The Political Thought of Xi Jinping: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Tsang

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Steve Tsang joins us to discuss his new book The Political Thought of Xi Jinping, coauthored with Dr. Olivia Cheung. Dr. Tsang explains that Xi Jinping thought is vastly different from the thought and practices of his predecessors, such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Core to Xi Jinping thought is the desire to achieve China’s national rejuvenation and the embracement of the “Tian Xia” concept of Chinese hegemony. Dr. Tsang points out that Xi seeks to position China in a more prominent role on the world stage. Dr. Tsang highlights that through Xi’s efforts to centralize the Communist Party under his control and to create an alternative to the US-led international order, Xi aims to reshape policy both within China and abroad. Finally, Dr. Tsang shares his thoughts on how best to deter Xi Jinping.  

Dr. Steve Tsang is Professor of China Studies and Director of the China Institute, SOAS, London. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Emeritus Fellow of St Antony’s College at Oxford. He previously served as the Head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies and as Director of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. Before that he spent 29 years at Oxford University, where he earned his D.Phil. and worked as a Professorial Fellow, Dean, and Director of the Asian Studies Centre at St Antony’s College. 

[kenerickson]

The most easily understood, heavily-accented, well-spoken, and interesting expert on China that I have heard. Well done!

[DarkKnight-it]

In August 1582, Ricci arrived at Macau, a Portuguese trading post on the South China Sea.[3]: 79  At the time, Christian missionary activity in China was almost completely limited to Macau, where some of the local Chinese people had converted to Christianity. Three years before, Michele Ruggieri was invited from Portuguese India expressly to study Chinese, by Alessandro Valignano, founder of St. Paul Jesuit College (Macau), and to prepare for the Jesuits' mission from Macau into Mainland China.[4]

Once in Macau, Ricci studied the Chinese language and customs. It was the beginning of a long project that made him one of the first Western scholars to master Chinese script and Classical Chinese. With Ruggieri, he travelled to Guangdong's major cities, Canton and Zhaoqing (then the residence of the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi), seeking to establish a permanent Jesuit mission outside Macau

[DarkKnight-it]

Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814[2] – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary and religious leader who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over large portions of southern China, with himself as its "Heavenly King".

[DarkKnight-it]

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, GCB (1 December 1781 – 13 November 1866), was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain's servant he took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and, as a captain, he participated in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule at the action of 13 March 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. He was detached on an independent command on the Tagus in September 1831 with a mission to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. As Commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station, he provided naval support at various actions between 1841 and 1842 during the First Opium War. Appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in February 1845, he was briefly (for a week) First Naval Lord in the First Russell ministry from 13 July 1846 to 24 July 1846 but gave up the role due to ill health before returning to his command with the Mediterranean Fleet.

[DarkKnight-it]

The White Lotus (traditional Chinese: 白蓮教; simplified Chinese: 白莲教; pinyin: Báiliánjiào; Wade–Giles: Pai-lien chiao; lit. 'White Lotus Religion') is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (明王), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya.[1] As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solace in the worship of the Queen Mother of the West (or the "Birthless Old Mother" traditional Chinese: 無生老母; simplified Chinese: 无生老母)

[DarkKnight-it]

洪秀全The God Worshipping Society (simplified Chinese: 拜上帝会; traditional Chinese: 拜上帝會; pinyin: Bài Shàngdì Huì)[a] was a religious movement founded and led by Hong Xiuquan which drew on his own unique interpretation of Protestant Christianity

[DarkKnight-it]

Paris Creations - The history of French Sinology—that is, of scholarly research on things Chinese by French-speaking authors working from Chinese sources—goes back to the seventeenth century and can be divided into several periods determined in large part by sociopolitical factors, and marked by different approaches and emphases: I propose to describe them as the missionary age (seventeenth–eighteenth centuries); the first academic efflorescence (nineteenth century); the advent of field research and the impact of colonialism and the social sciences (first half of twentieth century); and the postwar era of specialization and internationalization (second half of twentieth century), which marked the end of a certain French domination of Chinese studies in the West

[DarkKnight-it]

The Jade Emperor is known by many names, including Yu, [2] Heavenly Grandfather (天公, Tiāngōng), which originally meant "Heavenly Duke", [citation needed] which is used by commoners; the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; Great Emperor of Jade (玉皇上帝 Yu Huang Shangdi, or 玉皇大帝 Yu Huang Dadi). HAVENDUKE - Bulletproof Technologies LLC

[jarrettbobbett]

I looked on twitter but hes not there. :(

[DarkKnight-it]

Divine filiation is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God by nature, and when Christians are redeemed by Jesus they become sons (and daughters) of God by adoption. This doctrine is held by most Christians, [1][2] but the phrase "divine filiation" is used primarily by Catholics. This doctrine is also referred to as divine sonship.

Divine filiation builds on other Christians doctrines. In the doctrine of the Trinity, God the Son is the Eternal Word spoken by God the Father. The doctrine of the Incarnation teaches that around 2000 years ago, God the Son assumed a human nature, "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14) as Jesus of Nazareth.

[DarkKnight-it]

Yellow socialism was prominent in France until World War I, competing with Marxism for support among workers. The name "yellow socialism" was also a Marxist term of abuse for all non-Marxist socialists. After World War I, the term "yellow socialism" fell into disuse

[DarkKnight-it]

The Catholic church is very similar to CCP Structure notwithstanding China ancestorial duty is to face heaven

[bjrnhjortshjandersen]

It is a folly to have this cult leader perception of the world...for a number of reasons it is contradictory...no independent thinking means stagnation...no responsible implementation of common rules will create defensive powers in different parts of the world as nobody wants to be ruled by a different culture.

[emmawang]

This analysis is simplistic and superficial. Every leader tries to wield as much power as possible. The reason is simple. One must have power to accomplish anything. If you do not want to achieve anything, there is no need for you to grab power. The real key is what Xi is doing with his power. Two things Xi has done are very popular. One is poverty alleviation. The other is fighting corruption. The Communist party of China is the people's party. Its ultimate goal is to serve the interest of its people. The biggest goal of the US government is to keep American global hegemony.