The Chinese state has been the subject of fierce debates since reformers and revolutionaries first fought to redefine it at the end of the Qing dynasty. After the 1912 Revolution, when the idea of "empire" gave way to that of "nation-state," the Chinese people sought a modern identity, re-designed their governance system and re-wrote their history. Revolution (geming) became the source of the legitimacy that the new leaders defended in a world based on state sovereignty. They soon found the task of reconciling their republic with the political culture they inherited extraordinarily difficult. They now sense that their state is neither an empire nor a nation-state and seek to renew the Chinese state through a civilization of industry and science fused with the best of their heritage.

Wang Gungwu is an eminent historian of China and a pioneering authority in the study of the Chinese diaspora. He is an academician at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, University Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University.