True Colors of China: Yellow, Blue, and Red

Contrary to perceptions of Chinese culture as static or monolithic, "True Colors of China" argues that it is profoundly dynamic, multilayered, and continuously evolving. Author Yu Xie propose that contemporary Chinese culture emerges from the synthesis of three foundational sources, each with distinct historical and ideological origins. To distinguish these sources, he assigns them symbolic colors: yellow, red, and blue.

The yellow source draws from China's deep historical legacy — its imperial traditions, Confucian values, and millennia-old civilizational continuity. The blue source represents Western influences that entered China — initially via Japan — beginning in the late 19th century, bringing modernization, scientific rationalism, and liberal democratic ideals. The red source stems from Soviet influence and the revolutionary doctrines of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which have fundamentally reshaped governance, ideology, and social organization since 1949.

The dynamic interplay of these elements — sometimes conflicting, sometimes synthesizing — has created a uniquely hybrid cultural system that distinguishes contemporary China from any other society and explains both its remarkable adaptability and its internal contradictions.

Center on Contemporary China | View More Events
Co-hosted with: Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies, Center on Contemporary China (OWNER)

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