Modernization and the Study of Modern Chinese History

Modernization is a profound and far-reaching concept. At present, history academics are divided on how to define modernization, its essence and levels. However, some historians have accepted and used modernization as a perspective in researching modern Chinese history. This current article attempts to provide a brief examination of some issues in the study of modern Chinese history with modernization as a main thread, including the relationship between modernization and democratic revolution, the interaction between emulation of the West and resistance to its intrusion in modernization endeavors, and overcoming the subjective inclination in the past study of modern Chinese history. The question about the main thread of modern Chinese history provoked long-lasting disputes in the 1980s, which have not yet been resolved. This article attempts to provide a succinct review and interpretation of the issue.