Modern Social Science Research

The construction of the Chinese nation's historical perspective provides an indispensable historical foundation and cognitive basis for fostering the consciousness of the Chinese nation community. Existing studies have primarily focused on its theoretical connotations and educational dissemination, while insufficient attention has been paid to how this historical perspective is embedded in frontier society and transformed into community identity. Based on fieldwork conducted in the border areas of Tengchong, Ruili, Zhenkang, and Hekou in Yunnan Province, this study investigates the dissemination process and identity-building mechanism of the Chinese nation's historical perspective. The findings reveal that its dissemination is not merely the transmission of historical knowledge but a dynamic process of constructing shared historical memory and cultivating community identity. Within the specific social contexts of frontier regions, this process is jointly promoted through four interrelated mechanisms: state narrative, cultural immersion, practical participation, and digital communication. These mechanisms facilitate a progressive transformation from historical cognition to national identity, identification with the Chinese nation, community identity, and ultimately action identity. On this basis, the study proposes the HNICA Model of Frontier Community Identity Formation, which explains the internal mechanism through which the Chinese nation's historical perspective is transformed into the consciousness of the Chinese nation community. The study argues that the construction of community in frontier regions depends not only on institutional integration but also on the consolidation of historical identity. Therefore, the dissemination and internalization of the Chinese nation's historical perspective have become an essential pathway for advancing modernization of frontier governance and strengthening the consciousness of the Chinese nation community in the new era.

Chinese nation’s historical perspective; Consciousness of the Chinese nation community; National identity; Frontier governance; Yunnan border areas