Gli studi di Global History nella Repubblica popolare cinese: sfide e tendenze

After mentioning the distinction between the different historiographical approaches of World/Global History (quanqiu shi) and History of the World (shijie shi), which are often still not completely clear in Chinese academic circles, an overview of the main research centres on Global History in the PRC is given here. The implications of the recent attempt to propose a ‘Global History with Chinese characteristics’ and a neo-nationalist narrative are then examined. Global History in the PRC today poses fundamental challenges to the narrative of the uniqueness of Chinese history and its exceptionalism, as well as to the traditional view of 20th-century Chinese historiography, especially due to its insights – taken up by several Chinese historians – on the interactions and interdependence between different regions of the world and could promote a deeper and less confrontational understanding of the recent past.