Abstract

Over the last ten years or so, there has been an active scholarly exploration into the concept of “gongsheng” and related theory-building in the Chinese international relations (IR) community, so much so that it has become a school of thought. Looking at the recent developments, the gongsheng school of Chinese IR is still growing and taking shape. This chapter seeks to summarize the use of the gongsheng concept in China's IR studies and the progress of gongsheng theory in the past decade. This academic history shows that the study of gongsheng is an academic exploration that has been pursued with vigor and vitality. An academic theoretical school whose core concept is gongsheng has already taken its initial shape in China's IR community, and it will continue to grow.