The “Third World” in early modern Chinese thought

The trajectory of the "Third World" in early modern Chinese thought

WANG Xiaoming   
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 17, 2016 - Issue 1 
To link to this article:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649373.2106.1133393

ABSTRACT:

In this essay, I trace two aspects of the thought on the “Third World” in early modern China: how to understand the world revolution, and how to create a new China. While focusing on two trendy notions at that time, i.e. “Chinese revolution” (Zhongguo geming), and “nong country” (nongguo), I argue that the thought on the “Third World” in early modern China breaks free of the shackle of fashionable theories and draws upon local circumstances and China’s own repertoire of power when exploring an ideal of a new world. While the difficulty in confronting the “Third World” consciousness in today’s China is still overwhelming, the fact that we now remember “the spirit of Bandong” signals some progress.