2024年3月6日发(作者：)

The famous ‘American Dream’ of the United States has been around for almost a century. Now, a new

‘Chinese Dream’ has emerged from（从„„出现、显露） China, drawing global attention.

In November 2012, China's ‘fifth generation’ leader Xi Jinping introduced his ‘Chinese Dream’

after taking office as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)中国共产党. Mr Xi stressed

that, "To achieve the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’（中华民族伟大复兴 ）is the greatest

dream in modern Chinese history."

The ‘American Dream' was first defined by（由„„提出） James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book, The

Epic of America《美国史诗》. This Dream stated that "life should be better and richer and fuller for

everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement, regardless of不管 the fortuitous

circumstances of birth or position."

National Goal vs National Ethos（国家目标vs民族精神）

While the 'American Dream' centres on集中体现在 a personal belief that everyone can be successful

in the US, the ‘Chinese Dream’ describes a common national goal.

During this year’s annual Boao Forum for Asia, President Xi further emphasised强调 that China would

achieve the 'Chinese Dream' of 'the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation' by the mid 21st century,

a time when China should be a ‘prosperous, democratic, civilised and harmonious modern socialist

country’.富强、民族、文明、和谐的社会主义现代化国家。

However, the substance of the ‘China Dream’ remains widely debated because the generic “great

rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” has not been well articulated or specified. Mr Xi has not explained

the criteria and indicators required to determine 'rejuvenation'. Does this simply refer to restoring

China’s former glory when it was once he greatest ever economic and political power in world history?

The Han Dynasty is generally considered a golden age in Chinese history, whereas the Tang Dynasty

is regarded as a climax鼎盛 in Chinese civilisation文明.

Probing deeper, were the agricultural Han or Tang dynasties more prosperous than modern China in

term of absolute economic power? Secondly, were these imperial dynasties more democratic than modern

China? Lastly, was the feudal Han or Tang more civilised than modern China in terms of social cultures?

The answers are unequivocally明确 ‘no’.

China does not want to become another feudal and imperial Han or Tang Dynasty again. A more rational

and precise interpretation of Mr Xi’s ‘rejuvenation’ should be that China hopes to restore its

historical position as a global leader in terms of relative dominating power amongst the countries. Does

this not contradict China’s pledge that ‘China will never seek hegemony称霸’? That was why Mr Lee

Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father, even suggested China use ‘Cultural Rejuvenation’.

To ease internal misunderstanding and external worry, the ‘Chinese Dream’ would be better

articulated simply as the ‘great well-off of every Chinese economically, politically and socially’.

Top-down vs Bottom-up （自上而下vs自下而上）

Some see the ‘American Dream’ and the ‘Chinese Dream’ both sharing a common goal of building

a prosperous nation and achieving personal success. But in fact, the approaches to attaining the same

goal seem to be quite distinct.

The ‘American Dream’ can be considered a bottom-up approach, where the success of each American

will naturally contribute to the overall prosperity of the US. In stark contrast, the ‘Chinese Dream’

should be viewed as a top-down approach where a prosperous China will eventually lead to the success

of each Chinese.

The bottom-up approach in the ‘American Dream’ has proven to be somewhat successful and effective.

The US has been prosperous for hundreds of years and numerous individuals have achieved their dreams

in the US, such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Kissinger, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Oprah Winfrey,

Ursula Burns, John Paul Dejoria, Jay-Z, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Oher, Chris Gardner, Tyler Perry

and not to forget President Barack Obama.

The American Dream, where determination and hardwork can eventually pay off, has been firmly engraved

in the American psyche. The confidence in possible personal success has inspired and motivated Americans,

enabling the US to be the most dynamic and innovative society in the world.

On the flip side, there is scepticism about the top-down approach in the ‘Chinese Dream’. China

encourages every Chinese to build a strong nation first before pursuing individuals’ personal successes.

Such ideas have propelled China to become the number two economy in the world within a short period of

the past three decades.

Although the top-down approach seemed effective during the initial wealth creation phase, it is unable

to fully justify fairness and equality during the subsequent wealth allocation phase. In fact, China

has been facing an ironic dilemma of ‘richer nation with less well-off people’ as well as a widening

income gap.

While the ‘American Dream’ leaves individuals to determine if their dreams have been realised based

on their personal definitions of success, it is the government which is the sole referee for progress

in the ‘Chinese Dream’.

In August 2010, an expert from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) declared

that the quantitative index of ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ in 2010 was 0.6274. To

put it simply, it meant China had successfully completed 62.7 per cent of its rejuvenation tasks;

ironically, the index was only 46 per cent in 2005.

Nevertheless, this index was widely criticised due to its unscientific and flawed analytical approach.

With such a tremendous gap between official data and public perception, it is not guaranteed whether

individuals can benefit meaningfully from the manipulable ‘Chinese Dream’.

Collectivism vs Individualism（个人主义vs集体主义）

The key fundamental difference between the ‘Chinese Dream’ and the ‘American Dream’ originates

from the different social philosophies in the two nations: socialist社会主义以 collectivism集体主义

in China and capitalist资本主义 individualism个人主义 in the US.

US society believes that the interests of individuals can precede that of the state or any social

groups. Such an idea is explicitly endorsed in the Declaration of Independence, which declares that "all

men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among

these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to insure these rights, governments are

instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed