Jin Canrong on the "Peace Disease" among China's Elite (Part 1)

"The common people endured repeated humiliation and hardship, while the literati, using the people’s resources to purchase peace, continued to regard themselves as noble and admirable." – Jin Canrong

Today’s edition opens with an introduction by William A. Callahan, Professor of Political Science at Singapore Management University, who was previously Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research examines the interplay of theory, culture and politics in China and across Asia. Much of his work can be found on his Sensible Politics website. Very grateful to him for his contribution to this newsletter. — Thomas

Jin Canrong is famous in China as a firebrand. As these articles show, Jin enjoys being a “wolf warrior” professor with his strident criticisms of the West and Japan. Considering the political environment in the PRC right now, this is not strange.

What is noteworthy, however, is how Jin’s approach has dramatically changed. Up to the mid-2010s, Jin was known as a liberal, who saw world politics in terms of positive-sum international engagement. Fast-forward to 2025, and he has shifted to a social Darwinist view, th…