The Rise and Decline and Rise of China: Searching for an Organising Philosophy

414 Pages·14.297 MB·English

by  Hester Du Plessis

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9A7 M8I0S6T3R9A9P2ub3l8ic6a4tion Publication Publication
THE RISE AND DECLINE OF CHINA COVER PR 12.9mm.indd 1 2019/06/06 17:53
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The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic

D D
Reflection (MISTRA), which was publicly e Reflection (MISTRA), which was publicly e
c The Rise and Decline and Rise of China: c The Rise and Decline and Rise of China:
launched as a think tank in March 2011, This is a timely and groundbreaking book. It investigates and presents the rise l launched as a think tank in March 2011, This is a timely and groundbreaking book. It investigates and presents the rise l
in Searching for an Organising Philosophy in Searching for an Organising Philosophy
was founded by a group of South Africans of China comprehensively, taking into consideration not only its present but also e was founded by a group of South Africans of China comprehensively, taking into consideration not only its present but also e
represents a new and promising approach to represents a new and promising approach to
with experience in research, academia, its history; not only economy and politics but also its culture, values, a with experience in research, academia, its history; not only economy and politics but also its culture, values, a
n Africa/China relations. What is most impressive n Africa/China relations. What is most impressive
policymaking and governance who saw the and philosophy. d policymaking and governance who saw the and philosophy. d
is that it is an encounter between African and is that it is an encounter between African and
need to create a platform for engagement R need to create a platform for engagement R
What makes this book unique and gives it the most significance, however, is Chinese thought, but this encounter is not just What makes this book unique and gives it the most significance, however, is Chinese thought, but this encounter is not just
around strategic issues facing South Africa. e around strategic issues facing South Africa. e
is that the contributors examine Chinese values and practices in relation to a set of stale comparisons of philosophical is that the contributors examine Chinese values and practices in relation to a set of stale comparisons of philosophical
MISTRA combines research and academic o MISTRA combines research and academic o
manifestations of these in Africa, addressing the paramount question of how f beliefs. This study places the concepts and manifestations of these in Africa, addressing the paramount question of how f beliefs. This study places the concepts and
development, strategic reflections and C development, strategic reflections and C
Africa can retain and capitalize its rich cultural traditions as it achieves social h attitudes in both China and Africa in their socio- Africa can retain and capitalize its rich cultural traditions as it achieves social h attitudes in both China and Africa in their socio-
intellectual discourse and applies itself i intellectual discourse and applies itself i
and economical transformations in the 21st century. n political contexts, in an attempt to provide a and economical transformations in the 21st century. n political contexts, in an attempt to provide a
to issues such as economics, sociology, a to issues such as economics, sociology, a
: sophisticated, sensitive, and usable history. : sophisticated, sensitive, and usable history.
governance, history, arts and culture, and I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in understanding S governance, history, arts and culture, and I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in understanding S
e This attempt yields dividends, especially for e This attempt yields dividends, especially for
the logics of natural sciences. China from an African perspective. a the logics of natural sciences. China from an African perspective. a
r the primary audience of Africans, as it gives a r the primary audience of Africans, as it gives a
Chenyang Li, author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony c Chenyang Li, author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony c
h way of learning from the vast history of Chinese h way of learning from the vast history of Chinese
i i
n n
g experience without reducing African experience g experience without reducing African experience
A thought-provoking overview of China’s deep cultural structure and its A thought-provoking overview of China’s deep cultural structure and its
fo to insignificance or irrelevance (as has happened fo to insignificance or irrelevance (as has happened
impact on society. The systemic comparisons with values and practices in sub- r impact on society. The systemic comparisons with values and practices in sub- r
so often in dialogues between Africa and the so often in dialogues between Africa and the
a a
Saharan Africa are both innovative and useful. Saharan Africa are both innovative and useful.
n n
West). This book will be of interest to anyone West). This book will be of interest to anyone

Daniel A. Bell, author of The China Model O Daniel A. Bell, author of The China Model O
r from within Africa interested in engaging with r from within Africa interested in engaging with
Contributors: g Contributors: g
a The Rise and China as a complex and nuanced place, a place of a The Rise and China as a complex and nuanced place, a place of
Dr Hester du Plessis: MISTRA This is an immensely bold and timely effort to demonstrate an African ‘writing n Dr Hester du Plessis: MISTRA This is an immensely bold and timely effort to demonstrate an African ‘writing n
is challenge, creativity, and opportunity. is challenge, creativity, and opportunity.
Professor Thaddeus Metz: University of back’ to China, that both proposes an equal relationship between the two in Professor Thaddeus Metz: University of back’ to China, that both proposes an equal relationship between the two in
Professor Bruce Janz, University of Central Florida Professor Bruce Janz, University of Central Florida
g g
Johannesburg continents, and shows how seriously and knowledgeably Africa appreciates Johannesburg continents, and shows how seriously and knowledgeably Africa appreciates

P P
Professor Gauhar Raza: NISCAIR/CSIR India China, its history and its thought. The question that now arises is whether h Decline and Professor Gauhar Raza: NISCAIR/CSIR India China, its history and its thought. The question that now arises is whether h Decline and
i i
China can take Africa as seriously. lo China can take Africa as seriously. lo
Richard Poplak: Journalist s Richard Poplak: Journalist s
Stephen Chan OBE, School of Oriental & African Studies University of London o Stephen Chan OBE, School of Oriental & African Studies University of London o
Dr Daouda Cissè: University of Alberta, p Dr Daouda Cissè: University of Alberta, p
h h
Centre for Chinese Studies y Rise of China Centre for Chinese Studies y Rise of China
Dr Martyn Davies: Frontier Advisory Dr Martyn Davies: Frontier Advisory
Dr Yongjun Zhao: Groningen University Dr Yongjun Zhao: Groningen University
Dr Garth le Pere: University of Pretoria Dr Garth le Pere: University of Pretoria
Searching for an Searching for an
Dr Ross Anthony: Stellenbosch University, Dr Ross Anthony: Stellenbosch University,
Centre for Chinese Studies Centre for Chinese Studies
Maxime Lauzon-Lacroix: University of Organising Philosophy Maxime Lauzon-Lacroix: University of Organising Philosophy
Stellenbosch, Centre for Chinese Studies Stellenbosch, Centre for Chinese Studies
Mr Kevin Bloom: Journalist Mr Kevin Bloom: Journalist
CHINA INSIDE COVER PR23.1mm.indd 1 2019/06/06 17:59
CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 1
The Rise and
Decline and
Rise of China
Searching for an
Organising Philosophy
CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 2
This research project was supported by:
2
CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 3
The Rise and
Decline and
Rise of China
Searching for an
Organising Philosophy
Hester du Plessis (ed)
CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 4
Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)
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First published by RAP in 2015 
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Please cite this publication as follows:
MISTRA. 2015. The Rise and Decline and Rise of China: Searching for an Organising Philosophy.
Hester du Plessis (ed). Johannesburg: Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
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CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 5
C
ONTENTS
Foreword 006
List of Abbreviations 017
Chapter 1: Introduction 019
Hester du Plessis and Thaddeus Metz
Chapter 2: The ‘Civilisational Project’ of China 029
Hester du Plessis and Gauhar Raza
Chapter 3: Values in China as Compared to Africa 075
Thaddeus Metz
Chapter 4: Science and Society in China 117
Hester du Plessis and Gauhar Raza
Chapter 5: The Politics of China 153
Garth le Pere
Chapter 6: China's Economic Transformation –
What Lessons Can Africa Learn? 205
Daouda Cissé
Chapter 7: Chinese Society in Flux – A Study of Ethnicity, Guanxi,
and Urbanisation From the Late Imperial China Until Today 253
Maxime Lauzon-Lacroix and Ross Anthony
Chapter 8: China's Involvement with Africa 305
Kevin Bloom and Richard Poplak
Chapter 9: Concluding Recommendations 343
Hester du Plessis and Thaddeus Metz
Appendix 1: The Role of Land in China's Economic Development 363
Yongjun Zhao
Appendix 2: China's Special Economic Zone Model –
The Fire-starter of Industrialisation in Africa? 385
Martyn Davies
Index 401
CHINA 00 Intro v1_Chapter1 2015/07/22 3:28 PM Page 6
F
OREWORD
China is regarded as a trans-century wonder. Its social and economic
achievements during the last two decades of the past century and their
persistence into the current period stand as a monument to the very notion of
social development. The rapid advancement of its productive forces, combined
with the lifting of hundreds of millions out of abject poverty, has not only
profoundly affected the Chinese people but it has also redefined the contours of
global economic relations. For better or for worse, China’s international impact
continues to grow, encompassing economic, political, technological,
environmental and cultural domains.
Yet the rise of China (or Zhongguo), and its towering presence among
nations of the world, is not a new phenomenon. From the forging of a new state
and the administrative and technological advances that started some 2,500 years
ago and beyond, China has experienced ebbs and flows that can only generate,
for the inquisitive mind, the perennial question of millennia: why do
civilisations rise and fall! And the deeper curiosity China invokes is, among
others, for extending that question: … and rise again!
And so, across the world, tomes have, in recent decades, been written to try
and explain this remarkable phenomenon. Could it be the result of a calculated
focus by the Chinese leadership from the dynasties of yesteryear? Do the
philosophical foundations of its historical systems of social organisation
matter? What about religion, ideology, culture and social mien?
When faced with such a complex social phenomenon, it may be too easy to
fall into the trap of sociological reductionism. Temporal success can breed an
analytical framework that elevates any and everything – ‘typical’ of the Chinese
– as the genesis of such success. Correlation and causality thus merge into one
in search of easy answers. On the other hand, mystique and technicism can
easily be rolled into one, to conjure up artificial and simplistic comparisons
between ‘the extraordinary and the banal’ among nations and imagined racial
categories.
In this treatise, the Mapungubwe Institute (MISTRA) sets out to investigate
the multifaceted factors that accompanied and influenced the evolution of
Chinese society over the centuries. While the issue of belief systems, from the
Han Dynasty to the current period, are the main areas of focus, an attempt has
been made to examine the totality of human endeavours that characterise this
evolution. Out of this has emerged a transdisciplinary compendium of separate
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but related chapters on economic and social life, political institutions and
practices, and the interrelationships between these and culture, particularly the
philosophy underpinning Confucianism. Indeed, an investigation into
civilisational cycles, by necessity of its complexity, requires input from various
fields of knowledge and expertise.
Running like a red thread through this book are the manifestations of Sino-
African relations dating back many centuries. In this way, The Rise and Decline
and Rise of China: Searching for an Organising Philosophy takes forward the
work MISTRA conducted on the Mapungubwe society, one of the advanced
states that existed in southern Africa some 800 years ago, and which enjoyed
trade relations with China and other centres in the East. Mapungubwe rose and
fell, long before European colonial incursions. Other states emerged in the
vicinity, but they also suffered the same fate.
When do southern Africa and Africa at large rise again? Are there lessons that
the continent can draw from the experience of the Chinese people? If – beyond
material considerations – religion, culture and ideology do play a role in the rise,
decline and resurgence of a civilisation, what are the similarities and contrasts
between these regions?
Of course, such research cannot ignore the fundamental questions: whence
does the current system of social, economic and political relations in China
draw its resilience, how adaptable is it, and is it sustainable!
As the outcome contained in this book demonstrates, a research exercise of
this kind can only be exploratory. It serves merely as a genesis to work that
should find new legs. What makes this research report unique, though, is that
the treatment of these issues has been undertaken primarily from an African
perspective.
If the book leaves many questions unanswered, and if there are weaknesses
in knitting together the complex narratives, our solace is that an attempt has
been made and an intellectual journey has started. For this, MISTRA extends its
appreciation to the authors who gave of their time to take a bold step with us;
to the peer reviewers who critiqued the various drafts; to the Chinese partners
who took part in a special workshop on the research at the Institute of African
Studies at Zhejiang Normal University (IASZNU); to the advisors who offered
counsel on the strategic direction of the research work, and to the generous
donors who made this project possible.
Joel Netshitenzhe
Executive Director
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A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Mapungubwe Institute (MISTRA) expresses its deepest gratitude to the
project leaders of this research project – Thaddeus Metz and Hester du
Plessis – to the project coordinator – Jeffrey Sehume – and to the researchers
for consenting to join the project and undertaking the work.
Appreciation is extended to subject specialists who contributed to the
research proposal drafts, project overviews and chapters: Medeine
Tribinevicius, Daniel A. Bell, Bruce Janz, Shi Shunke, Bernard Schiele, Garth
Shelton, Anil Sooklal, Paul Zilungisele Tembe, Matthew Birtch, Steve Dunga,
and Narnia Bohler-Muller.
A number of MISTRA staff contributed to the successful outcome of the
project; they include: Ilva MacKay, Sedica Davids, Hope Prince, Thabiso
Chiloane, Dzunisani Mathonsi, and Thabang Moerane who organised
logistics for the workshops; Lorraine Pillay who expedited contracts and
invoices; Barry Gilder who sub-edited the manuscript, and Joel Netshitenzhe
and Yacoob Abba Omar who provided advice and assisted with editing
during various stages of the drafting process.
Thank you to Angela McClelland and Reedwaan Vally of Real African
Publishers for producing the first edition of this publication, and to Jacana
Media for partnering with MISTRA to produce this second edition.
MISTRA warmly thanks its donors who contributed to this project as well as
those who have generally contributed to the work of the Institute.
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