幾個世紀以來，中國一直是東亞最重要的經濟大國，並且不斷地在不同區域擴大自身的文化影響力。儘管如此，中國在第一次鴉片戰爭(1839-1842)與歐洲發生暴力對抗後，隨後簽訂的「不平等條約」展開了所謂的「百年國恥」。上述歷史事件發生後，導致知識分子對中國的思想定位開始產生質疑，中國知識分子開始懷疑儒家思想的可行性，並進入文化自我批評的時期，這就說明爲何西方採納中國的規範性模式由儒家思想發展到「現代性」。直到21世紀初，西方作爲「規範性權力」的角色仍然是無可爭議，但最近10年見證中國人自我主張的重新發展，同時又重新認識儒家思想。中國越來越強調自身的發展途徑，想藉此取代「華盛頓共識」。本文討論儒家中的國家規範性本質，並進一步探討當代中國爲何會回歸儒家價値觀的假設。

Having been the most important economic power of East Asia for centuries and having expanded her cultural influence over an ever larger area, China’s violent confrontation with Europe in the First Opium War (Yapian zhanzheng, 鴉片戰爭, 1839-1842) and the ensuing ‘unequal treaties’ (bu pingdeng tiaoyue, 不平等條約) that started the so-called ‘century of humiliation’ (bainian guochi, 百年國恥), dramatically put this historical position into question. As a result, Chinese intellectuals began to doubt the viability of Confucianism, and a period of cultural self-criticism set in. This explains why the West was adopted as a normative model for China’s development away from Confucianism, and towards ‘modernity’. The role of the West as a ‘normative power’ may have remained rather uncontested until the early 2000s, but the most recent decade has witnessed a renewed Chinese self-assertiveness accompanied by a re-appreciation for Confucianism. China is also increasingly advocating her developmental path as an alternative to the ‘Washington Consensus’. This article discusses the nature of the Confucian state’s normativity, and puts forward a hypothesis on why contemporary China witnesses a return to Confucian values.