourse. Using a new method to analyse Chinese governance ? one that is both historical and discursive in approach ? the book demonstrates how suzhi has been made into a political resource by the Chinese Communist Party-State, journeying from Confucianism to socialism. Ultimately, it asks the question: if we cannot rely on Western models of governance to explain how China is governed, what method of analysis can we use? Making use of over 200 Chinese-language primary sources, the book highlights the link between suzhi and similar discourses in post-Mao China, including those centring on notions of ?civilisation?, ?harmonious society? and the 'China dream'.

As the first book to provide an in-depth study of suzhi and its relevance in Chinese society, Civilising Citizens in Post-Mao China will be useful for students and scholars of Chinese studies, Chinese politics and sociology.

Preface

A Note on Translation and Transliteration

List of Tables and Figures

1 Introduction

2 The Confucian Legacy of Suzhi

3 The Paradigm of Suzhi: Transformational Citizenship

4 Manufacturing Suzhi: from Mini to Mighty

5 The Wenming-Suzhi-Hexie-Zhongguo Meng Continuum: the Process of Pan-politicisation

6 Suzhi Jiaoyu: a Word that Succeeds and a Policy that Fails

7 Conclusion

Appendix: Research Design for Chapter 4

Index

Delia Lin lectures at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research interests include political thought, governance, ideology and discourse.