Decoding China's new left phenomenon

• Main Authors: Ng, Ting, 吳婷
• Language: English
• Published: The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10722/183318

China has been through tremendous changes in the past thirty years. The country not only experienced a drastic transformation in its socioeconomic sphere, but also in its academic field. One of the most notable academic movements is the on-going debate between China’s New Left scholars and the Chinese liberals, which is developing alongside the deepening of reform in the country. The New Left scholars argue that China must design an original development path and to avoid excessive copying from the modernization model in Western countries. They have identified many problems that occurred in the society in recent years, which arguably resulted from the country’s rapid development. This thesis aims to decode the two most prominent perspectives from the New Left scholars – China’s revolutions and its economic reform. To explicate their perspectives, I draw on the studies of New Left scholars such as Wang Hui, Cui Zhiyuan and Gan Yang, as well as a few selected articles from the liberal side of the debate. Through exploring the various publications, this thesis has hopefully demonstrated a coherent clarification of the still-blossoming new intellectual phenomenon. Furthermore, this thesis also aims to alter the stereotypical discrimination against Leftism and its derivatives, as the results have clearly shown that the New Left scholars are not anti-development and in fact, they are calling for no more than an alternative modernization path for the country. === published_or_final_version === Comparative Literature === Master === Master of Philosophy