Xi has led a revival of classical Chinese thought, ordering officials nationwide to attend lectures on the “brilliant insights” of Confucius and other Chinese philosophers to encourage “national self-confidence,” while declaring that “the Chinese Communist Party is the successor to this fine traditional Chinese culture.”46 Much as the splendor of the Roman Empire became an inspiration during the Italian Renaissance, the glory of the Chinese nation’s “golden age” (shengshi 盛世), remembered as the era before the Qing Dynasty’s fall, is now a source of pride in modern China.
