You seem to believe that "Confucianism" is dead in China. It's really not. Officially the state follows some sort of Marxist/Communist-derived ideology, but culturally Confucian elements are very much still alive. You can read all about how the Chinese and CCP tried to discard the old ways in the 20th century, but that doesn't really capture the nuances of what actually happened. Japan and (South) Korea are good examples -- they're technically western-style democracies, and on the surface adopts a rather western lifestyle, but if you actually live there, you'd see that Confucian culture influences all aspects of their lives. The hierarchical social structures, the insistence on moral responsibility to the collective, the rigid social etiquette and rituals. China has a "light" version of this, but it's still there. And the ruling party has a much tighter grip of political ideology. Xi added "confidence in culture" to the "Four matters of confidence" a couple years ago. Check it out. It doesn't only mean rejecting "decadence", but also returning to traditional Chinese culture roots (i.e. Confucianism).
In fact the "socialist" narrative used by CCP isn't exactly the socialism you might understand it to be, but rather it would be more like the collective-norm-abiding ideology that Confucius would have approved of (yes the sage would have disapproved of feminine boy bands too, establishing moral standards for entertainment was a thing he was obsessed with). The CCP stresses that it practices "socialism with Chinese characteristics" for a reason.
Your theory, like a of people in the "West", tend to presume China would inevitably follow the footsteps of USSR because both were "communist" regimes. They are similar in name only. The China today is essentially how a Confucian nation would arrange its own affairs when given access to modern ideas but not necessarily encumbered by Western ideas of democracy.
I'm not saying that China is going to win in its fight against decadence. Most likely the social issues that have plagued Japan will happen in China once the economy starts to slow down. The lying flat phenomenon has a eerie resemblance to the Hikikomori situation in Japan.
> In fact the "socialist" narrative used by CCP isn't exactly the socialism you might understand it to be, but rather it would be more like the collective-norm-abiding ideology that Confucius would have approved of
This.
I think you've nailed what chinese "communism" is (I've never been there).
> It doesn't only mean rejecting "decadence"
Whenever I come across the word "decadence", it's always someone trying to demonize someone else. It's like the word "terrorist". "Decadent" should mean something to do with decay, right? It certainly isn't the same as "permissive" or "hedonistic".
In fact the "socialist" narrative used by CCP isn't exactly the socialism you might understand it to be, but rather it would be more like the collective-norm-abiding ideology that Confucius would have approved of (yes the sage would have disapproved of feminine boy bands too, establishing moral standards for entertainment was a thing he was obsessed with). The CCP stresses that it practices "socialism with Chinese characteristics" for a reason.
Your theory, like a of people in the "West", tend to presume China would inevitably follow the footsteps of USSR because both were "communist" regimes. They are similar in name only. The China today is essentially how a Confucian nation would arrange its own affairs when given access to modern ideas but not necessarily encumbered by Western ideas of democracy.
I'm not saying that China is going to win in its fight against decadence. Most likely the social issues that have plagued Japan will happen in China once the economy starts to slow down. The lying flat phenomenon has a eerie resemblance to the Hikikomori situation in Japan.