Chinese Nationalism

Name

University of

Date:

1 | Page

 1 INTRODUCTION
The 20th century saw the fall of Qing dynasty and the establishment and dissolution of the

Republic of China. It also witnessed the rise of Communist China. Alongside, politics, education,

culture, economics, and social institutions also played a major role in reflecting the

transformation of China especially from a culture-bound empire to the modern nation-state. The

influence of other countries is also significant in shaping the beliefs and thinking of people that

has also contributed a lot in understanding the process of nationalism. Friedman (2006, p.13)

added that there had been a vast variation in the Chinese nationalism because of the transition it

underwent in different periods. China was successful in keeping its territory intact after the fall

of Qing Empire and transformed into a nation-state in the beginning of the 20th century. After

inheriting the territory for the empire, the Republic of China after 1911 and also the People’s

Republic of China from 1949 were ruling the areas that did not share the Chinese culture,

tradition, or language and had not been ruled by the Chinese bureaucracy but by Manchu.

Additionally, from the 18th century to half of the present day, China was acquired by the Qing

dynasty. Afterwards, the Chinese government took the initiative of spreading nationalism in

different parts of the country Nationalism is often instilled through the use of print media, school

textbooks, information in museums, historical monuments, national currency, national song,

stamps, statues, and stories of glories and sacrifices (Friedman, 2006, p.23). When newspapers or

past stories on sacrifices and achievements are used, they constantly highlight the same discourse

and sets of categories that define or articulate values that lead to the extraordinary mass

ceremony. Such events, stories, or historical relevance in the museums are repeated daily or at

frequent intervals helping readers or observers to understand the process of national identity and

significance that leads to an impact on the perception towards nationalism (Gries, 2004, p.12)

2 | Page

 Considering the Ethno-Symbolist approach that is based on stressing the importance of

symbols, myths, traditions, and values, it can be said that majority of the countries have followed

the same process. I am using the case of Panama to compare the Chinese nationalism, as the

country has been antagonist in many ways having colonial history. Despite the fact that both

Panama and China have been antagonists in many ways, the process of nationalism was similar.

When nationalism was created in China; there was constant threat of foreign intervention and

presence of multi-ethnicity. In the case of Panama, the foreign threat was from Columbia and the

US while in the case of China, the threat was from japan and European colonial powers.

In this regard, the attention is more on understanding and analysing the views of key scholars

like Gellner, Smith, Anderson, Harrison, Hobsbawm, and Thongchai Winichakul that will be

discussed in the theoretical approach. The modern Chinese nationalism arose in the 20th century,

and the intellectual sources included Chinese nationalism and modern Western nationalism.

Some revolutionaries represented by Sun Yat-Sen advocated for excluding the “Manchu” and

establishing a single nation-state for the Han. On the other hand, few of the revolutionaries

represented by the Liang Qichao asked for incorporating “Manchu” and building a multi-nation

state. The final outcome was that the two parties reached a consensus in terms of establishing an

independent, democratic, and unified multinational country (Gongqin, 2003, p.25).

Hobsbawm (1990, 2000, p.32) talked about the proto-nationalism driven by the idea of bonds

existing in human beings with tangential collectives and defined purposes. They pursue similar

goals on a macro-political scale and exclude others by considering them strangers. He further

emphasised that proto-nationalism can be distinguished into two categories in the form of supra-

local bonds including language, religion, and ethnicity and political bonds that are used to link

people through the state and institutions. Additionally, these bonds lead inexorably to the

nationalism without any necessary connection.

3 | Page

 Gries (2004, p.23) supported thus argument by explaining that languages, ethnicity, and

religion act a common bond for people to share similar characteristics and behaviour. The use of

national languages, flags, churches, monuments, and museums act as a medium to communicate

the national history. Hobsbawm (1990, p.33) found that countries often use land, holy icons, and

structures, and political affiliation as a medium of establishing nationalism. However, he also

believed that proto-nationalism is neither sufficient nor necessary for nationalism.

Harrison (2001, p.26) mentioned that both Western historians and Chinese nationalists have

argued that from early periods China had the feature of a nation-state with a common language,

culture, and bureaucracy. This argument holds a great deal of significance in terms of affecting

the understanding of how nations are constructed. Harrison believed that the attitude of the 18th

and 19th century Chinese people towards the identity and ethnicity interacted with the structure

of the state and the development of a new culture was a part of the modern nation-state that has

the potential to resist the Western Imperial powers. Nationalism is a feeling of being proud of

one's nation while imperialism is based on extending nationalism to the point of domination.

Nationalism is seen at the weaker end of the spectrum because it creates a sense of belongingness

and patriotism while imperialism extends the domination of one country on others (Gonquin,

2003, p.21). In the case of China, it was more like a nationalism approach rather than

imperialism.

The new culture was spread from the cities into rural China. However, Harrison (2001, p.23)

suggested that China is an exception to the process of invention of nations. The difference arises

from the complexities of the relationships between the imperialism and nationalism, and the role

of imperialism was not limited only to the Western Empires- the Manchu Qing Empire played an

essential role in the construction of the modern Chinese nation (Harrison, 2001, p.29).

4 | Page

 Harrison (2001, p.35) coined the question that what makes Chinese people Chinese and the

study argued that the modern rituals of statehood helped in creating a new political culture in the

early 20th century that created a feeling of Chineseness. The focal point on symbols and rituals

that connected the political elites and populace drove the idea of nationalism to a certain extent.

Harrison views are closely associated with the idea of ethnicity and national citizenship that

created an image of modern Chinese citizens like short hair for men, handshaking, the solar

calendar, clothing and fashion, and new marriage rituals. She also emphasised that Chinese

people are Chinese not because of the participation in the traditional rituals but because of the

participation in the modern rituals of the statehood. Friedman (2006, p.26) disagreed with few

ideas of Harrison by adding that modernisation through fashion and clothing cannot predict the

process of nationalism. For Panama, it was considered an invention of Wall Street by a number

of Latin American countries, academics, and scholars that also angered the Panamanians. It was

found that South Americans recognized Panama as a State because of the pressure from the US.

The elites sided with the Americans in order to create Panama. Olmedo Beluche and Gandasegui

believed that Panama did not exist before this. Beluche argued that the separation of the 19th

century does not highlight the nationalist sentiments but a response to the conservative politics of

Columbia.

After the 1930s, majority of the academicians wrote on the sovereignty over the canal and the

issue of the canal was a political discourse until it's handover to Panama in 1999. The history of

the US and Panama has been symbolized by the canal. The rush of the settlers to California and

Oregon in the 19th century was the major impetus of the US desire to build an artificial waterway

across the Central America. In the year 1855, the US completed a railroad across the Isthmus of

Panama (which was a part of Columbia) prompting a number of parties to propose the canal

building plans.
5 | Page

 By the end of the century, the military and economic imperative of the US was to seek the

possession of the Canal. In the year 1903, the Hay-Herran Treaty was signed with Columbia that

granted the US the status of using the territory in exchange of financial compensation. The

Columbian Senate refused the treaty on the grounds of losing the sovereignty even though the

US Senate wanted to ratify the treaty. The then President Roosevelt gave the tacit approval to the

Panamanian independence movement. It was further found that the prominent families with

interest in the canal began plotting secession. Manuel Amador Guerrero who was the leader of

the Panamanian Secessionist Movement declared independence. In 1903, a faction of

Panamanians issued freedom from Columbia. After the end of the 20th century, another treaty

was signed where the Panama Canal Treaty authorized the immediate abolishment of the Canal

Zone. This move was criticised on the grounds of giving up the control of the enduring symbol

of the US power and technological advancement. The US was found to be supporting the

secessionist Panamanian elite who previously fought with them.

This shows that the Panamanian nationalism wave was more of a result of the imperialism

where the US dominated the then Columbian owned nation for commercial and territorial

benefits. However, after the freedom, the nationalism movement was based on the control of

elites and imposition of ideas and beliefs in the form of newspapers, museums, currencies, and

national identities that was similar to the nationalism process of China. For Panama, the feeling

of nationalism existed only in the elites mainly because the majority of the population was not

literate and was also not integrated to the urban centers of Panama City and the Colony. The

elites were also found to be following the Latin American model of nation building that was

based on the ideas of the 19th-century European nationalism. Roy (1979, p.12) supported this

view by adding that the elites were engaged in presenting the heroes, constructing monuments,

renaming the streets and parks along with using the historical figures.
6 | Page

 The historical links were drawn along with reinterpreting the historical events in order to

match their discourse. Conniff (1992, p.21) believed that the nation-building process of Panama

started after its independence in 1903 and was altered continuously to meet the needs and

demands of the elites. In order to distance itself from Columbia, the initial action was to consider

Panama as an internationalist nation with a purpose of linking east and west. The cultural and

economic threat in the form of the US presence and influence of the Canal Zone compelled the

elites to shift their focus on building a Hispano-American nation. Later, after 1930s, the focus

was more on recovering the canal that unified the masses leading to a new Panamanian identity

(Di Tella, 2001, p.12).

The transformation of China and Panama from the initial intervention of foreign countries to a

self-driven nationalistic approach was based on the social and economic transformation. The

context of Panama serves the need to draw comparative analysis in order to prove that the

nationalism process of these countries was similar to a certain extent. The major aim of the

discussion is to compare the Chinese nationalism with that of Panama in terms of exploring and

analysing the national narratives, national consciousness, and national identity. The discussion

also aims to investigate the theoretical importance and significance of nationalism and to relate it

to the Chinese nationalism.

The objectives of the discussion revolves around examining the fact whether the nationalism

process of China was unique or similar to Panama. Finally, the research addresses the fact

whether Chinese nationalism was unique or not by critically analysing the main findings

emerging from the assessment of views and opinions of the mentioned scholars. The focal point

of the study is on the roots and emergence of the Chinese nationalism that shaped the process of

nationalism.

7 | Page

 The discussion also uncovers facts that will help in understanding the past and present

nationalism process of China with distinctive similarities, differences, or uniqueness with the

Panama nationalism. The first chapter in the form of the introduction sets the foundation for the

discussion by discussing the purpose and rationale for the research. The second section explains

the theoretical approach where theories of nationalism discussed by key scholars like Gellner,

Anderson, Smith, Hobsbawm, and Harrison are discussed critically. The nationalism theories are

then discussed in the context of China. The critical arguments section presented the major

arguments of the stated scholars. The arguments were based on how nationalism was established

in the case of China and Panama and what was the role of schools, museums, newspapers, public

education, and media. The section critically examines the views and opinions different scholars

in the context of the Chinese and Panamanian nationalism. Finally, the conclusion chapter

summarizes the entire discussion by focusing on the core objective of explaining the general

process of Chinese nationalism that was similar to the Panamanian nationalism process lacking

uniqueness.

8 | Page

 2 THEORETICAL APPROACH
The cornerstone of the section is on discussing the theories of nationalism being explained

and discussed by scholars like Gellner, Smith, Anderson, Harrison, Hobsbawm, and Thongchai

Winichakul. This is followed by discussing how these theories can be applied to China.

3 THEORIES OF NATIONALISM

In last few decades, many researchers and scholars had presented their views on the concept

of nationalism. Modern nations are distinct from the previous forms of collective organisations

and the idea of nationalism is rooted in the modern historical developments (Johnston, 2004,

p.605). The modern nations are invariable nation-states that are also assumed as the product of

the age of nationalism. It is argued that the age of nationalism is driven by the historical and

social developments of modernisation reflected by the process of industrialisation, universal

literacy, and political democracy. Prior to this, there were feudal dynasties, agrarian societies,

and little understanding on the sentiments of nationalism. The feeling of collective “national”

belonging was lacking in the previous form of collective organisations. Karl (2002, p.12). Pye

and Pye (1985, p-184) suggested that the scope of nations or nationalism was quite limited in the

pre-modern era as the relevance and acceptance of such ideas emerged in the modern world. Karl

(2002, p.13) argued that the nationalist ideologies are sharp breaks from the past with no idea

and understanding in their first appearance and acceptance in the society. Ernest Gellner found

that nationalism is the way of imposing a high culture on the society by replacing the low

cultures and multiculturalism. His prominent theory on the origin or nationalism focused on

transforming the society from an agrarian-based economy to the industrialism (Gries, 2004,

p.45). He believed that peasants represented society and there was a strict boundary between the

classes and communities because of the difference in the economic and social status. These

9 | Page

separate communities were under the "state" but did not share common memories, languages,

myths, and religion. There was a dearth of economic mobility and social advancement because of

the lack of education. Additionally, culture imposition was high because of the lack of awareness

and understanding as highlighted by the differences in the social and economic classes

(Yongnian, 2009, p.13).

Gellner argued that nationalism might be excluded if there is a lack of one culture, ideology,

and culture. However, he emphasised the belief that the rise of industrialism helped in breaking

the barriers because of the standardised education that helped in facilitating the social and

economic mobility. There was a common problem in the form of uneven spread of

industrialisation that offered benefits to few and disadvantages to many because of the lack of

accessibility and awareness (Gongqin, 2003, p.42). According to the views of Gellner (1983,

p.12), the large-scale industries and rise of the middle class was driven by the conditions of the

nationalist movement of emancipation from the feudal to the religious bonds.

Benedict Anderson also contributed to the field of nationalism. Anderson's work in the form

of Imagined Communities was published in 1983 that offered a fresh air to the discussion of

nationalism that did not witness any superior change in the last few years. Schwarcz (1992, p.12)

added that analysis was majorly mired in old and irrational debates over invented traditions and

primordial identities. Furthermore, there was an issue in the form of comparison between the

cultural inheritance and nationalism and reflection of modern state under the process of

development. There were also debates on the powerful political factors and false consciousness.

Another scholar Thongchai Winichakul explained nationalism differently. Eugene (2015,

p.12) added that Thongchai highlighted that the importance of the constructivist philosophy of

the nation that has been set forth by the likes of Gellner and Anderson. He stated that there is

nothing inherent to the nations and agreed to the idea that nations are imagined community being
10 | Page

defined by its recognition of itself and not by any intangible bond. The contribution of

Thongchai is based on interpreting the nation through the geo-body that helps in the delineation

and formation of any national territory. He emphasised that nationalism is dependent on the

finite nature of a nation that is demarcated by borders. These borders play an important and

crucial role in identifying and limiting the national identity to a certain extent.

The study of nationhood through the lens of territory in important in explaining the formation

of the nation through the political geography as the nation cannot be segregated from the idea of

sovereignty and the value of territory. Andrez (2015, p.12) mentioned that the discourse of

Thongchai on the falseness of nations and territories exists in an anti-nationalist historical

context and his views are more inclined towards the anti-primordialist that the conventional

constructivism because it has added that element of an unreal territory and geography.

Another key theorist, Eric Hobsbawm was a proponent of Marxist holding anti-primordial

view of the nation. He believed that large numbers of people whose members are assumed as

members of the nations would be traded as such. His ideas were driven by the deep

constructivism views on nationalism that paved the way for pre-existing and homogenous

attributes of people group not defining the nation but recognising the bond. However, he rejected

the idea that nations exist because of the existing bonds between people. He emphasised that

nations are natural in nature and political destiny are myths. He stated that nationalism can be

based on pre-existing cultures and can help in building nations along with inventing them. It can

also obliterate the pre-existing cultures and is the basic reality (Gregory, 2010, p.82). Hobsbawm

believed that the primordial conception of the mythologised nation that is assumed to be inherent

in people is mainly absurd as nations are fundamentally situated at the point that intersects

technologies, politics, and social transformation (Winichakul, 2015, p-25).

11 | Page

 They are present because of the social and economic development and also within the same

context because of the development of the mass standardisation of practice. This also means that

nations are not a pre-existing bond between the groups of people. He stressed that understanding

of the nations could happen using a bottom-up approach as the national ideology at the top is not

reflective of the ideologies of the working class and can be termed as secondary to other forms of

self-identification (Eugene, 2015, p.15).

Gladney (1994, p.95) assumed that nationalism has been not omnipresent and it started to

appear in the mid 18th and 19th century. It’s perception and emergence has changed widely.

Nationalism is assumed as a fruit of capitalist revolution that spawned the ideologies of

liberalism and socialism. Pye (1994, p.183) stated that nationalism is the ideology that unifies

nations and facilitating the ideologies of national autonomy, economic development, and

security. However, Shue (2004, p.25) argued that nations are homogenous social groups sharing

the common destiny in which humanity is divided under capitalism. This clearly shows that

different scholars have the different understanding of nationalism that has been shaped by the

changes in the society and the beliefs and opinions of the people.

4 THEORIES OF NATIONALISM IN REGARDS TO CHINA

Zhao (2004, p.30) believed that the Chinese nationalism is ambiguous having different facets

and a rich history. With a rich history and different elements of nationalism arising during

different periods, the nationalism process of China is truly intriguing but not unique. However,

Chang (2001, p.255) strongly believed that the Chinese nationalism is very much specific as it is

based on the perception of insecurity that was strengthened by the Opium War in 1840.

However, alongside this insecurity, there are different forms of nationalism existing in the

country. Nationalism in China has emerged through a series of historical experiences of

greatness and humiliation. The Chinese were proud of their civilisation and considered
12 | Page

themselves as the centre of the world, but the humiliation in the wars with Britain and Japan

created the sense of nationalism (Friedman, 2006, p.65).

The nature and impact of nationalism changed with time according to the variations in the

relationships with the Western countries. Wang (2003, p.23) found that the most significant

limitation of the Chinese nationalism is in the form of its ambiguity as it has underwent many

transitions being impacted by social and economic factors.

Gladney (1994, p.113) pointed another challenge in the form of the influence of the Western

countries that challenge the past traditions and customs along with replacing them or mixing with

them that alters the meaning of true nationalism. The theoretical relevance of Gellner to the

Chinese nationalism mentioned that the basis of this theory was more on highlighting the role of

the industrial societies having a high degree of the social and occupational mobility compared to

the agrarian societies where only powerful had access to education. However, the process of

industrialisation focused more on mass education where shaping beliefs and perceptions of

people through right education was termed as an important step in facilitating nationalism

(Friedman, 2006, p.32). On the contrary, the concept of mass education was mainly unheard and

political control was decentralised with population speaking a number of languages and dialects.

However, there was a lack of cultural homogenization in the agrarian societies resulting in a

little resemblance to the nationalism. On the other hand, culture played an important role in the

industrial societies where social interaction took place among strangers sharing common cultural

patterns. Gellner’s perspective on Chinese nationalism found that that there is no clarity on the

transition from the agrarian to the industrial society in different parts of the world (Harrison,

2001, p.35). In the case of China, the national rhetoric took place before the industrialisation

phase, and there was no articulated sense of Chinese nationalism before the 19th century.

13 | Page

 Xiaotong (1945, p.45) added that the loss of China's traditional tributary states, Vietnam to

France in 1884, and Korea to Japan in 1895 helped in gaining new insights regarding the notion

of identity and nationalism. However, China did not witness industrialisation at that point in

time, and there is little clarity on how the ideologies of nationalism prevailed from the theoretical

perspective of Gellner. Another key issue with the theoretical perspective of Gellner is in the

form of the assumed non-national character of the pre-modern high cultures that do not fit the

Chinese case of nationalism.

However, China did witness industrialisation where a high culture of the society replaced the

low cultures and multiculturalism (Friedman, 2006, p.29). Harrison (2000) tried to explore the

idea of what makes Chinese people Chinese and the answer was in the form of modern rituals

related to the statehood helping in creating a political culture in the 20th century that helped in

producing the lived practices of everyday life that helped in creating the sense of Chineseness.

The views and opinions of Harrison to the nationalism were rooted in the association between

the ethnicity and national citizenship. Arif (1989, p.23) added that the views and opinions of

Harrison on Chinese nationalism were based on the evolution of the political culture in the first

decade of the 20th century that was constituted mainly by the professional sectors but the new

political society of the citizens marked traditional China. Chang (2001, p.223) added that there is

no doubt that the negotiations among the social groups helped in facilitating the idea of new

Chinese culture. Friedman (2006) added that the comment made by Hobsbawm to the

nationalism in the form of the decline of the nation-states and nationalism being irrelevant to the

new supranational restructuring of the globe had gained a great deal of acceptance. Scholars and

analysts have added that there is serious doubt on the nation-states losing control of their

territoriality.

14 | Page

 Harrison (2001, p.45) highlighted that globalisation has changed the dynamics of the

nationalism in terms declining it further. Friedman (2006, p.22) pointed out that the Chinese elite

and the pragmatic nationalism have derived meaning from the social and economic realities of

China. However, the foreign influence is also not objected or contradicted. Gongqin (2003, p.22)

questioned the influence of the current nationalism leading the way for democratic nationalism

concerned with safeguarding the interest of both the Chinese nation and also of men and women

belonging to it. Gregory (2010, p.23) added that there is a need to follow one ideology to prolong

the life expectancy of the nations.

However, Eugene (2015, p19) contradicted by adding that there is every possibility of a

nation going through a series of transition. Such transitions are based on the social, economic,

and technological changes helping in achieving different sets of ideologies in respect to the

nationalism. He also stressed the fact that nations are real and matter the most but the perspective

of being mattered might be for wrong reasons and bad ways.

This is mainly because people under pressure from the globalisation seek assurance of the

local identity. They are forced to believe that outsiders are a threat and migrants are stealing their

jobs with foreign enterprises undermining their native and local businesses (Harrison, 2001,

p.18). They also matter for good in the form of the sense of belongingness leading to social

welfare. Additionally, if modernity and citizenship are conflicted at the historical juncture, there

is a need to investigate their relationship. Andrzej (2015, p.25) argued that even though Harrison

views on Chinese nationalism have been widely recognised, she lacked explicit analysis of the

social roles, symbols, and rituals. Friedman (2006, p.212) contradicted this belief by adding that

the views and opinions of Harrison and related findings are based on the analysis of the

newspapers, memoirs, and government documents that helped in understanding the state rituals

and change in the perception and behaviour of people.

15 | Page

 She also debunked the gaps between the elites and the general population that have been posit

by the various scholars in the past. This also means that there has been a change in the ideology

to the differences arising between the elite and general groups helping in building the national

identity to a certain extent in the present as well as in the future. Thus, it can be said that

different scholars have put forward different opinions to the nationalism process of China by

talking about the role of elites, capitalist, industrialisation, imagined communities,

advancements, and ideologies. This also shows that the process of Chinese nationalism has been

a simple process of nationalisation that goes through a series of changes as per the changes in the

social, economic, and technological environments.

5 CRITICAL ARGUMENTS
This section describes how Nationalism has been instilled upon the population of China using

different ideas and methods. The findings are also contrasted with the case of Panama in order to

highlight the lack of uniqueness in the nationalism process of China.

16 | Page

6 MAJOR ARGUMENTS

Anderson (2000, p.23) highlighted that newspapers have emerged as the new moulders of new

forms of the political and cultural identity. In the case of China, it was found that efforts were

taken in order to explore the vision of the nation being articulated in newspapers and published

in major cities. The newspapers were also sub-divided as treaty ports containing the mixture of

the Chinese run and foreign-run districts. Before the Opium war, China already had started

developing an urban market for the economy but once the war began, the country was exposed

prematurely to the Western industries. This resulted in increased dependency on the foreign

goods and products as China lacked competency. The war gave an urban market economy to the

country but soon, China realised that the country cannot afford to be isolationist. Intellectuals

realised the importance of understanding Western economies and ideas in terms of competing

with them and reduce the increased dependency. There were a number of scholars like Lin,. Xu,

Wel Yuan, and Ji-Yu reading and translating the material from the West and publishing books on

Western countries, ideologies, social structures, and economies. There were also active debates

on new ideas such as imported concepts of nationalism in the new media such as newspapers.

Anderson (2000, p.21) argued that the print capitalism spurred the publishing of the books and

newspapers in vernacular languages reaching out to a lot of growing numbers of literature

audiences. They were able to imagine communities of people like them along with reading the

same newspapers and books in the same language.

It helped in creating a distinct and discrete national language that was also promulgated by the

massive statewide education in the national language. Alongside, it helped in developing the

communication systems that made people think about the nation and also to believe and imagine

the national communities. As per the findings of Dwyer (2005, p-45), the Chinese government

17 | Page

has been facilitating an identity-building project through the use of Mandarin as a language of

instruction in schools in minority-inhabited areas.

The use of language as a mode of creating the feeling of nationalism is very much evident

from its initiative. Anderson (2000, p.45) added that in the 19th century especially in the

European States, there was an attempt to control the domain by counting the number of people,

mapping the world, and classifying the population. Efforts were also taken to take an inventory

of the rehabilitated monuments and using them as collective symbols on stamps. Hobsbawm

(1990, p.98) added that the nations as a natural God-given way of classifying men and political

boundaries are a myth as nationalism at times takes the pre-existing cultures and turns them into

nations alongside inventing them. In this regard, nationalism emerges in the form of a picture,

museum piece, or census capturing people, places, and ideas at a fixed moment along with

displaying them as evidences for supporting culture and identity.

Additionally, the ability of the leaders to control the past and invent new tradition enhances

the efficacy of the nation as a key tool for the identity. Harrison (2001, p-22) added that the

Chinese societies are saturated with customs, social relationships, and values that link the present

generation with the past generation. The nation and its symbolic representation in the form of

museums and monuments explain the traditions, culture, history, and modernity to a certain

extent. Whiting (1983, p.922) also supported this argument by adding that museums, public

places, newspapers, journals, and monuments often relate the identity of a nation with a culture

that existed in different periods.

However, there is also a possibility of different personalities being presented to the current

generation that might not be able to create a sound understanding of the process of nationalism

happened earlier. There is no doubt that the way monuments, museums, newspapers, and myths

are inflicted upon the population to generate the sense of nationalism, it creates a feeling of
18 | Page

belongingness and awareness towards a nation’s history. There were numerous newspapers that

created awareness on nationalism and few of them were the Chinese Times, Shanxi Daily News,

Chung Sai Yat Po and, Chinese Pacific Weekly. Additionally, China Can Say No also evoked

nationalism. All these newspapers emerged in different era with few operating independently

like the Chung Sai Yat Po, Chinese Pacific Weekly, and China Can Say No while other operating

under the influence of some political parties (Claypool, 2005, p.125). Additionally, the Nantong

Museum was the first Chinese museum that was established in the year 1905 that was of little

political interest during that period. However, the museum is highly praised for realising the

Chinese patriotic modernisation.

It was also found that the leaders of the Socialist and Republican Party were aware of the

importance of museums in establishing national legitimacy and thus, the National Peiping Palace

Museum became the first national level museum in China (Gladney, 1994, p.123). The major

purpose of these museums was to promote patriotic education and to create awareness on the

national history and culture. The Museum of Chinese History, Museum of Chinese Revolution,

and People’s Revolutionary Military Museum was opened in Beijing. The numbers of museums

increased in the following years with the propaganda of enhancing patriotism. The major aim

was to introduce people to the historical significance of the nation, heroes sacrificing in the

nation building process, awareness on the past currencies, structures, pictures, and things. When

people see things and narratives of the past, they get exposed to the past culture and history that

helps in shaping the understanding on the evolution of their nation from the past to the present.

There were many surrounding myths and one such myth was in the form of “Say No” that

became a sensation in the form of series of books published in 1996 and 1997 having strong

nationalist sentiments regarding anti-Americanism and towards Japan (Gries, 2004, p-125). All

these newspapers, museums, and myths aimed to instill the feeling of nationalism by
19 | Page

highlighting the history of the nation, major events, important heroes, and educating the masses.

In the context of Panama, it was found that there was little information on the diffusion of

newspapers. However, Cien años de prensa en Colombia 1840-1940, a catalogue of the

newspapers having description of the publication date and frequency of the newspapers helped in

understanding the relevance of newspapers in terms of the nationalism to a certain extent. The

two newspapers in the form of the Panama Star Herald and La Estrella De Panama provided

general and commercial information regarding Panama were official publication of the political

factions of the Conservative and Liberal Parties.

Harrison (2000, p.212) argued that several groups created an image of modern China through

their social activities, beliefs, perceptions, and ideologies. She believed that the feeling of being

Chinese was not driven by the rituals of marriage, deaths, and births but because of their

participation in the rituals related to the modern statehood. Gellner (2015, p.23) found that the

views and opinions of Harrison in the context of the Chinese nationalism are not clear because of

the fact that she seems to conflict the citizenship and modernity that is often implicit and

confusing. Eugene (2015, p.13) pointed out that the idea of nationalism could not be identified

by analysing the practices and customs. Additionally, if modernity and citizenship are conflicted

at the historical juncture, there is a need to know more about their relationship. Andrzej (2015,

p.25) argued that even though Harrison views on Chinese nationalism have been widely

recognised, she lacked explicit analysis of the social roles, symbols, and rituals.

Friedman (2006, p.212) contradicted this belief by adding that the views and opinions of

Harrison and related findings are based on the analysis of the newspapers, memoirs, and

government documents that helped in understanding the state rituals and change in the

perception and behaviour of people. She also debunked the gaps between the elites and the

general population that have been posit by the various scholars in the past. This also means that
20 | Page

there has been a change in the ideology in the context of the differences arising between the elite

and general groups helping in building the national identity to a certain extent in the present as

well as in the future. The thought of conception and perception on the nation was influenced by

many factors like political, social, and historiographical factors (Eugene, 2015, p.212). It was

also found that the dominance of the modern constructivist resulted in a liberal bias against the

primordialist concept of the nation and nationalism. Primordialist emphasis on the fact that

nation and nationalism are a natural phenomenon.

However, it was not true in the case of China and Panama as both nations determined

nationalism as a constructed and invented phenomenon driven by the modern constructivist

approach. Additionally, their work has been influenced by the migrants and transnational

workers along with personal experiences playing an important and crucial role (Winichakul,

2015, p.114). The reason behind discussing the ideas of these scholars is based on the

understanding that they bring different insights and ideas related to the nationalism being

influenced by different factors and phenomenon and are helpful in understanding the concept of

nationalism from a general and specific perspective (Winichakul, 1994, p.192). There was also a

difference in the opinions of various scholars. Gregory (2010, p.35) questioned the ideas of

Smith by adding that he failed to establish a clear-cut distinction between the concepts of nations

and states. His centre of attention was more on attributing to the nation some of the key features

of the states.

Additionally, Eugene (2015, p.23) contradicted Smith by adding that his definition neglects

the existence of nations without states. Overall, it can be said that the idea of nationalism has

evolved to a great extent in different ways being perceived differently by different scholars but

helping in forming a general understanding towards it. Gellner's ideas were purely based on

developing new society through the literacy and learning. On the other hand, Anderson's
21 | Page

Imagined Communities offered a significant impetus for the scholars on the nationalism and

formulating other ideas related to it. However, his work is criticised on the grounds of being

normative and universal. Hobsbawm found a problem in terms of print capitalism and historical

class creating issues in understanding the nationalism. He argued that nation is not natural or

inherent but is of a historically recent origin and nationalism comes before the nations. He also

stated that nations do not make nationalism and cannot be considered as something that can be

disseminated by newspapers and editorials.

Gregory (2010, p.23) contradicted the views of Gellner by pointing that social organisations

of agrarian society are not favourable to the nationalist principle and to the convergence of the

political and cultural units. Gellner’s belief that social makeup of the agrarian society is

incompatible with the industrial society questions that effort of China in terms of successfully

implementing both the elements. This is mainly because the Chinese societies are mainly rural

and familial in nature with increasing income gap between the elites and average people.

However, China is a complex country that has broken away from the Gellner's conception of the

industrial nation. China has a state-run education system and has also managed to converge the

national with the political along with achieving the industrial growth. Davidson (2007, p.11)

supported this claim by adding that China challenges the Gellner's belief that the social makeup

of the agrarian society is often incompatible with the industrial society as the country has been

successful in managing both the elements.

Anderson (1983, p.132) defined the nationalism as a feeling of belongingness into an

imagined community. Friedman (2006, p.33) contradicted by adding that the Chinese

nationalism emerged from diversified ideological sources including Chinese Confucianism,

Western Liberalism, and Marxism. It is also affected by the internal and external wars and

relation with other countries. Additionally, Chinese nationalism has emerged from the new
22 | Page

phenomenon “Century of Humiliation” based on the defeats in the Opium war and war with

Japan that awaken the Chinese people from the sleep of ignorance. Thus, the ideas of Anderson

do not fit in defining the process of nationalism in the case of China because he theorised within

the context of a dominating constructivist narrative on the nationalism but did not include the

idea that each nation is unique (Chang, 2001, p.215). Gellner put forth the idea that nations are

socially conceived construct and can be termed as an artificial entity having the possibility of

continued existence. He also believed that nations and nationalism are not driven by the

historical events but based on fabrication.

Chatterjee (1993, p.23) pointed that Winichakul supported the idea of the constructivist

philosophy set forth by Gellner and Anderson by stating that there is nothing inherent or pre-

existing about the nation and he also supported the idea of nations being an imagined

community. On the other hand, Hobsbawm rejected the idea of attributes of people in a group

defining a nation, and he also rejected that nations exist because of the existing bond between

people. It can be said that the ideas of Anderson were based on the belief that people having

similar interests and identities will hold a mental image of their affinity. For example, the

nationhood felt with other members of their communities and nation while participating in the

national anthem, seeing the national flag, or participating in global events like Olympics. His

views were supported by Gellner, Winichakul, and Hobsbawm believing the nationalism is a

product of modernity.

Winichakul expanded the idea of artificiality by applying it to the tangible aspect of the

nation and Hobsbawm attempted to view nationhood from the bottom-up by redefining the

meanings and understanding of nations as a concept lacking uniformity.The Chinese nationalism

is not the result of any theoretical foundation as discussed but based on a new phenomenon

driven by the idea of humiliation. The Chinese nationalism has witnessed and experienced the
23 | Page

inclusive state nationalism rather than exclusive ethnic nationalism. The State nationalism is a

variant of civic nationalism that is combined with ethnic nationalism. It implies that the nation is

a community of people who contribute to its maintenance and strengthen the state. The ethnic

nationalism includes elements of descents and ideas shared by the current members of the

communities with their ancestors. Friedman (2006, p.35) added that the feeling of “Chineseness"

was found in educated students and intellectuals and spread to workers and the Communist

Party.

This helped in popularizing it and can be assumed as an element of the state nationalism

where people participated in the nation building process. played an important role in

popularising it. Even though the Chinese government has been successful in keeping the

nationalist feeling alive by giving patriotic education, it is also showcased by the people living in

different parts of the world. This also shows that the roots of state nationalism have been

prevailing at the national and international level. Hobsbawm precluded that nations and

nationalism is a changing, evolving, and modern construct. Gregory (2010, p.12) believed that

the perspective of Hobsbawm regarding the nationalism was based on believing that the pre-

existing nation is a myth and people believing in such thoughts are unfit for the scholar's

activities. He believed that nations and nationalism lack uniformity in the society are also

susceptible to numerous of changes. Nationalists believed that the role of past is clear and

unproblematic.

The primary task of the nationalist is to remind people about the historical significance of a

nation, evolution, and past glories and achievements. For perennialists, the meaning of nation

suggests that nations can change or dissolve but the basic identity of the nation is often

unchanging, and nations are not the part of any natural order. This also means that nations can be

chosen anytime and generations can build a new identity based on their ethnic foundation. In this
24 | Page

regard, Friedman (2006, p.19) believed that the major task of nationalism’s to rediscover in order

to build a better present based on the past. In terms of the modernist approach, Karl (2002, p.23)

emphasised that for the modernist, the past is often irrelevant considering the fact that the nation

is assumed as a modern phenomenon. It also suggests that ethnic past might be used in building

the nations but move without it as nations are the phenomenon of a specific stage of the history

that is embedded in the modern conditions.

Maynard (2011, p.43) found that majority of the post-modernist assume past as more

problematic as they believe in taking liberal elements from the ethnic past in terms of answering

the questions related to the present needs and preoccupations. It also means that the present

creates the past in its own right and image and modern nationalist will invent and mix different

traditions for searching the imagined community. Smith believed that none of these formulations

are satisfactory as history cannot be picked and mixed and can also be not disregarded. Thus, the

major challenge remains in the form of representing the relationship and association of the ethnic

past to the modern nation more accurately and convincingly (Gregory, 2010, p.45). Gellner’s

views on ethnic past were based on imposition of a high culture on societies by replacing the

local, low cultures, and mostly multiculturalism. The views of Anderson were driven by the

perception that a nation is a specially constructed community imagined by people who often

perceive themselves as an integral part of that group.

Smith argued that every nation has a premodern origin in spite of terming nationalism as a

modern phenomenon. He also stressed on the fact that all nations have dominant ethnic cores.

Finally, Hobsbawm believes that nationalism is an ideology based on the belief that political and

national units should coincide. He also stressed that nations are changing and evolving leading to

the modern construct of nations. For the nationalism process of Panama, Anderson has argued

that the new government might inherit many institutions, documents, laws, and ceremonies
25 | Page

related to the previous government and this idea seems to be applicable to Panama (Biesanz,

1949, p.23). The Panama State was established in 1903 and the constitution that was established

in the year 1904 was the modified and shorter version of the Constitution of Columbia of 1886.

The main difference was the presence of fewer articles. It also recognized Catholicism as the

major religion for the majority of the population but did not termed it as an official religion of

the State. It allowed the US to intervene in the Panamanian territory. It also dictated what must

be taught at schools.

The Article 133 of the Panamanian constitution established free and compulsory education at

the primary level. The Article 81 stated that the teaching the history of Panama must be

conducted by the citizens of Panama only. The right of the State to defend the purity of the

Spanish language was stated in Article 82 and the Article 83 offered subsidies on official books.

Additionally, Article 85 and 86 helped in recognising the official books and freedom of schools

and universities to choose educational programs. Thus, it inherited the constitution of Columbia

and also accepted some of the policies that were prevailing before the year 1903. Roy (1979,

p.23) supported this argument by adding that Panama also inherited the cult heroes of Columbia

like Bolivar. This states that Panama inherited some of the past history in their nationalism

process.

Conniff (1992, p.652) argued that the Anderson’s Renan Theory holds a great deal of

significance in terms of understanding the importance of the national amnesias for building the

nations. After the establishment of Panama in 1903, the intellectual elites produced a discourse

that helped in forgetting these discourses. Nationalism requires remembering as well as

forgetting and past conflicts of Panam were forgotten with a view of strengthening the

nationalism process. The forgetting of a military past, appropriation of suffering, education

policies aimed at creating the educational environment where elites would be in charge of
26 | Page

offering the pragmatic and moral education, and promotion of internationalism in schools. The

focus was more on creating an individual identity by accepting past ideas that are relevant for the

growth of the national rather than bringing back old memories of sufferings affecting the

construct of the nation.

The discourse impeded the remembering of the Civil Wars with Columbia, and the national

amnesia of Panama also helped in serving to the appropriate suffering along with blaming

Colombia for the underdevelopment and least growth of Panama. It also helped in highlighting

the social, economic, and environmental differences between the two countries (Smith, 1992,

p.23). Richard (1990, p.77) highlighted that the perception of Anderson that print capitalism was

one of the highly important and effective tools for constructing the national identity and

consciousness was spot on to the nationalism process of Panama. This was mainly because the

reading of newspapers became a mass ceremony that was repeated by a group of leaders on an

everyday basis. This was helpful in creating awareness along with letting people known what is

happening inside the country. It also helped in generating consciousness regarding specific issues

that happened in the specific time period that helped in developing the feeling of belongingness.

Dinges (1990, p.259) drew attention in the context of China by adding that the similar process

was used to facilitate the nationalism as print and media helped in generating awareness and

consciousness among the people. It helped in building the sense of belongingness that was also

the case with Panama and draws similarities. LaFeber (1978, p.41) added that both Panama and

China used newspapers as a medium to spread the essence of nationalism that helped in gaining

the attention and response of the masses along with creating the feeling of being connected.

Biesanz (1949, p.23) expressed that the role of press and media has been immense in shaping the

beliefs, perceptions, and thought the process of the masses. Friedman (2006, p.45) pointed that,
27 | Page

in China, press helped in remembering the past glorious days, sufferings, sacrifices, and special

days, and occasions that integrated people. Dinges (1990, p.12) supported this argument and

highlighted that Panama also experienced similar waves of emotions as newspapers divulged

information regarding different events holding a great deal of significance in the existence of the

nation.

Di Tella (2001, p.47) added that press to a certain extent has helped in the evolution of

Panama by reuniting people and creating a sense of nationalism. All such events and actions

affect the thought process of people by bringing back memories of the past, historical events, and

understanding on the nation building process. Such acts create an image of the past that helps in

strengthening the learning in regards to the process of nation building. LaFeber (1978, p.23)

mentioned that the role of newspapers was immense in developing a feeling of awareness and

attachment among the Chinese people as the 19th century talked about the heroism along with

spreading the sense of nationalism leading to national awareness. The Panamanian elites were

more concerned for designing symbols and instruments that could serve to define the national

identity. The increased attention on referring to the past glories and suffering by relating to the

past heroes and martyrs was also a significant strategy.

Even though the independence of Panama from Columbia was not a revolutionary process,

the separation implied a novelty and might be termed as a revolution (Rangel, 1932, p.25).

Several narratives were produced by the civilian heroes driven by the autonomous movements.

The ideas of Anderson and Hobsbawm suggested that Panama focused more on making its

population acquainted with the national history by exposing them to different names of heroes

and events that attracted the attention of the masses (Anderson, 2006, p.35). The civic festivals,

use of coins, currencies, stamps, monuments, museums, and streets acted as a medium to reach

out to more numbers of people along with helping in building national awareness. The stamps,
28 | Page

monuments, and museums were effective in formation of the imagined communities in Panama

(Renan, 2001, p.12). Additionally, Panamanian intellectuals invented a national history that was

filled with biographies and images of the national heroes whose lives narrated the story of

suffering, glory, independence, and struggle.

Another key initiative to instill nationalism was through schools that helped in spreading

nationalism in a systematic manner. There was an increasing interest in building schools in order

to share the Panamanian history through textbooks, civic instructions, daily reading of

newspapers, and different books on national heroes (Richard and Alfred, 1990, p.65). All such

initiatives created a sense of belongingness that led the way for nationalism. The print-capitalism

as mentioned by Anderson inculcate a sense of nationalism by sharing ideas and beliefs on the

notion of the historic origins, religious and national values, and geographical limits. The ideas of

Anderson were restricted only to the print capitalism but Earle found that nationalism can also be

spread through other channels. The use of public speeches, national ceremonies, declaration of

national holidays, national sorrow, issuance of stamps, national currency, unveiling of statues of

national heroes, museums containing useful information of the past history, and access to

historical culture and history helped the population to get connected to the their nation’s history.

Hobsbawm felt that the idea of repetition might be useful and important in the creation of cults to

heroes. However, critics argued that too much of repetition could become a habit and the formed

habit can lead to indifferences (Hobsbawm, 1990, p.123). Smith argued that the reliability of the

impact of repetition might not be high as different members of the populations might perceive

meanings differently (Smith, 2000). Earle supported this argument by adding that the usefulness

of civic festivals and material culture can be assumed as high as they often reach out to the

masses. However, she also highlighted the weaknesses of the statues and monuments in terms of

stimulating the thought process of the population to think of the nation (Earle, 2002, p.122). This
29 | Page

is mainly because not all people have the same degree of knowledge and awareness on the

historical significance of statues and monuments. The difference in perception will create

different thought process that might not lead to uniformity in the ideas regarding the importance

of monuments and statues.

This also raised questions on to the extent to which Panamanians thought about their national

heroes, their feelings and emotions while passing by a monument or statue, and understanding of

the national history while visiting a museum or reading a historical journal. This clearly suggests

that the population might or might not be accepting the Panamanian history the way intellectuals

wanted them to. However, there is a possibility that familiarity with the material culture and

public space might become a daily routine with nothing special or unique about it. It might

become a part of an indifferent routine that might define nationalism in a different manner. For

China, Anderson claimed that the availability of the elite career paths helped in promoting a

sense of unity that also led to the nationalism (Anderson, 2006, p.123). However, critics argued

that such career paths were already a feature of the Chinese imperial bureaucracy. The concept of

hierarchies and bureaucracy has been prevailing from last many centuries (Chatterjee, 1993,

p.212).

Harrison stated that the idea of national bureaucracy members to be sent anywhere in the

country helped in developing the common sense of identity. However, it does not help in

developing the common sense of identity (Harrison, 2001, p.45). This also meant that the sense

of developing a common identity is not similar to developing national feelings. Thus, it can be

said that China failed to generate the feeling of nationalism based on the idea of facilitating the

common identity leading to nationalist ideology. The approach of Gellner and Anderson are

criticised on the grounds of even though China had a uniform state culture, high degree of

cultural integration, common language, and sophisticated bureaucracy, it does not translate
30 | Page

effectively into the nationalist ideology (Gonquin, 2003, p-34). Additionally, further criticisms

were in the form of Anderson’s focus on print technology and Gellner’s attention on

industrialization not applying well in the case of China. This is mainly because the empirical

records do not offer much detail for a strong statement regarding the polarity between the

modern and pre-modern (Gellner, 2015, p.24).

However, Gellner’s views on industrialization helping in creating awareness among the

people of China and shaping the nationalism feelings can be accepted to a certain extent. The

feeling of sharing common objectives, sharing similar values and ideologies, sharing common

language for communication, and exposure to different ideologies and processes helped in

building a sense of uniformity (Faure, 2002, p.23). In the case of China, it was found that the

government is quite attentive to the history education policy that is aimed to control the memory

of people in a planned manner. Thus, the views of Harrison on assuming China’s new

nationalism as the expression of a popular feeling is based on the state’s patriotic education

policy that emerged in early 90s (Harrison, 2001, p.34). However, this is not a new policy as the

national humiliation was also a part of the editorial commentaries in the educational textbooks of

the 20th century.

The century of humiliation that started with the First Opium war and ended with the Second

World War and also Japan’s occupation of China resulted in severe humiliation for the nation.

However, China rose to the glory by forgetting the past where it was defeated by weak and less

populous countries. The focus thereafter has been on strengthening the patriotic education in

order to unite people. This shows that there is a difference between the ideologies of Chinese and

Panamanian governments as the former focuses on evoking past sufferings to strengthen

patriotism and the latter erased few of the past sufferings in quest for a better and new nation

(Friedman, 2006, p.23). Many scholars argued that the national humiliation was a part of the
31 | Page

construction of the national identity in China and in the late 20th century, the national

humiliation discourse was revived where the protests were not against the foreign imperialism

(Chatterjee, 1993, p.34). The policy’s objective was to foster the national pride and consolidate

the patriotic feelings to build a nation with Chinese characteristics. The study of history through

the education was an important step and tool in understanding the modern China and its

characteristics. The use of multimedia campaigns to the patriotic education activities did not take

place only at the school level but also in museums, film, national holidays, magazines, and

newspapers (Friedman, 2006, p.21). Museums exposed people to the past history and narratives

and while newspapers helped in generating awareness on the issues faced by the nation. It also

helped in highlighting the important days, months, and events that refreshed the memories of

people. National holidays created a sense of belongingness and feeling of being associated and

connected to a similar community and nation.

Additionally, the role of architecture has been quote significant in creating a feeling of

nationalism in the 19th and 20th century as in the early 1950s, the Mao’s rose to the power and the

bureaucrats took the wrecking balls to traditional homes under the view that the nation needed

new buildings in order to match the fresh ideology. However, the focus area of the government

in latter years was based on designing expensive buildings in order to communicate the

superpower status of the nation to the world (Faure, 2002, p.25).

From the Panamanian perspective, it can be said that the focus of the country was more on

instilling the feeling of nationalism through the state machinery and public education as

education on past history was made compulsory, school books also carried national discourse, ad

schools were named after the names of national heroes. The reasons were based on legitimizing

their power but the issue was mainly in the form of national feelings being malleable in nature

and changing according to the needs and perceptions of the elites. They created memories that
32 | Page

did not rely on the composition of facts (Smith, 1992, p.33). In the case of Panama, historical

education holds a great deal of significance the way it did in the case of China. Both nations tried

to use public education as a tool to strengthen the national image along with evoking the feeling

of patriotism. The ideology was based on creating a sense of belongingness but the major issue

was between the class and cultures.

Both countries also faced issues in the form of being guided and influenced by the perceptions

and ideologies of the elite class (Richard, 1990, p.23). These people were at the helm of the

decision-making process and their inputs largely shaped the outcome of the nationalism. From

the above arguments, it can be said that the idea of nationalism is ever changing and dependent

on different factors.

In last few decades, both Panama and China has tried to instill the feeling and emotions

related to the nationalism by using planned approaches and strategies in the form of using

newspapers, magazines, public education, museums, architectures, and public sharing of ideas

and beliefs (Smith et al, 1994, p.221). All such initiatives helped in creating the feeling of

nationalism by creating a sense of belongingness among people. They also helped in creating

awareness regarding the national history, process of nation building, and roles of heroes in

creating their nations. These initiatives also helped in connecting people that helped in serving

the purpose of nationalism.

33 | Page

 7 CONCLUSION
The major purpose of the dissertation was to discuss the Chinese nationalism along with

highlighting that there was nothing unique to the nationalism process of China. In order to

strengthen this argument, a comparison has been made between the nationalism process of China

and Panama in order to highlight that the process of nationalism was similar lacking uniqueness.

Different scholars offered different views in this regard. The views of Harrison stated that

modern rituals of statehood helped in creating a new political culture that was responsible for

creating the feeling of Chineseness. The majority of the attention was on symbols, rituals,

customs, and ideologies that connected the elites with the masses. Ethnicities are inherited and

therefore seem to remain immutable while national identity is a fluid process that constantly

negotiates with its constituent group. Ethnic identification emerges when group of people

believes in similar sense of experiences like injustice, alienation, and exclusion from the

nationalism.

This makes them united and stand for the their opinions often evoking the spirit of

nationalism. The idea of ethnicity led to national citizenship that created an image of the modern

China and Chinese citizens (Harrison, 2001, p.25). On the other hand, the nationalism process of

Panama was based on creating a reality that was not based on memories but on the composition

of facts where the elites adapt to the narratives in order to respond to the pressure of immigrants

(Smith et al, 1994, p.54). There was also close similarity in the nationalism process of China and

34 | Page

Panama as both countries focused on creating a feeling of nationalism through the public

education. The national and civilian heroes were found on the textbooks of schools and pages of

history that helped in creating a sense of belongingness and a great deal of awareness. The use of

parks, monuments, museums, and architecture helped in bringing back the memories of the past

based on the glories, suffering, emotional connect, and sacrifices.

Even though there is a distinctive similarity between these two nations, Harrison found

something different in regards to the nation building process. She stated that architecture played

an important role in building the national identity. Chinese architecture has been greatly affected

and influenced by the Western ideologies and the modern buildings and apartments have

replaced the traditional buildings (Friedman, 2006, p.23). This shows that nationalism through

the use of monuments and buildings witnessed a change in China. In terms of Panama, it was

found that nation building in the 20th century was a great example of how the intellectual and

political elites tried to build the nation based on the civic nationalism rather than focusing on the

past glories and suffering along with avoiding the reference to the cultural and ethnic ties. The

Panamanian nation builders promoted their discourse of civic nationalism by creating a pantheon

of national heroes and forgetting the military past.

The focus was on appropriation of suffering, reformation of education policies that led to the

creation of pedagogical elite in charge of offering the practical and moral education, and

promotion of internationalism in schools and organisations. Schools were used as a medium to

circulate national discourse in textbooks and Panamanian citizens were offered the responsibility

of offering historical education. People from other countries were not allowed to teach the

Panamanian history. Schools were named after the national heroes and focus was more on the

equality of education. The ideologies of civic nationalism were prevailing in terms of equality

and individual rights. As per the views of Smith, civic nationalism was based on granting
35 | Page

components of the history and republican patriotism. However, it is also far from the idea of

accommodating different cultures (Smith, 1992, p.23). This also suggests that the Panamanian

nation builders faced the issue in terms of instilling the content of civic nationalism. As per the

ideas of Smith, avoiding the cultural features to the national narratives affect the formation of

nations and might not lead to the idea of nationalism.

This is mainly because nationalism changes attributes over a period of time and might take the

elements of civic or ethnicity elements. There is no assurance on the uniformity of nationalism in

different periods. On the contrary, the way China dealt with ethnicity and multi-ethnicity up to

the time of Qing dynasty until the present-day explains that the Chinese government has been

successful in creating an imperia dichotomy between the civilized and uncivilized China. In the

case of China, it was found that only non-Han people were termed as civilized especially when

they adopt and switch to the Chinese values, ideologies, cultures, and traditions. The minorities

were termed as backward while the Han were assumed as the modern class (Zheng, 1999, p.34).

In this regard, the role of media has been quite crucial because the media portrayed the Chinese

elites more while ignoring the interest, needs, and demands of the minorities (Anderson, 2006,

p.34).

However, the views of Gellner and Anderson fits perfectly in regards to China and Panama as

both nations were driven by the ideologies and efforts of the elite class in terms of facilitating the

idea of nationalism. The attention was on building and strengthening the nationalism through

well-directive measures and programs where media played an important and crucial role.

Harrison suggested that the use of monuments and museums to tell the historical significance of

the nation to the masses and the same can be applied to the nationalism process of China and

Panama (Harrison, 2001, p.55). In the 19th and 20th century, the use of museums and structures

were used to evoke nationalism but many scholars criticised this ideology by adding that
36 | Page

museums and statues might not create the feeling of nationalism as they are dependent on many

factors (Friedman, 2006, p.22). Some of the key factors are lack of awareness, difference in

perceptions, difference in the understanding, and lack of knowledge. This also means that

different people might interpret the historical significance differently leading to lack of

uniformity in the derived meaning.

The Chinese shift from the historical buildings to modern buildings can be termed as the best

example of how monuments and statues cannot be termed as the idea source of spreading

nationalism (Friedman, 2006, p.22). In the case of Panama, the same policy of architecture was

used where the focus area was building the national identity by seeking reference from the

historical buildings and monuments but the political and intellectual elites latter realized the

importance of a pragmatic approach in terms of creating a new image of Panama after its

freedom requiring a new approach towards spreading nationalism. The focus was more on

portraying the image of freedom fighters and national heroes in the history books and public

education in order to inspire them and connect to the nation and its history (Smith, 1992, p.55).

Harrison found that similar ideas were implemented by China where the public education

emphasised on the historical past of the country, national heroes, history of the nation, and

overall change from a traditional country to a modern country (Harrison, 2001, p.23).

The transition of China from a traditional to modern state has been slow but helpful in

building an image of a superpower nation. Gellner’s views on traditions and customs suggest that

different nations have different customs and ideologies that connect their citizens but considering

the current trend of moving towards the globalisation, the trend and practices have been

changing to a great extent. Gellner’s views on Chinese nationalism were based on highlighting

the role of industrial societies having more power and say in majority of the fields. They had

better access to education and the pragmatic nationalism derived meaning from the realities of
37 | Page

the social and economic environments (Gellner, 2015, p.34). The same is applicable to Panama

where the elite class had the access to education and decision-making process and realities were

shaped by the economic and social developments. The role of industrialization was immense in

shaping the idea of nationalism as the elite class was engaged in using symbols and phrases to

invent traditions to create the model of social behaviour.

The structure of control to the promotion of nationalism was similar in both the nations as

civic nationalism was based on selected heroes forming the discourse that granted the rational

authority along with legitimizing the leadership of professionals controlling the government

(Anderson, 2006, p.23). Overall, it can be said that there is a great deal of similarity between the

nationalism process of China and Panama. Both countries rose from the suppression and

imperialistic approach. The Chinese nationalism has a rich history of dynasties rule and

government formation while Panama has a limited history of nationalism considering its freedom

in the year 1903. It was dominated by the foreign interventions. The common similarities

between Panama and Chinese nationalism are in the form of being driven and run by the political

and intellectual elites and facilitating the idea of nationalism through public education, historical

monuments, national holidays, and print media as a mode of awareness.

38 | Page

 8 REFERENCES

1. Anagnost A (1992). “Socialist Ethics and the Legal System.” In Jeffrey N.Wasserstrom
and Elizabeth J.Perry, eds., Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China:
Learning from 1989, pp. 177–205. Boulder: Westview Press,
2. Andrzej, W (2015) Ernest Gellner and the "Constructivist" Theory of Nation." JSTOR.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
3. Arif, D (1989) The Origins of Chinese Communism. New York: Oxford University Press,
1989.
4. Anderson, B (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of
Nationalism, London: Verso
5. Biesanz, J, (1949) “Cultural and Economic Factors in Panamanian Race Relations”
American Sociological Review, Vol. XIV Nbr 6,
6. Breuilly, J (1982), Nationalism and the State, Manchester: Manchester University Press
7. Conniff, M (1992) Panama and the United States. The Forced Alliance, The University of
Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia
8. Chatterjee, P (1993) The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories,
New Jersey: Princeton University Press
9. Claypool, L (2005) . “Zhang Jian and China’s First Museum.” The Journal of Asian
Studies 64.3 (2005): 567-604
10. Chang, M (2001) Return of the Dragon: China's Wounded Nationalism, Westview Press
(2001), paperback, 256 pp
11. Di Tella, T. (2001) Latin American Politics. A Theoretical Approach. University of
Texas, Austin
12. Dinges, J (1990), Our Man in Panama, Random House, New York
13. Davidson, N (2007) Reimagined Communities. International Socialism 18 December, no.
117.
14. Earle. R (2002) ‘The War of the Supremes. Border Conflict, Religious Crusade or Simply
Politics by Other Means? 'Rumours of Wars: Civil Conflict in Nineteenth-Century Latin
America. Rebecca Earle, ed. London: Institute for the Study of the Americas, 2002, p.
130.

39 | Page

 15. Eugene G (2015) "From the Archives: Eugene Genovese on Eric Hobsbawm." N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 May 2015.
16. Friedman, E (2006) “Chinese Nationalism, Taiwanese Autonomy and the Prospects of a
Larger War”, Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 6, No. 14, pp. 5-32.
17. Faure, D (2002) and Tao TaoLiu, eds. Town and Country in China: Identity and
Perception. Houndmills and New York: Palgrave
18. Galbiati, F (1985). P'engP'ai and the Hai-Lu-Feng Soviet. Stanford, CT: Stanford
University Press, 1985
19. Gregory E (2010) Hobsbawm: History and Politics. London: Pluto, 2010. Print.
20. Gellner E (2015) Nations and Nationalism: A Book Critique." Ernest Gellner’s Nations
and Nationalism: A Book Critique.N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
21. Gladney, Dru C. (1994) “Representing Nationality in China: Refiguring
Majority/Minority Identities.” The Journal of Asian Studies 53.1 (1994): 92-123
22. Gongqin, X (2003) “The Kosovo Crisis and the Nationalism of Twenty-first-Century
China”, in Jean-Philippe Béja and Jean-Pierre Cabestan (eds.), “The Responses of
Intellectuals to the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century in China”, Part II,
Contemporary Chinese Thought, Autumn 2003, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 21-48
23. Gries, P (2004) China’s New Nationalism. Pride, Politics and Diplomacy, Berkeley,
University of California Press
24. Guha, R (1994), ‘On Some Aspects of the Historiography of Colonial India’ in
RanajitGuha (ed.) Subaltern Studies, Vol. 1. Delhi: Oxford University Press, Pp. 1-8.
25. Gladney, D. (1994). “Representing Nationality in China: Refiguring Majority/Minority
Identities.” The Journal of Asian Studies 53(1): 92-123.
26. Hobsbawm, E (1990) Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
27. Harrison, H (2001). China. Inventing the Nation. Bloomsbury.
28. Hayford, C (2002) To the People: James Yen and Village China. New York: Columbia
University Press,
29. Johnston, A (2004) "Chinese Middle-Class Attitudes Towards International Affairs:
Nascent Liberalization?”The China Quarterly, No. 179, September 2004, pp. 603-628.
30. Karl, E (2002) Staging the World - Chinese Nationalism at the Turn of the Twentieth
Century (2002). Durham and London: Duke University Press.
40 | Page

 31. Levenson, J (1964). Modern China and its Confucian Past. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
32. Lomnitz, C (2000) Nationalism as a Practical System: Benedict Anderson’s Theory
of Nationalism from the Vantage Point of Spanish America. In The Other
33. LaFeber, W (1978) The Panama Canal. The Crisis in Historical Perspective. University
of Oxford Press, Oxford
34. Meynard, T (2011) The Religious Philosophy of Liang Shuming: The Hidden Buddhist.
Leiden: Brill, 2011.
35. Miller, N (2008) Reinventing modernity in Latin America. Intellectuals Imagine the
Future, 1900 - 1930. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, p 8. 243
36. Mirror: Grand Theory through the Lens of Latin America, ed. M.A. Centeno and F.
Lopez Alves, 329-59. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
37. Miller, N (2006). The historiography of nationalism and national identity in Latin
America Nations and Nationalism. 12, no. 2: 201-221
38. Pye, Lucian W.; Pye, Mary W. (1985). Asian power and politics: the cultural dimensions
of authority. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 184.
39. Richard, J (1990) The Panama Canal in American National Consciousness, 1870-1990.
Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, USA
40. Roy, B (1979) "Crisis, contra culture and religion among West Indians in the Panama
Canal Zone" Afro-American Anthropology New York. The Free Press, New York
41. Rangel, Pablo E (1932) Lecciones cortas de Instrucción Cívica especiales para la Policía
Nacional de Panamá (Panamá: Imprenta Nacional, 1932)
42. Renan, Ernest. (2001) ‘Què és una nació?’, Classics del Nacionalisme, Sentmartí,
Ramón, ed. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
43. Richard Jr., Alfred C. (1990) The Panama Canal in American National Consciousness,
1870-1990. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, USA
44. Smith A (1992), National Identity and the idea of European unity, International Affairs,
Vol 68, pp 50-76
45. Smith Anthony & Hutchinson, John (1994), Nationalism, Oxford University Press
46. Schwarcz, V (1992) Time for Telling Truth Is Running Out: Conversations with Zhang
Shenfu. New Haven: Yale University Press
47. Shue, V. (2004.) “Legitimacy Crisis in China?” In Peter Hays Gries and Stanley Rosen,
eds., State and Society in 21st-century China. New York: Routledge Curzon.
41 | Page

 48. Scalapino, Robert A. (1999). “China: Between Tradition and Modernity.” In Eberhard
Sandschneider, ed., The Study of Modern China. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
49. Townsend, J. (1996). “Chinese Nationalism,” in Jonathan Unger (ed.), Chinese
Nationalism. M.E. Sharpe.
50. Webb S, Webb B (1921)The Consumers' Co-operative Movement. London: Longmans
51. Winichakul, T (1994) Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-body of a Nation. Honolulu: U
of Hawaii, 1994. Print.
52. Winichakul T (2015) Thongchai Winichakul, Ind. Mgab. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
53. Whiting, Allen S. (1983). “Assertive Nationalism in Chinese Foreign Policy.” Asian
Survey 23(8): 913-933.
54. Wang, X. (2003). Education in China since 1976. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
55. Xiaotong, F (1945) “Foreword” in Earthbound China by Fei Xiaotong and Zhang Zhiyi.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945.
56. Yongnian, Z (2009) Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China. Modernization, Identity,
and International Relations, Cambridge University Press
57. Yang, Q (2010) “Exploring the Sources of Institutional Trust in China: Culture,
Mobilization, or Performance?” Asian Politics and Policy 2(3): 415-436.
58. Zhao S (2004) A Nation-State by Construction. Dynamics of Modern Chinese
Nationalism, Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 2004, pp. 29-31.
59. Zheng, Y (1999). Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China. Cambridge University
Press.

42 | Page