When I first arrived in China, I sensed something powerful in the way people related to their country. At the beginning, I assumed it was simply patriotism, a strong attachment to the national flag and to collective identity. Over time, especially after attending a recent conference, I realized that what I was observing was something far deeper. It was a form of civilizational consciousness, a deeply rooted awareness of identity, history and cultural continuity.
Chinese people do not look at themselves primarily through the experience of colonial disruption. Instead, they understand themselves as the product of a civilization with thousands of years of history and achievement. This creates a sense of ontological confidence, a steady awareness of who they are and how they belong in every sphere of society. While no society is perfect, the Chinese possess a clear understanding of their place in the world. Their idea of civilization is not limited by the frameworks that are common in the West. Western civilization is often linked to conquest, neoliberal ideas and claims of exceptionalism. It is less often linked to concepts such as friendship or shared development. China’s understanding follows a different path and reflects its own historical experience.
Seeing this has made me think deeply about South Africa and about Africa more broadly. I sometimes feel that we do not always take ourselves seriously. Our challenges are enormous. We face political corruption, social instability, drug related problems and many other pressures that stretch the capacity of leadership. Some of these difficulties are not the result of our own actions. They are the consequences of external interference and of global systems that left behind complex problems that we must now manage. These burdens accumulate and can overwhelm any government.
As a young person observing these dynamics, I take comfort in the belief that young people should question the world around them. We should imagine a better future for our countries. This is an important part of the ongoing process of decolonization. Youth movements across South Africa have revived these conversations. Student protests in particular are grounded in theoretical debates on decolonization and on challenges to existing structures. I now understand these efforts as expressions of civilizational intent. They represent attempts to reclaim who we are politically, socially and culturally, and to reconnect with the roots that define our identity and our capacities.
My time in China has been an important source of learning. There is much that Africa can learn from China’s development experience, and China continues to share these lessons with an attitude of openness. Being here has strengthened my hope that when I return home, I can contribute something meaningful to South Africa. I want to help revive a sense of civilizational consciousness and a deeper form of patriotism that is rooted in self knowledge rather than external comparison.
My aspiration is that South Africa and the wider African continent rediscover the confidence that comes from understanding ourselves as civilizations with long histories and unfinished futures. We are more than the narratives imposed on us. We have the cultural foundations and the intellectual resources to define our own path.
Editor: Yangwen
