Tianxia in Chinese Moral or Political Thinking - Essay Example

Introduction Tianxia is a notion embodied by the Chinese that literally means all under heaven and is integrated within the Chinese moral or political thinking. The reason for the emergence of Tianxia as a powerful tool for international relations is because the Peoples Republic of China is an emerging powerhouse both economically and politically and therefore, it cannot be ignored in the world scene. The importance of Tianxia has enabled the overall understanding of the Chinese vision of world order; this is the order that has governed the Chinese people for over two thousand years and its relation to the world. Tianxia is interesting in the sense that it gives a Chinese replica of global order that is generally applicable, and gives Chinese-style resolutions to global issues more so how the traditional concept of Tianxia in international relations is combined with the long held Chinese diplomacy of nationalism. Therefore, the Tianxia system has become the answer to such questions as to what is the role of China in the current world in terms of international relations and diplomacy. This research work is to examine how the Tianxia system is employed to solve the world’s problems and the institutions that come with it; it also examines the theoretical and past problems caused by the Tianxia system and its application in the present world order. It also examines that the Tianxia system must be applied domestically before it can be applicable or viable in the world stage. In summary, this work examines how Tianxia is a new world order in international relations that is not uniform to the Western view of the world, and also to examine how the ideas in Tianxia are put into play by The Peoples Republic of China and other nations in foreign policy making. Tianxia System defined This is a legitimate world order that is quite distinct from the Western world order in international relations; it is a framework for solving the world problems through conceptualization of ideas and practically implementing them. Tianxia as a term in international relations should be construed in three different ways to have the relevant meaning when employing it in international relations. Geographically speaking, tian refers to the heavens, the sky and what is on top while xia means below, inferior or below, when the two words are joined, they mean what is below the universe or the sky. Normatively, Tianxia refers to all the people or the world institution, in understanding this, scholars have interdependently directed arguments that would solve problems not only in political philosophy, but also in political science, and this has the effect of unifying the world and the thoughts too. When the word Tianxia is used as to refer to the world geographically, we think or refer at the world order from a global point of view, as the problems experienced in the world are too enormous to be handled by any single particular nation. This is contrary to the Westphalia way of international relations that is based on the competing interests of nations; therefore, scholars argue that Tianxia is more than just a place looked at geographically but a way of looking at the world order from a global point of view rather than from national points of view. Tianxia is also described as all the people drawing distinction between friends and enemies, or insiders and outsiders. According to scholars, while the Western nation’s world order is based on racial distinctions, the Chinese way of international relations ethically bases relationship between nations through culture (Wang 72). Therefore, the Tianxia system is a way of changing enemies into friends through persuasion rather than forced conquests. This system should be applied diplomatically to solve the acrimony between India and Pakistan that is about culture and religion. However, This poses a serious problem between nations as it is difficult to present Tianxian system as a world order as it is based on personal desires that are manipulated during elections or referenda and the inability of democratic institutions to work in the world scale as they do in the local or national level. Therefore, the will of the people can only be determined by an elitist Confucian-Leninist order through the study of social trends in a particular society. This shows that people can only be judged by the order and not the freedoms that they purportedly enjoy. Tianxia as the world institution is used to bring order to the world through the conceptualization of problems first then solving the problems institutionally (Li 48). The Tianxia system has been universally accepted as it draws its legitimacy through its structures. This is in stark contrast the Westphalian way of international relations that is based on nation states and is organized in three levels of individual, community and nation state as compared to the Chinese political thought that is based on the levels of Tianxia, the state and the family. The major difference is that the Tianxia system proposed by the Chinese starts at the largest level, which is the Tianxia downwards to the lower political and social lives. China and International Relations China has undergone under numerous changes concerning international relations since its founding; initially it was all about the promotion of socialism and criticizing the capitalism. To achieve the socialism, China focused so much on the study of history of the communist movement in places like Soviet Union and other revolutionists in the world and their views on china. However, later Chinese diplomacy changed into focus on the safeguarding its national security from threats especially from USA and USSR, but it later sought to integrate into the world economic community. This occurred at the end of the Cultural Revolution and at this moment China began reform and being open to the West that has contributed to its shift in international relations. Despite all these developments, the Chinese Tianxia model of international diplomacy still focuses on the fact that Chinese international relations must be based on Chinese culture, historical traditions and practical experiences. The model must also be universally valid, transcending local traditions, practices and experiences and that its core functions must be different from other theories in the world order (Dallmayr and Tingyang 77) The case of India and Pakistan Tianxia may come into play here in the solution of the animosity between these two nations in the South of Asia. The animosity has existed because Indians feel that present day Pakistanis are betrayers both religiously and politically as they converted to Islam and into a state. The state of Pakistan is more in a dilemma as it is less developed as compared to India and this therefore calls for it to fight for economic empowerment at the world stage rather than fighting India as an enemy. This strategy of making India the enemy to be fought in its quest for national integration has failed disastrously as the nationals of the nation have become enemies themselves thus there is a betrayal of the values held by the civil society. Tianxia way of diplomacy may therefore come into play through forward thinking and looking around the nations and creating a nation based and considers the differences and the unity of the nation, considering the history of the nation both locally and universally. Therefore, in order to solve the Indian and the Pakistani problem will therefore call for the active application of the Tianxia system through a commitment of all concerns to the needs and wants of the future generations. This generation involves the nations that surround these two countries for example Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Nepal who will be required to make efforts through policies that allow pluralistic futures. This means that from whatever place a person is born, whether in South Asia or from whatever place, they should be able to act in a manner that preserves the human life at all costs. To achieve this, the Tianxia model of international relations can be employed in South Asia through the adoption of a South Asian water regime to avoid future wars fought over the limited water resources in the area. The issue of human rights must be addressed as most wars fought over these areas are about violation of human rights by each nation as against the other. These rights include the right to religion and language, for example, the case of Pakistan and India, there should be respect between Hinduism and Islam. More important in the solution of the Indian-Pakistani problem is the denationalization of one’s self, economy and identity. This involves delinking oneself from the idea of a nation, whether one is Indian or Pakistani and instead adopting the Tianxia model of all under universe where one takes himself as a local in the global concept, all under one planet. This involves removing self from the past or history and reinventing into future thoughts. There is also need to encourage the freedom of religion and culture without the interference of the states either locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally. Conclusion The Chinese theory of All-under Heaven or Tianxia has therefore proven to be viable in the philosophy of governing the world. Its three faces of definition in terms of the earth, the people’s hearts and the relevant world institutions introduces the principle of world-ness, politically speaking that far covers even the principle of looking at nations in international circles. Works cited Dallmayr, Fred R, and Tingyang Zhao. Contemporary Chinese Political Thought: Debates and Perspectives. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2012. Print Li, Mingjiang. China Joins Global Governance: Cooperation and Contentions. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012. Print. Wang, Zheng. Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. Print. Read More