Perceiving Patriotism: China’s Patriotic Education Campaign

Abstract

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) implemented the Patriotic Education Campaign (PEC) in 1991 in pursuit of a new ideological tool that will serve as an agent of social integration for China in general. Although the CCP has crafted the PEC in such a way that it will promote a particular type of patriotism that will favor its objective of legitimation, the construction of patriotism perceptions among the Chinese citizens is quite a unique process. Utilizing a semi-structured interview involving twelve Chinese respondents who have experienced the PEC for a year or more as well as analyzing content of various articles about the PEC’s content and implementation, this study aims to: (1) understand the nuances of China’s perspectives on patriotism and (2) analyze how the Chinese define and express patriotism in light of their experience under the PEC. Data from the interviews were organized into themes, analyzed, and compared with the results of the content analysis of various articles. Results from the study showed that most of the participants exhibit a symbolic aspect of patriotism. Also, the school was always mentioned as a contributor to the process of construction of Chinese perceptions of patriotism.

Keywords: Patriotism, Patriotism in Education, Education, China