‘Mnemonic Regeneration’: Revitalizing the Sacredness of China’s Constitutional Ideology of ‘Heroes and Martyrs’
Constitutional ideology is the set of rules that form a social group’s worldview contained within the constitutional order. Its importance lies in defining what can or cannot be argued within constitutional institutions. Collective memories of individuals can be objects of constitutional ideology, which enshrine the identity and moral values of the group. This research examines its changes by asking the following question: How is a particular constitutional ideology being reasserted when it has been under challenge from other ideologies and worldviews?
Inspired by theories of ‘urban regeneration’, this paper coins the term ‘mnemonic regeneration’ to describe processes where the constitutional ideology of collective memory is reaffirmed to fend off challenges from worldviews. It examines the example of ‘heroes and martyrs’ in China and its effort to combat the perceived problem of ‘historical nihilism’. The argument is that regeneration projects revitalize normative frameworks of political ideals that are potent to constitutional order to curb challenges from: a) external – other ideologies and worldviews; b) internal – corruption by the state and party officials. However, like the exclusive nature of ‘urban regeneration’ projects that exclude marginalized communities, ‘mnemonic regeneration’ projects also reinforce the exclusion of other ideologies, activities, and group members. To do so, this paper will not only examine China’s Constitution, its legal statutes (such as the 2018 ‘Protection of Heroes and Martyrs Law’), and judicial cases, but also historical party documents and newspapers.
This research engages a dialogue with the literature of ‘law and collective memory’, which examines law’s (in)ability to enshrine interpretations of the past. The scholarship largely focuses on ‘post-authoritarian’ regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper contributes by blurring the boundaries between ‘authoritarian’ and ‘democratic’ governance of collective memories via highlighting similarities and bringing socialist states like China into the discussion.