Aggressive Nationalism: Utilising the Yuanmingyuan Incident

Abstract

This chapter provides the first of our two cases studies on aggressive nationalism, focusing on the official propagation of the Anglo-French destruction of Yuanmingyuan in 1860. Here we trace the different ways in which the party has reminded the Chinese public about this traumatic incident. The underlying objective has been to enhance the CCP's status as the party which liberated China from the Century of Humiliation and established the PRC as a major international power. However, this has not always materialised. Instead, some members of the public have been critical of the CCP, accusing it of being no better at standing up for Chinese interests than the much-hated Qing dynasty during the Century of Humiliation, as epitomised by the Yuanmingyuan incident.