(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015)
Wenlong, Lu; Holbrook, J. Britt
For some observers, China illustrates that Western
modernism—in the philosophic sense—is no longer the
only viable route to modernization. As one commentator
notes, modern is translated in Chinese by xiandai (current
generation)—a term that lacks the connotations of the
English term modernization (Li 2011). If “modernization
with Chinese characteristics” is not merely a process that
entails accepting, adopting, or imitating Enlightenment
rationalism, what is modernization from the Chinese
perspective? One response to this question would need to
emphasize that, unlike almost all other developing
countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, China has
never been colonized (like India) or occupied (like Japan).
Despite being attacked by Western powers and forced to
cede parts of its territory, China has always retained an
independent heartland.