A Japán-ellenes háború emlékezete mint a hatalmi legitimáció forrása a Kínai Népköztársaságban
The Memory of the War of Resistance Against Japan as a Source of Power Legitimation in the People’s Republic of China

Summary/Abstract: In our study, we seek to answer the question: how nationalism and patriotism have been incorporated into the ideology of the world’s largest political party, the Communist Party of China; how, with what success and efficiency the “memory factory” works in the new age, and how historical memory, including museums, regular official commemorations and education serve the CPC’s rule. We argue that although one of the key legitimating factors of the CPC is its historical role in the war against Japanese aggressors, reference only to this fact would not be enough to maintain support of the public. Patriotism is still a focal point of the Party’s ideology, which seeks to raise the new generations to the love of their much-suffered homeland, while the CPC can safely expect the Chinese masses to stand by the party leadership if their country engages in diplomatic conflict with Japan. We also explore whether the historical heritage-born vigilance against Japan is the result of mass manipulation or a much deeper-rooted emotional-based conscious self-defence reflex. As we explore the memories of real horrors that rising Chinese generations must live with, we also follow a process in which the Chinese political leadership does not always consider it appropriate to emphasize the grievances of the past. We apply a dual approach (both foreign and Chinese) to analyse and explain how the reactions of Chinese society to historical memory are based on an increasingly solidified national self-esteem.

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