Xi Jinping and Confucianism: Legitimacy and a National Moral Identity

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/3j333269s

Abstract

Decades after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) demonized Confucianism as a backwards philosophy, Confucianism has once again become popular in Chinese political culture and society. This paper investigates how the president of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, is using Confucian rhetoric to legitimize himself and the CCP. The paper explores the Chinese people's search for a national moral identity, the resurgence of Confucianism, and finally examines the speech Xi gave on the 40th Anniversary of the Reforms and Opening-up.

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