Fredrik Fällman

“China is”, in the words of Bertrand Russell, “much less a political entity than a civilization.” To this we may add that China is also a geographical area. The word China has multiple meanings charged with different kinds of values and preconceptions. In this book ten scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan explore various meanings and aspects of Chinese identity. What does “China” mean as a cultural concept and when referring to a geographical territory? What is the significance of the historical relationship between the interior and exterior for the Chinese identity? How have classical texts been used by the Chinese state? These are central questions in this book, where you will also find contributions analysing, among other topics, the Chinese self-image and China as seen from the outside. One article examines the ideological use of the notion of “Chinese characteristics” in contemporary Mainland China, while another analyses China’s future development in terms of the country’s transformation from a multiethnic empire to a homogenous national state.

Dimman blev allt tätare. Jag stirrade stint på människosiluetterna i diset. Vissa, som var klädda i vitt och stod en eller två meter bort, flimrade som spegelbilder i smutsigt rinnande vatten ... En ensam man vandrar runt i Ürümqi i jakt på en plats där han kan tillbringa natten. Medan han går tänker han tillbaka på sitt liv och på de traumatiska händelser som format honom. Dimman som omvärver honom förstärker hans känsla av alienation och får tankarna att rusa. Perhat Tursun är uigurisk författare och poet, känd för sina både språkligt och tematiskt kontroversiella dikter och romaner. Han greps 2018 och dömdes till 16 års fängelse. 2022 tilldelades han Tucholskypriset av Svenska PEN "för sin starka röst för fri litteratur, oavsett kulturella tabun eller etniskt-politiskt förtryck, som på ett självklart och djupt berörande sätt gestaltar mänsklig erfarenhet ur ett minoritetsperspektiv". Boken ges ut i samarbete med Svenska PEN.

Salvation and Modernity presents an interpretation of the phenomenon of intellectual Christians in contemporary Chinese society, with special focus paid to Liu Xiaofeng, by exploring the main issues of faith, salvation, and the quest for a modern China. Author Fredrik Fällman investigates similar developments in earlier centuries by linking past and present forms of cultural Christian phenomenon, and the beliefs and ideas of Liu Xiaofeng and other scholars. Their focus on Christianity implies a criticism of traditional Chinese value systems, in particular Confucianism and Daoism. The introduction of Christian theology and values into Chinese academia is a way of creating greater understanding for Western culture. Many cultural Christians argue that this advanced understanding is a prerequisite for establishing a modern China. Issues of personal faith and identity are also central in respect to modernity as well as to individual and national salvation. Post-Mao China is seeking a new foundation for values and cultural Christians have a definite role to play. Since the choice of Christianity is an expression of individuality, freedom, and criticism of political structures, cultural Christians will ultimately help in laying foundations for a theology in Chinese relations between the intellectuals and the Church. The impact and importance of cultural Christians is becoming more visible now than ever before.