Cuadernos de China
中国笔记

In ancient China one must speak of mythologies, because they have belonged to different clans. This led to the absence of systematic mythological material. There were never any mythological compilers. These mythologies have a fragmentary character; they are scattered in uneven literary works and iconographic repertoires. Its anecdotal and didactic character has been an attribute, since on numerous occasions myths were used as paradigms by Confucianism. China did not produce any mythology (a system of myths), until the Han era, when the Confucian lawyers, following their political ideals, created a historized and rationalized mythology.

Severely damaged by an earthquake and heavy rains, in 1981 the brick pagoda of Famensi (Templo of the Dharma Gate) collapsed and when in 1987 archaeologists undertook excavations, they discovered a sealed context from the year 874 in its “Underground Palace” (Digong), built in the form of a Chinese tomb. The unearthed relics of purported finger bones from the historic Buddha and the untouched sumptuous objects, probably donated by several emperors, are regarded as one of the most important discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 20th Century and were declared the Ninth Wonder by UNESCO. Today Famensi and its pagoda, now reconstructed, constitute an important site of pilgrimage. In this paper I describe these extraordinary finds and outline its relation with Esoteric Buddhism and the ritual practices of relic veneration by members of the royal court, as well as their political use by emperors who tried to establish a Kingdom of Buddha in East Asia, especially the famous Tang dynasty empress Wu Zetian.

Relations between China and Latin America are at a key moment. The intensification of ties in the last two decades has stimulated political, economic, cultural and other exchanges. The Belt and the Road Initiative promotes a greater connection between China and Latin America that serves as the basis to incubate a large market that facilitates trade and investment. Latin America wants China to be a preferred partner to increase its capacity for innovation and promote a new cycle of industrialization that will increase its geopolitical autonomy. The difficulties in concluding a common perspective in the countries of the region against China are more than a few. In addition, the US observes with great suspicion the growth of the presence and influence of the Asian giant in the hemisphere. Governments and societies in the region face the challenge of articulating the management of their interests, balancing the role of traditional actors, including Spain.

When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, its demographic goals included reducing mortality, increasing life expectancy, and controlling overpopulation. To this end, since 1956 a series of family planning policies or campaigns have been implemented to prevent uncontrolled population growth. In 1979, the fourth of these campaigns was approved, which included the one-child policy, in force until 2015. Our intention is to present a balance of family planning policies in China, studying the theoretical aspects of the demographic transition, briefly reviewing each of these campaigns, detailing the particularities of the one-child policy, and finally, analyzing the consequences.

The advance of the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened the necessity to promote the health cooperation. China has been noted for its international medical collaboration. This has been criticized, essentially, by the United States of America. In middle of this scenario, the attacks are deepened with clear geopolitics conception against Beijing. The article explains the main elements that express the forces of China in the health sector on the basis of the cooperation and complementarity and can be consolidates in the framework of the advance of the Health Silk Road.

This work synthesizes the essence of the content of my new book China versus the US: Who Will Prevail? which ultimately seeks to answer the following two questions: Did China challenge the United States too early and, by doing so, attract problems that jeopardize its chances of achieving its objectives? Is it, on the contrary, too late for the United States to contain China’s rise?

Using a documentary and quantitative research, supported by the analysis of publications (academic, official and informative) and international economics variables, the study identifies the bases that support the diplomatic relations renewal between China and Latin America with the dawn of the 21st century, in a symbiotic context of growing Chinese geoeconomic interests and Latin American geopolitical reformulations. It is found that the accelerated deepening of these links responds to an economic partnership strategy implemented by Beijing through omnidirectional cooperation with two general characteristics: 1) its purpose is to complement national strengths to achieve the development of the parties and 2) it is practiced differently according to the partners’ contribution to Chinese strategic interests. Among other things, it concludes that taking advantage of the benefits offered by Chinese economic cooperation depends on the responsibility, commitment and response of Latin American states at the level of their own interests and domestic policies.

Chile adheres to the principles of respect for international law, through its membership in various international organizations and with States at a multilateral and bilateral level, promoting its economic relations, cooperation, development and trade, especially with China, which is Chile’s first commercial partner, and ranks first with respect to the country’s exports and imports.

Classical Confucian literature, rationalized and bureaucratized, the driving force behind the control of the functioning of society and the influence of the hierarchization of family and social relations, promoted the values of an intellectual culture that undervalued the influence of mythical-religious impulses and motifs, images, and symbols of the past. Nevertheless, certain mythical glimpses of the origins and heroes of the Golden Age survive. Classical Taoist literature reveals the metaphysical background of Dao, suggesting and evoking images that go so far as to associate Dao with an original, perhaps Neolithic, divinity. The imaginative, moving, and insinuating sense of myth, the foundation of the archaic Chinese mentality, is only found fresh in the mythographic collections. The iconography and the detailed inventories of tools and objects (especially funerary) of the material culture, complement some ideals that appear in the literature in a symbolic perspective.

In the history of Venezuela’s international relations, the chapter on the strengthening of Sino-Venezuelan ties during the administration of President Luis Herrera Campins (1979-1984) is not well known. The tensions of the Cold War had also produced the East-East dispute between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and China for the leadership of the international communist movement, and in this dynamic, the United States of America (USA), after the rapprochement and normalization with Beijing in 1972 and 1979, coincided with the Asian giant in denouncing the actions of the USSR in the world. This is the case of the Central American conflict of the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, we propose to analyze the alliance that led China and Venezuela to participate in the conflict in El Salvador in direct alignment with the U.S. and against the intervention of the USSR and Cuba.

In 2021, the Chinese economy grew by more than 8%, demonstrating its resilience and robustness in a very complex scenario, both internally and externally. Likewise, the country continues to hold a relevant position in the global economy, especially in trade and also, although to a lesser extent, in international finance. However, this does not mean that China has solved the difficulties associated with the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other problems that had been brewing before, which were somehow precipitated in the current context. The aim of this paper is to show China’s economic performance in the last two years, to summarize the main aspects that constitute the causes of such behavior, as well as its implications for the country itself and the international economy, due to the importance of this actor in the global scenario.

Since the economic Reform and Opening-up policy in 1978, the foreign policy agenda of the People’s Republic of China has been dominated by economic and trade issues. Without deviating from this, President Xi Jinping has added the issue of security as a new anchor of Beijing’s international strategy. In this context, and as part of the plan to reformulate the liberal pillars of global governance, the Chinese Foreign Ministry presented the Global Security Initiative in February 2023. In the following, and supported by the theoretical premises of history and international relations, we will examine the concepts and cooperation priorities outlined in China’s Global Security Initiative Concept Paper. Documento conceptual de la Iniciativa China de Seguridad Global.

Political relations between China and Uruguay in the 21st century have evolved significantly compared to the 20th century. These relations have taken place within the framework of China’s multi-level foreign policy (regional multilateral, national bilateral, and local bilateral) and have developed a considerable breadth of issues, which implies a new stage for less superficial and more complex relations. Their development has focused on strengthening important channels of dialogue as mechanisms for interaction. Such political relations should continue to rely on these mechanisms and promote action plans between the two parties, whether in the framework of global initiatives (strategic partnership) or from local-to-local relations.

This text is an academic introduction to Confucianism and Daoism as the autochthonous pillars of Chinese spirituality and thought, both originating during the crisis of the Zhou dynasty (8th–3rd centuries BCE). It explores their historical origins and key principles—relational ethics and rituals in Confucianism, as well as harmony with the Dao, non-action, and practices for achieving immortality in Daoism—through classical works such as the Daodejing o Zhuangziand their syncretism in Chinese art, politics, and society. It also details religious Daoist schools (Celestial Masters, Shangqing, Lingbao, Quanzhen, Zhengyi), alchemical rituals, and their influence on literature, medicine, and visual culture. It concludes by emphasizing the enduring relevance of Confucian ideas and Daoist notions in modern Chinese ethics, along with their historical persistence in contemporary China.