China : the pessoptimist nation / William A. Callahan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-257) and index.

China is fast becoming the next superpower - a rise that presents a challenge to the world economically, politically and culturally. Drawing on extensive new Chinese sources, Professor Callahan sheds light on how Chinese people understand their changing place, and what that might mean for the world.

Introduction: Soft power, pessoptimism, and the rise of China -- When is China? (1): Patriotic education and the century of national humiliation -- When is China? (2): Producing and consuming national humiliation days -- Where is China?: The cartography of national humiliation -- Who is China? (1): Foreign brothers and domestic strangers -- Who is China? (2): Trauma, community, and gender in Sino-Japanese relations -- Conclusion: How to be Chinese in the twenty-first century.