China’s Great Unity’ Is Embedded in Xi Jinping’s Vision of China

China’s emphasis on the value of national unity has ancient roots, running from Confucius’ school of thought to modern-day China under Xi Jinping, Peter C. Perdue, a historian, writes in a new essay.

The concept of “great unity” underpins the national identity and diplomatic rhetoric of China. Historian Peter C. Perdue writes in a new piece that the idea of “great unity” has had a long and complex history in China — and that it is inextricably linked with China’s conception of itself, both domestically and in its relations with the outside world.

Perdue writes of the concept of “great unity”, known as datong in Chinese, its philosophical history and its place in modern-day debates about China’s national identity. He argues that it was built on the idea of Confucius and other ancient Chinese thinkers that there should be a harmonious order in society, and that in modern China it has been reinterpreted several times in order to apply to the specific circumstances of Imperial China, the Republic of China, and, finally, the PRC.

When writing about the concept and its history in modern China, Perdue notes that Sun Yat-sen’s era saw the first attempts to apply the concept to the newly founded republic, which was viewed as a unique experiment in history.

Today, it is Xi Jinping’s rule that sees the concept acquire new weight, as the President seeks to tie the rhetoric of unity to the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party about China’s ancient history and its national unity.

At the same time, Perdue writes, the concept provides critical background to understanding how China interacts — or fails to interact — with the international community. The notion of “great unity”, which sees China as a single entity, may have informed China’s position on international disputes about sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Great unity is also related to the way in which the Chinese authorities seek to position China as a force in the modern world. While China’s foreign policy discourse emphasizes harmony and cooperation with other nations, its emphasis on sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-intervention makes clear that Beijing views itself as fundamentally different from the other major powers in the world.

The legacy of the concept runs through modern China, from Sun Yat-sen to Chiang Kai-shek to Xi Jinping. The concept of Confucius’ great unity has seen multiple reinterpretations in China’s modern history, Peter C. Perdue writes in a new essay. And, he argues, an understanding of this history is critical to understanding modern China’s approach to both internal and external affairs.