Modern, too modern! China -- Compared with Western modern and postmodern art and culture

Author: He Qing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Today, what China needs is not enlightenment for the general public, but for its intellectuals. The "modernist ignorance" of Chinese intellectuals is extremely deep-rooted, and enlightening them is not an easy task. The intellectuals of a nation are essentially the "brain" of that nation. Currently, Chinese intellectuals are suffering from a fervent "modern disease," and when the "brain" falls ill, the nation is in peril, as is self-evident. This book first elaborates on five characteristics of Western "modernity" culture: anthropocentrism, individualism, progressivism, the cult of the "new," and decentering tendencies (modern art). The "postmodern" phenomenon is a questioning and rejection of "modernity," an extreme reaction to it. The author reveals certain commonalities between Western "postmodernism" and Chinese culture, further emphasizing that Chinese culture is not "backward" but a unique culture with substantial differences from Western culture. The relationship between Eastern and Western cultures is not one of "gap," but of "difference." The author believes that modern China has fully embraced Western modernity culture and transcended its own culture, to the point of being "too modern." Therefore, advocating a "cultural nationalism" is an urgent necessity for contemporary China.