Introducing the Concept of Modernization in China in the 20th Century

This paper is devoted to the complex issues of introduction of modernization theory in modern social science of the People's Republic of China. Based on the systems approach, the historical-comparative and historical-genetic method, the influence of the theories by K. Marx, M. Weber, T. Parsons and I. Wallerstein on modern Chinese social thought is analyzed. The theory of modernization is recognized as synthetic, but basically correlating with Westernization. It is concluded that in modern Chinese social science the direct comparison of primary modernization in Europe with secondary processes launched in the regions of Asia as a result of colonial expansion is incorrect. The materials of the paper are of interest to the researchers of China's social thought, the theory of modernization.