The concept of a “Harmonious Society” was officially introduced by the Chinese government under President Hu Jintao around 2004. It was a response to the growing social tensions, wealth gap, and environmental problems that accompanied China's rapid economic growth. The goal was to shift focus from pure economic development to more balanced, sustainable, and socially stable development. This policy draws heavily from the ancient Confucian ideal of 和 (hé), which values social order, balance, and the collective good over individual desires. In Confucian thought, a harmonious society is one where everyone understands their role and fulfills their obligations, leading to stability for all. However, it's crucial to compare this to the Western concept of a “Civil Society.”
Therefore, while both concepts relate to a functional society, their approach to dissent and the role of the state are fundamentally different.
The term 和谐社会 has two main uses that exist in parallel: the official one and the ironic one.
In government reports, academic papers, and news broadcasts on state media (like CCTV), the term is used with its original, positive meaning. It describes the national aspiration for a stable and prosperous country.
This is the most common usage among younger, internet-savvy Chinese people. Because the government's method for achieving “harmony” often involves censoring dissenting opinions, “harmony” has become a code word for censorship. The pinyin for “Harmonious” (和谐, héxié) sounds almost identical to “River Crab” (河蟹, héxiè). Netizens cleverly adopted the image of a river crab to mock online censorship.