The economic and military presence of Europe in China starting from the middle of the 19th century introduced new political and religious-philosophical concepts - Christianity, nationalism, nation state, socialism, communism - in China. These concepts were invariably incorporated in traditional convictions and structures. A first important such reinterpretation was the one in which Confucianism was redefined as a 'national religion'. This reinterpretation occurred during the transition from imperial China to the establishment of the Republic of China. During the Republic of China (1912-1949), nationalism became the binding force for the new nation state, and from within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) the concept 'party state' was conceived. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Marxism-Leninism became the binding force of the nation state and the ideology that had to position the new Chinese nation state in a newly-conceived holistic world view. In this Francqui-research mandate, the following three research questions are central: 1) in how far is the revival of traditional Confucian values in the contemporary political rhetoric of the Chinese Communist Party genuine,  and in how for is this revaluation a tool to enhance national cohesion and cohesion within the party state; 2) how does this revaluation of the confucian tradition influence the internal state structure and the working of the party state; 3) in how far is this revaluation of Confucian values conducive to China's integration in the existing global order, and in how far is it an obstacle for this aim.