NEWSPEAK AND NEWTHINK: China’s “Rejuvenation” of Its Memory

Speaker

Dr. Volker Stanzel

Date and Time

September 29, 2026, 6.15 pm - 7.30 pm

An Apéro riche will be offered after the presentation. Please registerhere

Venue

Rämistrasse 71, CH-8006 Zurich, Room KOL-G-221

Abstract

Commemorative events, monuments, museums, and and other forms of remembrance play a more significant role in international politics than may be apparent at first glance. States and governments draw on interpretations of the past and its defining moments to explain and legitimise political choices—through historical narratives and appeals to collective memory, and, not infrequently, to justify the use of military force. This dynamic, situated at the intersection of political authority, public discourse, and collective memory, is particularly evident in the People’s Republic of China, where both traditional and modern narratives and myths frequently serve to legitimise the actions of the Party and the government. Calls upon citizens to contribute to national “rejuvenation,” for instance, are embedded in historically constructed narratives promoted by the political leadership. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has thus developed a distinctive politics of memory that shapes the language and actions of the Chinese state in both domestic and foreign policy. It also informs decisions concerning China’s relations with Western states, making an understanding of its origins, development, and political functions all the more important.

Organization

Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies - Chinese Studies