Search results
1 – 10 of over 10000Jing Qi, Catherine Manathunga, Michael Singh and Tracey Bunda
The purpose of this paper is to provide a micro historical account of the work of a key Chinese educational reformer, Tao Xingzhi (1891–1946), who transformed educational ideas…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a micro historical account of the work of a key Chinese educational reformer, Tao Xingzhi (1891–1946), who transformed educational ideas from John Dewey to effect social and cultural change in 1920s–1940s China.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines English and Chinese language sources, including Tao’s poetry, to present a fresh analysis of Tao’s epistemological life history. It draws upon transnational historical approaches to chart the multidirectional circulation of progressive education philosophies around the globe. It also explores some conceptual dimensions of Chinese historical thinking and historiographical strategies.
Findings
Tao Xingzhi engaged in critical intercultural knowledge exchange in implementing educational reforms in China. He blended and critiqued Chinese and Deweyian educational philosophies to create unique educational reform, which involved reversing some of Dewey’s approaches as well as adapting others.
Originality/value
This paper foregrounds Tao Xingzhi’s agency in transforming some of Dewey’s ideas in the Chinese context and challenges studies that adopt an “impact-response” approach to Tao’s contribution, which suggest a one-way flow of knowledge from a “modern” West to a “traditional” China. It brings hitherto unexplored Chinese language sources to an English-speaking audience, particularly Tao’s poetry, to gain new historical insights into Tao’s educational reforms. It contributes to transnational understandings of the multidirectional flows of knowledge about Progressive educational philosophies around the world.
Details
Keywords
Recognising interest in the nascent “rise of China”, the purpose of this paper is to engage with the normative social science approach to comparative management, positing that it…
Abstract
Purpose
Recognising interest in the nascent “rise of China”, the purpose of this paper is to engage with the normative social science approach to comparative management, positing that it is inadequate for an enlightened view of the Chinese subject.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a critical appraisal of extant literature, specifically Redding's The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism, by drawing resources from Fabian's epistemological critique of anthropology and Levinas' ethics to replace ontology as first philosophy, and by reference to historical studies on China's economic culture and its language.
Findings
Attention is drawn to how Redding's research subject is made an object of knowledge. In the objectification process, the subject's continuity is interrupted, its voice deprived, and its capacity for dialogue denied. This is evident in Redding's framework for analysis. Indeed, his Weberian social science template manifests a certain “imperialism of the same” and is symptomatic of much in comparative management regarding non‐western subjects. After critique, this essay then explores a supplement to Redding.
Practical implications
The paper proposes three principles for finding one's way out of objectification: ethics before “knowledge”, justice before “power”, and dialogue before “vision”.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to discourse on how comparative management must transcend its imperial social science legacy before it can find a just footing, and be born again.
Details
Keywords
It is rather common for China’s current academic circles to use western doctrines that originated in situ to explain China’s economic problems, a suspicion of scenario…
Abstract
Purpose
It is rather common for China’s current academic circles to use western doctrines that originated in situ to explain China’s economic problems, a suspicion of scenario misplacement may thus arise. The root cause lies in the lack of reflection about the current relationship between economic thoughts and realities. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Correctly understanding economic thoughts associated with the brand of “that era” and effectively deducing its characteristics is of great significance to finding new features of this era and constructing new ideas with the characteristics of “this era.”
Findings
This motif is exactly the keynote on which to base the study of economic history and economic thought.
Originality/value
In a period of major historical turning points, the economic realities on which the economic thinking about that era (the era of economists) relied was undergoing major changes, and re-emphasizing the ancient topic of the relationship between economic thoughts and economic realities became particularly urgent.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role Confucianism has in affecting domestic and foreign policy which is accomplished by looking at historical trends and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role Confucianism has in affecting domestic and foreign policy which is accomplished by looking at historical trends and contemporary developments and arguments posed by leading scholars. This paper finds that Confucianism has had a significant impact on current Chinese policy; however, it has been a selective application. In particular, the Chinese Government has focused on the traditional Confucian moral framework and the mandate to rule, which has allowed the Chinese Government to work toward further securing their right to rule and enhance a more assertive foreign policy abroad.
Design/methodology/approach
This study based on historical, theoretical and empirical discussions.
Findings
It is clear that Confucianism has had profound influence on Chinese politics and foreign policy. As rulers in the past of Chinese history, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has also utilized Confucianism to enhance nationalist sentiments among the people. Confucianism, therefore, has been served as the codifying ideology to further secure the CCP’s right to rule domestically, and to enhance a more assertive foreign policy abroad. With confidence, one can argue that Confucianism will continue to serve as a leading source of ideas in China for its effort to pursue modernization.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on the impact of Confucianism on Chinese politics and foreign policy. In the field of international relations and foreign policy analysis, it is well known that ideas are always critical to any changes of a country’s foreign policy. That is to say, a country’s politics and foreign policy would be heavily influenced not only by the changes of tide in contemporary world politics, but also heavily influenced by its traditional thinking and heritage. In this paper, the author will examine the influence of Confucianism on Chinese domestic politics and foreign policy. The analysis will cover recent arguments about the role of Confucianism from several leading contemporary thinkers. It will also make some brief comparisons between China and other East Asian societies, including Japan and Korea.
Details
Keywords
Jane Ribbens McCarthy, Ruth Evans, Guo Yu and Fatou Kébé
The category of ‘child’ is often presumed to be underpinned by ‘natural’ biological differences from the category of ‘adult’, and the category of ‘family’ is open to similar…
Abstract
The category of ‘child’ is often presumed to be underpinned by ‘natural’ biological differences from the category of ‘adult’, and the category of ‘family’ is open to similar ‘naturalising’ and universalizing tendencies. Challenging this view has been a central tenet of the New Social Studies of Childhood, arguing instead that ‘child’ and ‘childhood’ are socially constructed, and highlighting children’s agency in shaping their social worlds. More complex frameworks have since emerged, whether concerning the need for a relational ontology of ‘child’, or for a recognition of the diversity of childhoods and families globally. Here we extend the debate to engage with the problematic of the very nature of ‘categories’ themselves, to explore how categorical thinking varies across, and is embedded within, linguistic, historical and philosophical processes and world views. Drawing on the examples of the categories of ‘child’ in China, and ‘family’ in Senegal, West Africa, we consider aspects of fluidity in their indigenous linguistic framing, and how their translation into European terms may fail to fully capture their meanings, which may ‘slip away’ in the process. Such ‘gaps’ between divergent linguistic framings include underlying world views, and assumptions about what it means to be human, raising issues of individuality, relationality and connectedness. Through this discussion we raise new questions concerning the processes of categorical thinking in relation to ‘child’ and ‘family’, calling for cautious consideration of what may be ‘unthought’ in these categories as they feature in much of contemporary childhood and family studies.
Details
Keywords
Li Yuan and Robert Chia
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinking and its particular effects on human resource management (HRM) practices in mainland China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinking and its particular effects on human resource management (HRM) practices in mainland China.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured interviews with practising managers and directors of Chinese companies were used to access the tacit message in HR practices cases and to capture the personal stories provided by Chinese managers with rich working experiences on HRM, in order to discover the cultural fundamentals beneath the surface of HR practices and so disclose their underlying significance. The data for the study were collected through in‐depth interviews with 21 top managers and HR managers in Chinese companies about the role of Chinese fuzzy thinking in Chinese HRM practices.
Findings
The results show that in HRM practices, the principle of Zhongyong significantly affects: preference in recruitment and selection practices; the preferred way of communication and negotiation; the relationship between superiors and subordinates and the relationship among employees; and the leadership styles.
Research limitations/implications
The research limitation mainly lies in an insufficient sample size, undivided geographical area and inadequate classification of the Chinese enterprises.
Originality/value
This is the first paper of its kind to empirically investigate the effect of the ideal of Zhongyong, which the authors claim originates from Chinese traditional fuzzy thinking, on HRM practices in China.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to understand the epistemic foundation of the classification applied in the first Chinese library catalogue, the Seven Epitomes (Qilue).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the epistemic foundation of the classification applied in the first Chinese library catalogue, the Seven Epitomes (Qilue).
Design/methodology/approach
Originating from a theoretical stance that situates knowledge organization in its social context, the study applies a multifaceted framework pertaining to five categories of textual data: the Seven Epitomes; biographical information about the classificationist Liu Xin; and the relevant intellectual, political, and technological history.
Findings
The study discovers seven principles contributing to the epistemic foundation of the catalogue's classification: the Han imperial library collection imposed as the literary warrant; government functions considered for structuring texts; classicist morality determining the main classificatory structure; knowledge perceived and organized as a unity; objects, rather than subjects, of concern affecting categories at the main class level; correlative thinking connecting all text categories to a supreme knowledge embodied by the Six Classics; and classicist moral values resulting in both vertical and horizontal hierarchies among categories as well as texts.
Research limitations/implications
A major limitation of the study is its focus on the main classes, with limited attention to subclasses. Future research can extend the analysis to examine subclasses of the same scheme. Findings from these studies may lead to a comparison between the epistemic approach in the target classification and the analytic one common in today's bibliographic classification.
Originality/value
The study is the first to examine in depth the epistemic foundation of traditional Chinese bibliographic classification, anchoring the classification in its appropriate social and historical context.
Details
Keywords
This article aims at showing that the relationship between Chinese classical wisdoms and managerial practices should not be reduced to the establishment of an “art of war”…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims at showing that the relationship between Chinese classical wisdoms and managerial practices should not be reduced to the establishment of an “art of war” applicable to management practices, but should rather be understood as an ever‐evolving work of critical reinterpretation, so as to liberate the creative and strategic potential that this tradition embodies.
Design/methodology/approach
It does so by critically deconstructing the question of the “relevance” of Chinese wisdom for managerial practices, by assessing the way contemporary Sinology understands and interprets the concept of “Chinese wisdom”, and by designing a strategy for applying these insights to managerial education.
Findings
It thus shows that only historical contextualization and textual studies can ground an understanding of Chinese tradition applicable to managerial education.
Practical implications
By doing so, it helps educators to re‐anchor managerial education into the field and methodologies of humanities studies.
Originality/value
It thus goes against the utilitarian and over‐simplified syntheses of Chinese thought that are currently dominant in the managerial literature about China, and proposes new ways for making the study of China a channel through which to develop in our students a sense of relativity, complexity and empathy applicable to an array of cultural contexts.
Details
Keywords
Buildings are the condensation of the national, ethnic, or cultural identity. They are also the specific materialized form of the national social systems, folk customs, and…
Abstract
Buildings are the condensation of the national, ethnic, or cultural identity. They are also the specific materialized form of the national social systems, folk customs, and ideologies. Architectural design and philosophy constitute an isomorphic relationship with each other. This study focuses on the Chinese traditional philosophy. Using Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu as an example, philosophical expressions, such as “holistic thinking,” “group form layout,” “heaven and man,” “yin–yang and the five elements,” “ancient architecture design,” “good” aesthetic concepts, and “conformal”rationalism, are discussed from the aspects of the selection of the environment, spatial layout, architectural symbol, planning, and design significance. The traditional architectural forms and types are analyzed and interpreted based on the Chinese traditional philosophy. The role of the ancient Chinese philosophy in the Designs of Chinese Buildings is summarized. Traditional ideas on Chinese architecture should be recognized from the aspect of philosophy to propose a new design direction for developing modern Chinese architectural designs.
Details
Keywords
Francois Quesnay, known as the “Confucius of Europe”, was profoundly influenced by traditional Chinese culture to form his thoughts, which contained strong Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
Francois Quesnay, known as the “Confucius of Europe”, was profoundly influenced by traditional Chinese culture to form his thoughts, which contained strong Chinese characteristics. This paper aims to examine economic thought of Francois Quesnay from the perspective of the construction of socialist political economics with Chinese characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Moreover, his thoughts also profoundly influenced subsequent economists, such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. It can be said that Francois Quesnay was at the intersection of Chinese, Western and Marxist thought systems, so it is quite important to examine his thoughts critically and conduct source-tracing in China.
Findings
Hence, in the process of constructing and developing socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, there is an urgent need to focus on exploring the value of excellent traditional Chinese culture at the theoretical level and combining the development and dissemination of the history of thoughts and the historical position of Chinese reality to realize the innovation and development of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics.
Originality/value
Meanwhile, while absorbing nutrition from excellent traditional Chinese culture, it is necessary to establish scientific coordinates rather than use the discourse systems and paradigms of Western economics to interpret ancient Chinese economic thoughts. It is necessary to adhere to, inherit and develop Marxist political economy and absorb nutrition from Chinese excellent traditional culture to construct socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics.
Details