Social Sciences in China

Vol. 35, No. 3, 2014

Constructing Core Values within the Framework of “Complex Modernity”

(Abstract)

Feng Ping et al.

China is caught in the tensions between “modernization and the revival of the Chinese nation,” between “socialism and capitalism,” and between “the nation-state and the trend toward globalization.” These tensions highlight three problems confronting the future development of China, and serve as an intellectual benchmark enabling us to identify China’s place in contemporary world history and to grasp the historical trend of Chinese development. In order to solve these problems, we need to establish the idea of “complex modernity” as an analytical framework for analyzing the challenges confronting China and as a methodology for charting the country’s future direction. We should also set up a pattern of thought consistent with the idea of “complex modernity” so as to construct the core values of contemporary Chinese society.