The modernisation of China and the Chinese critique of modernity

The European brand of modernisation that was introduced to China by the force of arms in the 19th-20th centuries had some of its most basic origins in aspects of the traditional Chinese imperial system. This same system impeded China's ability to resist the imperialist aggressions of modernised "Western" powers and Japan, until the end of the 20th century. Contemporary Chinese culture studies and political, social and economic thought reexamine the "Western" model of modernity from a critical point of view and propose a new postcolonial, postmodern form of modernisation with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese critique of modernity is both a product of Chinese history and an alternative to "Western" paradigms.