The Chinese leader’s recent confirmation of his power has significant implications – and a look at history can reveal what those are.
Xi Jinping looks on as former Chinese president Hu Jintao is escorted from the closing ceremony of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
EPA-EFE/Mark R Cristino
Chinese President Xi Jinping has effectively become “leader for life” at this weekend’s congress. But his strict COVID zero policy may bring economic turmoil.
Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the 2022 Winter Olympics in Dharmsala, India on Feb. 3, 2021.
(AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
New school textbooks in China focus less on the Chinese Communist Party and more on its figurehead Xi Jinping. The growing cultivation of a personality cult is reminiscent of the days of Mao Zedong.
Confucius at the ‘Apricot Altar’. By Kano Tan'yû (Japanese, 1602–1674). Mid-17th century.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Confucius looked nothing like the great sage in his own time as he is widely known in ours. But his ideas continue to shape contemporary life for many.
Increasingly strained relations between the two countries are adding to the challenges of teaching students enrolled in Chinese studies at Australian universities.
Li Keqiang give his speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Ng Han Guan/EPA
When China’s Premier Li Keqiang delivered the annual government work report on the opening day of the National People’s Congress, COVID-19 was at the heart of it.
A patient is transferred to a new temporary hospital in Wuhan.
EPA
The future direction of the Chinese Communist Party will be decided at this year’s National Congress. The leader may not change but there are key roles up for grabs.
Plato, Confucius and Aristotle. Ancient Greek philosophy is widely taught in American universities, but classes in Chinese philosophy are few and far between.
Public domain