Ancient origins

The concept of harmony may have been borrowed from ancient Chinese mysticism known as Feng Shui, commonly practiced in Hong Kong.

 

At the time of its inclusion into the Communist party’s constitution, observers predicted that the new emphasis on harmony would have a lasting impact on China’s economic development plans. The form and direction of the impact, however, was—and is still—ambiguously undecided.

A “harmonious society” sounds like a simple idea, but it is actually hard to define. As a philosophical goal, the idea suggests a society based on social stability, balance and integration. China’s state-run national newspaper, China Daily, defined it as “a socialist democracy, with rule of law, social justice, honesty and credibility, balancing human activities and natural resources.”

Summing up the new development strategy in simple terms, President Hu emphasized that it would above all else “put people first.”

 

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China Hums a New Tune

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“China's Quest for a Harmonious Society”
By Patricia Mohr

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The Origins of ‘Harmony’

A comprehensive search of Lexis-Nexis news database shows that the first politically based and modern-day news references of “harmonious society” surfaced in the People's Republic of China at the turn of the century. Xie Zhenhua, the director-general of State Environmental Protection Agency, used the phrase in 2002 while proposing that China strike a balance between growth and ecological preservation. The next year, China’s Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang floated the phrase while arguing that AIDS-afflicted Chinese people needed more care and attention.

The theme soon gained traction in 2004 when the 16th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee spent a plenary session analyzing ways the party could address social demands. (It is worth mentioning that the party’s chief concern at the time was its own survival. Party leaders expressed the need to defend themselves against “hostile” foreigners trying to “westernize and disintegrate” China. )

"At the time, observers predicted that the new emphasis on harmony would have a lasting impact on China’s economic development plans."

By 2005, party leaders engraved the goal of a creating a “harmonious society” into the country’s 11th Five Year Plan for economic development, and two years later they enshrined it into their constitution. & From that day forward, the concept of a “harmonious society” would become the party’s guiding vision for new policies.

A Melodious Tune?

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

As a guideline for policy, the harmonious society objective is much more difficult to pin down. Chinese politicians and news agencies have used the phrase to support the following objectives:

• Increases in spending social security and services, such as health and education, particularly in rural areas.
• Industrial subsidies to increase employment.
• Reforms to instill a sense of party-based democracy among the public.
• Greater appreciation for ethnic cultures.
• A stronger rule of law and judicial instruments to address societal conflicts.
• An adjustment of incomes to bridge the divide between rich and poor divide.
• Robust economic growth.

Many of these ideas have materialized as new policies in Chinese laws. It is too soon to tell which of them will become permanent fixtures in Chinese society and symbols of the new development strategy.

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