The Meaning of Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream

This short essay explains the significance of Xi Jinping's use of the word "dream" (meng) in his inaugural policy pronouncement as the new leader of China in 2013. No Chinese Communist leader had previously mentioned this word as either symbol or policy in the history of the People's Republic. The essay examines the importance of "dream" in Chinese culture, beginning with Zhuangzi's metaphysical essay, one of the cornerstones of Chinese philosophical thought. The authors then examine the Confucian philosophical concepts of li and yue. Confucianism, as a humanist philosophy, opposes the use of force, or ba dao, and was abandoned under Chinese Communism until the death of Mao in 1976. While the intentions of Xi are unknowable, the introduction of the historically freighted term "dream" opens up a linguistic pathway to these humanistic traditions and their possible political manifestations in the future.