Xi Jinping reaches into China’s ancient history for a new claim to rule

For decades outsiders have told a simple story about the ties that bind China’s Communist Party and its people. This story describes a bargain between rulers and subjects, in rather condescending terms. In this telling, most Chinese people, from the toiling masses to the urban middle classes, know to avoid talking or thinking about politics. And in exchange for shunning the world of power, citizens are allowed to compete for their share of the wealth and opportunities generated by a rising China. Recently—as China’s economy slows, house prices slide and job opportunities for new graduates dwindle—the same outsiders have taken to wondering whether the public might turn on the party.