A China-led Asia should aspire to nothing less than a cultural renaissance

The world should welcome a wealthy and powerful China. A strong Chinese economy has benefited the global economy, and a powerful China in the 1930s would probably have deterred Japan from invading China and Southeast Asia. However, while welcoming a powerful China, the world would not like to see a bullying China.

China is not alone in Asia with its dream to become wealthy and powerful. With Asian economies doing well, many hope this will be the Asian Century. But what kind of Asian Century?

For instance, how would Asians like this period to be understood in centuries ahead? As just a period of remarkable economic growth? Or as a period of economic development coupled with cultural and intellectual brilliance, on a par with previous glorious periods of human history?

The rise of Asia is likely to have a more profound influence if it is accompanied by a cultural and intellectual rejuvenation. Radical transformations are often accompanied by intellectual ferment and cultural effervescence. These transformations throw up many serious issues, challenging the best brains of the time, who draw on their intellectual heritage, learn from other sources and synthesise them to produce original thought.

The most recent example is the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, which produced giants in the fields of philosophy, the sciences, fine arts, music, architecture and literature. European intellectuals acted as a positive force, both as social consciences and sources of forward-looking ideas.

Such a historical perspective provides new dimensions to the Chinese Dream. It suggests a project of building a modern Chinese civilisation. This is in line with Chinese concern to retain their cultural heritage while developing a system of social, economic and political philosophies to cope with the demands of modernisation. In this endeavour, morality, culture, ethics and values have featured prominently.