Sino Zeal

Confucian Ideology and Traditional Chinese Politics   In traditional Chinese politics, the autocracy was maintained by Confucian ideology, which preached filial piety. Filial piety promoted a hierarchy of loyalty and respect from younger to elder, and the emperor sat at the top of this system. Filial piety was stressed in official education, which prepared male citizens for the civil service examination. In order to become a bureaucrat and serve in the government, intense memorization and study of Confucian classics were necessary in order to succeed in exams and climb through the degree ranks to secure a bureaucratic position in the government. This process was time-consuming and meant those who spent their lives striving for excellence in the system did not wish to see it falter in any way. For those who did not do as well as they wished in exams, dissenting views would, of course, emerge towards the system, but those who did well nonetheless retained the status, power, and we...

China’s Economy and Development   This essay will look at the role of the state in development by applying the neo-utilitarian and Gerschenkron models of states to China’s current economic circumstances and its government’s decision for nationalization in order to show how China’s decision may be harmful to its development.   The Economist stated that China “remains a place where companies face heavy direct and indirect state control… China has prospered as broader economic freedoms contributed to growth… But over the past year, this reticence has begun to wane… one domestic industry after another has, as in the West, gone back to the government for support.” This is because China is succumbing to criticisms of capitalism as Western economies breakdown in the current economic crisis. However, the Chinese government is supporting this return and suggests further nationalization of its economy. However, if   China proceeds with this nationalization, China will resem...