Rage and reflection: Chinese nationalism online between emotional venting and measured opinion

Abstract

Chinese nationalism online has been the topic of much recent debate both in academic circles as well as in the media. During 2007 and 2008, a number of topics incited Chinese netizens to proclamations of nationalistic pride in China and to accusations of treason against Chinese who were not 'Chinese' enough, as well as campaigns against non-Chinese who were seen as 'attacking China'. This chapter wants to argue that while many of the postings online displayed a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of China's history and of its relationship with the world, not all of the online debates can be labelled as the emotional venting by China's 'fenqing' (angry youth). Although much of the Chinese nationalism online can be interpreted as a sign of frustration of young Chinese, there are a number of more reflective voices whose well-argued nationalism is far more problematic for China's future relationship with other countries.