China's path to modernity as reflected in contemporary Chinese science fiction
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
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| Description | "Modernization" (xiandaihua) belongs among the key terms used in China to conceptualize the process of forming Chinese identity in the 20th-21st c. A lot of research has been done on how modernization shapes Chinese traditions (including religious ones) or how modernization in China is shaped by its traditions. In this paper, I focus on a different aspect of the dynamic relations between tradition and modernity in Chinese context. I address the contemporary forms of the strain in modern Chinese thought that questions the process of modernization as something alien to Chinese culture and society. I use selected essayistic and fictional works by authors of two periods - beginning of 20th c. and beginnning of 21st century - to show the continuity of a peculiar sentiment in Chinese thought - the problem of China’s monstrosity vis-a-vis modernity. |