NWC INS Lecture Series -- Lecture 15 "China: Hegemony and Humiliation"
Channel: U.S. Naval War College
Date: 2021-04-07

The U.S. Naval War College is pleased to host the fifteenth lecture in this academic year's "Issues in National Security" lecture series.

Join Professor Andrew Wilson speaking about "China: Hegemony and Humiliation".

From Professor Wilson: You cannot understand China’s future without understanding China's past. Professor Wilson explores the two narratives that dominate historical consciousness in China.  The first is the "century of humiliation" narrative, wherein nineteenth and twentieth century China was brought low by foreign invasion and exploitation. In stark contrast, the hegemony narrative looks back to before the "century of humiliation." In this idealized past, Imperial China was a natural and benevolent hegemon.  This implies that there was once a “Chinese World Order,” and that the modern primacy of the West is an historical aberration, destined to end. These narratives are the subtext for Xi Jinping’s frequent invocations: "Never Forget National Humiliation" and "Rejuvenate the Great Chinese Nation." The pursuit of those twin goals explains a lot about how the PRC behaves, and how the Chinese people view the outside world. 

Andrew R. Wilson is the John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies. Professor Wilson has lectured at military colleges and civilian universities across the United States and around the world. The author of a number of books and articles on Chinese military history, Chinese sea power and Sun Tzu's “The Art of War,” he is presently at work on “The Acme of Skill: Strategic Theory from Antiquity to the Information Age.” Professor Wilson is also featured on “The Great Courses,” with lecture series including “The Art of War”; “Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers”; and “Understanding Imperial China: Dynasties, Life and Culture.”

About the Lecture Series

The Issues in National Security (INS ) lectures are specifically designed to offer scholarly lectures to the spouses, partners and significant others of our students; military/civilian employees assigned to the Naval War College and Naval Station Newport and its tenant activities; NWC Foundation members; and local-area retirees or active/reserve personnel.