The Chinese Dream is a promise made by the new Chinese leadership in 2012-2013. It is used by the government and journalists in the People's Republic of China to describe the aspiration of individual self-improvement in Chinese society.[1] It has been promoted by the new leader Xi Jinping. In 2013 the slogan became widespread in the media.[2]
In May 2013 Xi called upon Xi Jinping young people "to dare to dream, work assiduously to fulfill the dreams and contribute to the revitalization of the nation." He called upon all levels of the Party and the government to facilitate favorable conditions for their career development. Xi told young people to "cherish the glorious youth, strive with pioneer spirit and contribute their wisdom and energy to the realization of the Chinese dream."[3]
The concept of Chinese Dream is very similar to the idea of "American Dream". It Stress the importance of entrepreneurial spirit. It also glorifies a generation of self-made men and women in post-reform China. Such as those rural immigrates who moved to the urban centers and achieve magnificent improvement in terms of their living standards, and social life. Chinese Dream can be interpreted as the collective consciousness of Chinese people during the era of social transformation and economic progress.
As a aspect of political thought in contemporary China, the emergence of Chinese Dream indicates a diversion of political ideology from egalitarianism to a relatively more liberal individualist approach. It, however, is worth notice that the concept is still based on collectivism rather than individualism for it seen the subject of Chinese Dream as the people of China as a whole instead of specific individual hero/heroine.
The idea was put forward by the new CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping on 29 November 2012 and repeated by him on numerous important occasions. The Communist Party party’s propaganda chief, Liu Yunshan, has directed that the concept of the Chinese dream be incorporated into school textbooks.[4]
The government hoped to create a revitalized China, while promoting innovation and technology to restore the international prestige China. In this light, Chinese Dream, like American exceptionalism, is a nationalistic concept as well.