Event
From Empire to Nation-State: War, Emulation, and National Identity in China
133 S. 36th St, Philadelphia, PA
This article examines when, why, and how national identity emerged in China. We argue that war acted as a catalyst for two distinct psychological mechanisms: enmity (humiliation and other negative emotions) and emulation (learning from adversaries). While conventional wisdom highlights enmity, we contend that emulation—a forward-looking process where latecomers learn about nationhood from their rivals—is equally significant. To test this theory, we analyze two newly compiled datasets containing nearly three million news articles from historical newspapers covering the period 1872–1911, a transformative era during which China transitioned from the Qing Empire to the Republic. Using references to ``Zhongguo'' as a marker of national identity, we find that wars significantly increased both the frequency and proportion of mentions of ``Zhongguo'' in Chinese newspapers. Further qualitative evidence supports our argument. This study underscores the pivotal role of war in nation-building and demonstrates how national identity is shaped through learning from others.
Featured Speaker
Professor Peng was a postdoctoral associate at the Macmillan Center, Yale University. She recently received her doctoral degree from Department of Political Science, Duke University in December 2022. Peng studies the politics of state building and state development. Much of her work emphasizes the role of political elites in state building, where she combines statistical methods with extensive archival research.