China today is more united than diverse country today.

Discuss
China today is complex entity that is made of very diverse sociocultural-historical elements; coupled with the effects of modernization
since 1978, this diversity is now becoming more complicated with the
creation of social classes. Unless every Chinese citizen sees himself as
part of the nation state and divisions are minimized, China can hardly
be qualified as a unified society today. In reality China is still largely
fragmented today due to its diverse background as a result of
modernization and cultural historical factors; despite efforts of the
Chinese government in trying to forge a common identity for every
Chinese citizens to view himself as part of the nation state.
Chinas dividedness outweighs her unity due to the cultural differences
that arise from divisions amongst the ethnic communities which are
powerful obstacles against the search for unity and the creation of
common Chinese national identity. Many ethnic minorities still do not
identify themselves as historically or culturally part of China. China has
55 ethnic minorities which make up about 8.5% of her 1.4 billion
population. The other 91.5% is formed by the Han Chinese, being the
dominant ethnic group politically and economically. This dominance of
the Hans is not accepted by all minorities. Especially minorities such as
the Tibetans and Uyghurs, that wished to be separated from China.
They do not identify themselves with Han culture and history and felt
that their own culture and history are being marginalized. In addition,
they see every attempt by the CCP government to modernize the area
as a forceful imposition of Han culture which they do not welcome. This
mutual suspicion between the Hans majority and the other minorities
carries on till today. It soon resulted in the ongoing violence between
the Hans and the minorities, like in 2008 Tibetan uprising and 2009
Urumqi riots. These differences between the minorities and the
majority Hans have fundamentally divided China. Yet, the Beijing
government has been trying to appease the minorities by providing
more aid to them on the socio-economic and cultural aspects.
Minorities in China are favoured in terms of education opportunities
and not subjected to the One-Child policy. Beijing also has been
actively preserving Tibetans indigenous cultures with large scale
preservation projects in Lhasa. A railway linking Beijing and Lhasa was
opened on 2006, thus strengthening Beijings political control over
Tibet, ensuring China remains united. Minorities attitudes towards

Beijings pro-minority policies were often perceived by the Hans as

being ungrateful. This further creates distrust, if the deep distrust
between ethnic groups are still unsolved, then Chinas society will
continue to be divided.
Provincialism and other various cultural interpretations are challenges
that are preventing China from being more united than divided. Even
among the 91.5% Han majority, the society is not entirely homogenous
and there are also regional and cultural variations. Such differences
can be spotted between the Northern and Southern Chinese. They
have different dietary habits, dress codes and the temperament of the
people vary across towns and cities. For instance, Shandong
inhabitants are mostly straightforward and Cantonese are thought to
be mercenary. In different regions of China, ways of celebrating the
same festivals is also different. Taoism is practiced as a religion in the
South, whereas in the north, it is more viewed as a philosophy.
Furthermore, various forms of Chinese were used in different regions of
China, such as Hokkien and Cantonese, hindering communication and
understanding. The Beijing government has therefore came up with the
establishment of Putonghua (Mandarin), or a common speech, as a
standard language that is used throughout China in schools,
government platforms and the mass media. However, this move by the
central government is not appreciated by all Chinese, this can be seen
from the 2010 Guangzhou Television Cantonese Controversy. Where
the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
suggested increasing Mandarin programming on Guangzhous
televisions main and news channels. It met with fierce criticism within
Cantonese-speaking cities and eventually triggered a protest within
Guangzhou. With the Hans themselves having diverse personalities
and style of doing and saying things, it is harder for China to be united
today.
Since the 1978 economic reforms, China is more divided than ever, as
modernization of the Chinese economy brought about the creation of
more social classes. As the Chinese economy modernizes at a
breakneck speed, more social classes are being born. Rural-urban,
regional and income disparities are now a common sight as a result of
market reforms and the situation worsens as Chinas economic grows
more rapidly today. Chinese society is now more complex and divided
than ever with the creation of a rising middle-class and the influx of
migrant workers in urban centers. Social and economic discrimination

are now more obvious in urban and coastal areas as the urban classes
shun the more impoverished migrant workers. Education opportunities
for the workers offspring are also limited, as their children are not
entitled to benefits in the urban centers. The peasantry in general is
unhappy with the government for favouring the urban classes
economically, resulting in many mass incidents in the rural areas. This
is known as the Three Rural Issues. In the longer run, these
discriminations would result in deeper divisions in society, causing
more obstacles for a united China. However, the Chinese government
is now trying hard to compensate these disparities by improving the
socio-economic status of the less-privileged classes. Subsidies have
been given to the peasantry to alleviate its financial burden since
2003, with the removal of Grain Tax as the most significant move. The
hukou system has also been relaxed to ease the financial burden of the
migrant workers. In short, China is still more divided than united as
market reforms have added more divisions within society that may
continue to plague the country in the years to come.
China is again divided by the many differences in political ideology as a
result of Deng Xiaopings economic reforms of 1978. In the political
aspect, China has became more diverse, with the influx of foreign
values and information since the opening up of China in 1978. Chinese
are now better informed about global thinking and trends, and are
increasingly sophisticated in their perspective. In general, Chinese now
have became more political sensitive, especially the more educated
younger generations, who have been exposed more to western
influences. Some of these influences may have created more social
classes in Chinese society, especially in the urban centers. Currently,
China is now more politically divided as compared to Maos era, when it
was virtually uniformly communist in nature. Foreign values such as
freedom of speech, materialism and individualism have brought about
more pro-democratic classes, which lobby for human rights and more
freedom in China. Chinese dissidents such as Ai Weiwei, Chen
Guangcheng and Liu Xiaobo are becoming more prominent and are
increasing. These Chinese dissidents were sometimes monopolized by
Western nations to cause further divide within China. In the long run,
China runs the risk of succumbing to the foreign soft power and
becoming more westernized. While on the other end of the spectrum is
supporters of the CCP, with the Angry Youths as the representative in
China today. They could be fiercely nationalistic and sometimes

expressing strongly pro-China yet insensitive views on current affairs.

Chinese society is more divided politically, mainly between the prodemocratic activists and supporters of the CCP. However, this new prodemocratic class in China may not be able to develop in the short run
as most Chinese are either barred from political movements by official
censorship or do not want to risk their economic well-being for sociopolitical upheavals. The lackluster response for a Jasmine Revolution
in early 2011 reflects societys indifference towards political
movements led by political activists in China. Therefore, as Chinese
society develops, new classes with new political ideas would inevitable
emerge and causes China to be divided more in the political aspect.
Even though China may be more divided than united, given its very
diverse socio-cultural-historical background. The Beijing government
has successfully created a common identity in China using other
aspects. This created national identity is frequently seen during times
of national upheavals and the common pragmatic thinking of Chinese
society in general.

China today undergoing modernization sees her people under a set of

values and policies that serves to bind them together. The influence of
these ideals guides the social behavior of Chinese beyond ethnicity
and race differences. The revival of Confucianism has reinforced the
importance of values like filial piety and respect for social hierarchy.
The preference for male offspring to perpetuate ones surname is a
tradition that is observable booth in the urbanized and rural areas.
Notwithstanding the variance different ethnic groups in terms of their
approach to ancestor worship, they still mark festivals like Qing Ming
by tomb-sweeping and remembrance of the deceased. Major festivals
like the Chinese New Year and Moon cake festival are celebrated with
the reunion of family members. Like most East Asian culture, the ability
to resolve a conflict amicably is often considered a prized attributes.
The acceptance of these values has set up a backdrop for reunion that
despite the forces of work and career which may pull them apart, they
always have these common practices which bring them back together.
Nationalism is also employed skillfully to advance the governments
priority at forging unity. This is highlighted by Chinas uniform
approach in the form of anti-foreign sentiments during diplomatic rows

that affect national interest. Although Chinese society is plagued with

internal divisions, the country has always been able to put aside
differences when faced with foreign threats. Chinese nationalism as a
form of national identity is a conventional product of the CCP since
mid-20th century. Hitherto, the Chinese have never failed to act as a
unit against foreign aggressors as the CCP constantly unveils the
historical scars caused by foreign invaders. Nationalism is mostly seen
in urban and coastal cities, where the younger and more informed
middle-classes reside. Their knowledge of Chinas humiliated past and
current affairs easily incites nationalistic sentiments, and they could
also wield the power of media to conduct mass movements. There
have been protests against those so-called imperialists, such as
during the 1999 Belgrade bombing, the 2005 Japanese Textbook
Revision and the 2010-2012 Diaoyu-Senkkaku Island dispute. Thus far,
the Beijing government has been successful in uniting the people
against foreigners as a form of national crisis. Despite the benefits
nationalism could wield in the domestic front, it may be costly on the
international scale for China. This is especially so when China is trying
to shake off her aggressive and assertive past, to rebuild its image as a
responsible peaceful rising power. The portrayal of its global
counterparts as the enemy in China may not be well-received, which
justifies their claims of the China threat theory. In the long run, this
would not contribute to Chinas image in the international community.
The Chinese governments emphasis on economic growth has unified
society as the population in general perceives matters through GDPism and pragmatism. As Chinese economy soared for the past 3
decades, the Chinese have generally become richer and better off.
Thus, economic growth as emphasized by the Chinese government
since 1978 is now part and parcel of Chinese society, as the people
now uses GDP as a very important yardstick for social well-being and
politics; this is especially applicable to the 80ers who live in the urban
and coastal cities today. This is a totally new phenomenon in China, as
traditional values used to be the yardstick for society and governance.
Together with GDP-ism are materialism and consumerism, which are
inevitable with market reforms. Virtually every Chinese is now
obessessed with material well-being, and this can be proven as China
is now the largest market for luxurious items, such as Ferrari and
branded products. Economic growth has over the years, shaped society
into one that sees material wants as its priority. Coincidentally,

economic growth has created a new identity in every Chinese thus far.
Conversely, this obessession with GDP growth has created many
negative social and environmental side-effects in Chinese society
today. Environmental degradation as a result of irresponsible
production is also a serious challenge in China that is threatening the
health of many Chinese. Although the urge for strong economic growth
could bind the Chinese as one, there are also serious long term
consequences to it as well.
In a nutshell, China is very much divided, given her diverse
backgrounds and great influences as a result of modernization. Chinese
could be united at times under pragmatism, economic growth and
nationalism, however long term impacts would also carry negative
impacts to China. Policies by the Beijing government have been
implemented to minimize Chinas divisions, but they are still too raw
and artificial to actually make significant improvement on Chinas
deeply rooted diverse histories and cultures, whether its among the
ethnic groups or among the majority Hans. Furthermore, diverseness
has had been further complicated by Chinas provincialism.
Modernization, on the other hand, would continue to shape and
transform Chinese society, create more social classes and add on to
the division. Therefore, China today is very much divided, for China to
be more united, China will have to be transformed into a true nationstate that transcends all ethnicities and classes and improve the
inequality cause by the income gaps.