Gordon White, Jude Howell, and Shang Xiaoyuan
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289562
- eISBN:
- 9780191684739
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289562.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter begins by examining the definition of ‘civil society’. It then employs the sociological notion of civil society, focusing on the changes in the organizational structure of Chinese ...
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This chapter begins by examining the definition of ‘civil society’. It then employs the sociological notion of civil society, focusing on the changes in the organizational structure of Chinese society during the era of economic reform. Next, it investigates the impact of the spread of markets on patterns of social organization and state–society relations during the post-revolutionary period since 1949. The chapter then emphasizes the extent to which the market dynamic of civil society was in evidence during the era of post-Mao economic reforms from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. Moreover, this market hypothesis of civil society is meant to be a hypothesis in the true sense of the word in that one must allow from the outset for the possibility that it may be wholly or partly false or misleading.Less
This chapter begins by examining the definition of ‘civil society’. It then employs the sociological notion of civil society, focusing on the changes in the organizational structure of Chinese society during the era of economic reform. Next, it investigates the impact of the spread of markets on patterns of social organization and state–society relations during the post-revolutionary period since 1949. The chapter then emphasizes the extent to which the market dynamic of civil society was in evidence during the era of post-Mao economic reforms from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. Moreover, this market hypothesis of civil society is meant to be a hypothesis in the true sense of the word in that one must allow from the outset for the possibility that it may be wholly or partly false or misleading.
Susan Brownell and Jeffrey Wasserstrom (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520211032
- eISBN:
- 9780520935303
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520211032.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in ...
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The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. This book is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present. The chapters are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities.Less
The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. This book is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present. The chapters are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities.
Zhou Xuelin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098497
- eISBN:
- 9789882207707
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098497.003.0002
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter explores the representation of the city-countryside antithesis in the development of Chinese society in general, and Chinese cinema in particular, in pre- and post-1949 years. It also ...
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This chapter explores the representation of the city-countryside antithesis in the development of Chinese society in general, and Chinese cinema in particular, in pre- and post-1949 years. It also examines the social changes and the transformation and expansion of Chinese urban spaces in the 1980s. These transformations created greater opportunities for filmmakers to handle the city representation with considerable openness and subjectivity and helped turn the urban scene into a “channel” through which a new generation of screen heroes air their frustrated and rebellious views.Less
This chapter explores the representation of the city-countryside antithesis in the development of Chinese society in general, and Chinese cinema in particular, in pre- and post-1949 years. It also examines the social changes and the transformation and expansion of Chinese urban spaces in the 1980s. These transformations created greater opportunities for filmmakers to handle the city representation with considerable openness and subjectivity and helped turn the urban scene into a “channel” through which a new generation of screen heroes air their frustrated and rebellious views.
STEPHEN R. MacKINNON
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520254459
- eISBN:
- 9780520934603
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520254459.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The story of Wuhan in 1938 has two dimensions—the military and the social—that are of crucial importance to the history of modern China. Due to a lack of a comprehensive military history of the ...
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The story of Wuhan in 1938 has two dimensions—the military and the social—that are of crucial importance to the history of modern China. Due to a lack of a comprehensive military history of the Anti-Japanese War, this chapter aims to reconstruct the hard facts of the military defense of Wuhan and the central Yangzi before discussing social and cultural matters in depth. This interrelationship is the key to understanding why Wuhan did not suffer the panic and chaos that engulfed Nanjing and Jinan when these cities were under siege by the Japanese in late 1937. The Wuhan period suggests that the Anti-Japanese War brought changes to Chinese society, culture, and politics analogous to those that occurred after World War I in Europe.Less
The story of Wuhan in 1938 has two dimensions—the military and the social—that are of crucial importance to the history of modern China. Due to a lack of a comprehensive military history of the Anti-Japanese War, this chapter aims to reconstruct the hard facts of the military defense of Wuhan and the central Yangzi before discussing social and cultural matters in depth. This interrelationship is the key to understanding why Wuhan did not suffer the panic and chaos that engulfed Nanjing and Jinan when these cities were under siege by the Japanese in late 1937. The Wuhan period suggests that the Anti-Japanese War brought changes to Chinese society, culture, and politics analogous to those that occurred after World War I in Europe.
David T. Johnson and Michelle Miao
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231170079
- eISBN:
- 9780231540810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170079.003.0011
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Based on a comparative perspective, this chapter contrasts China’s practice of the death penalty with capital punishment in the Chinese past, with the practice of other Chinese societies (i.e., Hong ...
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Based on a comparative perspective, this chapter contrasts China’s practice of the death penalty with capital punishment in the Chinese past, with the practice of other Chinese societies (i.e., Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore), and with the practice of other communist nations (i.e., Vietnam, North Korea). Such comparisons highlight distinctive features of China’s practice and unique challenges for the abolition of China’s death penalty, as well as some potentials for accomplishing such a mission.Less
Based on a comparative perspective, this chapter contrasts China’s practice of the death penalty with capital punishment in the Chinese past, with the practice of other Chinese societies (i.e., Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore), and with the practice of other communist nations (i.e., Vietnam, North Korea). Such comparisons highlight distinctive features of China’s practice and unique challenges for the abolition of China’s death penalty, as well as some potentials for accomplishing such a mission.
Michael Williams
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888390533
- eISBN:
- 9789888455102
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888390533.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter argues that an assumption of the “refractory” nature of the huaqiao in the white-settler nations of the Pacific continues to be a strong element in the literature based on nation-state ...
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This chapter argues that an assumption of the “refractory” nature of the huaqiao in the white-settler nations of the Pacific continues to be a strong element in the literature based on nation-state perspectives. The prime factor in the limitations of nation-state research is just that—that it is based on a single nation-state. The obvious solution to this is comparative history, but while some comparative work is presented here, the major aim of this chapter is to argue that the incorporation of a qiaoxiang perspective allows limitations based on nation-state concepts to be explored and surpassed. Ignorance of the qiaoxiang has contributed to the range of stereotypes, including a perception of “refractoriness” that the huaqiao have been subjected to in the destinations. Much research has also attempted to explain or deny the basis of these stereotypes; however, in doing so without an appreciation of the role of the qiaoxiang links, the basic assumptions of these stereotypes often remain unquestioned.Less
This chapter argues that an assumption of the “refractory” nature of the huaqiao in the white-settler nations of the Pacific continues to be a strong element in the literature based on nation-state perspectives. The prime factor in the limitations of nation-state research is just that—that it is based on a single nation-state. The obvious solution to this is comparative history, but while some comparative work is presented here, the major aim of this chapter is to argue that the incorporation of a qiaoxiang perspective allows limitations based on nation-state concepts to be explored and surpassed. Ignorance of the qiaoxiang has contributed to the range of stereotypes, including a perception of “refractoriness” that the huaqiao have been subjected to in the destinations. Much research has also attempted to explain or deny the basis of these stereotypes; however, in doing so without an appreciation of the role of the qiaoxiang links, the basic assumptions of these stereotypes often remain unquestioned.
Jennifer Holmgren
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520069305
- eISBN:
- 9780520910454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520069305.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter looks at the structure underlying attitudes to imperial marriage and the political role of the emperor's wife in the native Chinese and non-Han state. The first section begins by ...
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This chapter looks at the structure underlying attitudes to imperial marriage and the political role of the emperor's wife in the native Chinese and non-Han state. The first section begins by establishing the principles behind events commonly encountered in the historical narrative of the native state from Han times through to the end of the Ming dynasty (206 b.c.–a.d. 1644). It shows that some conditions previously thought to be unique to one particular period (and thus probably the result of foreign influence or externally derived ideas) are easily explained without reference to the non-Han state. The second section demonstrates the variety and political ingenuity of marriage systems designed by the leaders of the conquest dynasties. The final section discusses how an analysis of the non-Han condition throws new light on the question of continuity and change in Chinese society, and then summarizes the political status of different sets of imperial kin in each of the systems described.Less
This chapter looks at the structure underlying attitudes to imperial marriage and the political role of the emperor's wife in the native Chinese and non-Han state. The first section begins by establishing the principles behind events commonly encountered in the historical narrative of the native state from Han times through to the end of the Ming dynasty (206 b.c.–a.d. 1644). It shows that some conditions previously thought to be unique to one particular period (and thus probably the result of foreign influence or externally derived ideas) are easily explained without reference to the non-Han state. The second section demonstrates the variety and political ingenuity of marriage systems designed by the leaders of the conquest dynasties. The final section discusses how an analysis of the non-Han condition throws new light on the question of continuity and change in Chinese society, and then summarizes the political status of different sets of imperial kin in each of the systems described.
John A. Lent and Xu Ying
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496811745
- eISBN:
- 9781496811783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496811745.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
Dating to the nineteenth century, Chinese comic art has been involved in each stage of the country’s modern history. Cartoonists often faced backlash in the forms of government restrictions, economic ...
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Dating to the nineteenth century, Chinese comic art has been involved in each stage of the country’s modern history. Cartoonists often faced backlash in the forms of government restrictions, economic deprivation, and punishment. However, there were also many rewards as these artists helped set artistic policies for China and where involved in the formation of the country and its drive to so-called modernization. The conclusion paragraph reiterates four themes of the book: 1. the common threads that ran through the history of China's comic art; 2. the outside factors that influenced the development and nourishment of Chinese comic art; 3. the links historically between Chinese cartoons and the country’s more general art and literary professions; and 4. the relationship of art (specifically, comic art) to Chinese society. The conclusion also emphasizes the importance of crises of twentieth-century China and other major changes, such as the rise of modernization, switch to a market economy, and increased use of the internet, that tie together the history of Chinese comic art.Less
Dating to the nineteenth century, Chinese comic art has been involved in each stage of the country’s modern history. Cartoonists often faced backlash in the forms of government restrictions, economic deprivation, and punishment. However, there were also many rewards as these artists helped set artistic policies for China and where involved in the formation of the country and its drive to so-called modernization. The conclusion paragraph reiterates four themes of the book: 1. the common threads that ran through the history of China's comic art; 2. the outside factors that influenced the development and nourishment of Chinese comic art; 3. the links historically between Chinese cartoons and the country’s more general art and literary professions; and 4. the relationship of art (specifically, comic art) to Chinese society. The conclusion also emphasizes the importance of crises of twentieth-century China and other major changes, such as the rise of modernization, switch to a market economy, and increased use of the internet, that tie together the history of Chinese comic art.
Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520253025
- eISBN:
- 9780520934221
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520253025.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This multi-layered history of a horrific famine that took place in late-nineteenth-century China focuses on cultural responses to trauma. The massive drought/famine that killed at least ten million ...
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This multi-layered history of a horrific famine that took place in late-nineteenth-century China focuses on cultural responses to trauma. The massive drought/famine that killed at least ten million people in north China during the late 1870s remains one of China's most severe disasters and provides a vivid window through which to study the social side of a nation's tragedy. This book's approach explores an array of new source materials, including songs, poems, stele inscriptions, folklore, and oral accounts of the famine from Shanxi Province, its epicenter. It juxtaposes these narratives with central government, treaty-port, and foreign debates over the meaning of the events and shows how the famine, which occurred during a period of deepening national crisis, elicited widely divergent reactions from different levels of Chinese society.Less
This multi-layered history of a horrific famine that took place in late-nineteenth-century China focuses on cultural responses to trauma. The massive drought/famine that killed at least ten million people in north China during the late 1870s remains one of China's most severe disasters and provides a vivid window through which to study the social side of a nation's tragedy. This book's approach explores an array of new source materials, including songs, poems, stele inscriptions, folklore, and oral accounts of the famine from Shanxi Province, its epicenter. It juxtaposes these narratives with central government, treaty-port, and foreign debates over the meaning of the events and shows how the famine, which occurred during a period of deepening national crisis, elicited widely divergent reactions from different levels of Chinese society.
Yinghong Cheng
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824830748
- eISBN:
- 9780824870164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824830748.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter details China's communist experiment with human nature. The idea of a new man, a morally perfect person, served as a model for Chinese society and became embedded in the Chinese culture. ...
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This chapter details China's communist experiment with human nature. The idea of a new man, a morally perfect person, served as a model for Chinese society and became embedded in the Chinese culture. The concepts of human malleability and the role of social environment in shaping human nature were not alien to Chinese history either. However, they became part of the discourse of nationalist ideology in the early twentieth century; indeed, in the second half of the century, they became a prime target of the Chinese communist revolution, as Mao Zedong aspired to surpass the Soviet Union in both economic and ideological terms. The idea of new men—or “Mao's good soldiers”—was created to perpetuate the revolution and generate an economic miracle, born from the absolute selflessness and dedication of such new men.Less
This chapter details China's communist experiment with human nature. The idea of a new man, a morally perfect person, served as a model for Chinese society and became embedded in the Chinese culture. The concepts of human malleability and the role of social environment in shaping human nature were not alien to Chinese history either. However, they became part of the discourse of nationalist ideology in the early twentieth century; indeed, in the second half of the century, they became a prime target of the Chinese communist revolution, as Mao Zedong aspired to surpass the Soviet Union in both economic and ideological terms. The idea of new men—or “Mao's good soldiers”—was created to perpetuate the revolution and generate an economic miracle, born from the absolute selflessness and dedication of such new men.
Esther C.L. Goh and Sheng-li Wang
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781447340645
- eISBN:
- 9781447340690
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447340645.003.0012
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter examines two dominant research constructs namely, ‘cultural obligation’ and ‘intergenerational reciprocity’ in caring for grandchildren in Chinese societies – Fuzhou and Singapore. ...
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This chapter examines two dominant research constructs namely, ‘cultural obligation’ and ‘intergenerational reciprocity’ in caring for grandchildren in Chinese societies – Fuzhou and Singapore. Drawing on Social Relational Theory (SRT), it examines the agency of grandmothers through unpacking the rationales for their involvement or non-involvement in childcare, and the goals and meanings they ascribe to their decisions. Grandparents are viewed as agents: capable of setting goals, devising plans, strategies and taking actions to achieve their goals in the relational contexts with their adult children and grandchildren. The key research questions addressed in this chapter are : (1) to what extent do grandmothers in Fuzhou and Singapore are influenced in their decisions to provide childcare by similar yet diverse Confucian roots; (2) understanding the socio-cultural discourses of grandparenthood in Fuzhou and Singapore; and (3) whether such discourses will constrain or facilitate their sense of agency in decision making.Less
This chapter examines two dominant research constructs namely, ‘cultural obligation’ and ‘intergenerational reciprocity’ in caring for grandchildren in Chinese societies – Fuzhou and Singapore. Drawing on Social Relational Theory (SRT), it examines the agency of grandmothers through unpacking the rationales for their involvement or non-involvement in childcare, and the goals and meanings they ascribe to their decisions. Grandparents are viewed as agents: capable of setting goals, devising plans, strategies and taking actions to achieve their goals in the relational contexts with their adult children and grandchildren. The key research questions addressed in this chapter are : (1) to what extent do grandmothers in Fuzhou and Singapore are influenced in their decisions to provide childcare by similar yet diverse Confucian roots; (2) understanding the socio-cultural discourses of grandparenthood in Fuzhou and Singapore; and (3) whether such discourses will constrain or facilitate their sense of agency in decision making.
Avron Boretz
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824833770
- eISBN:
- 9780824870539
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824833770.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
Demon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the ...
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Demon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the propitiation of plague gods and the worship of popular military deities, such ritual practices have an obvious but previously unexamined kinship with the traditional Chinese martial arts. The long and durable history of martial arts iconography and ritual in Chinese religion suggests something far deeper than mere historical coincidence. This book argues that martial arts gestures and movements are so deeply embedded in the ritual repertoire in part because they iconify masculine qualities of violence, aggressivity, and physical prowess, the implicit core of Chinese patriliny and patriarchy. At the same time, for actors and audience alike, martial arts gestures evoke the mythos of the jianghu, a shadowy, often violent realm of vagabonds, outlaws, and masters of martial and magic arts. Through the direct bodily practice of martial arts movement and creative rendering of jianghu narratives, martial ritual practitioners are able to identify and represent themselves, however briefly and incompletely, as men of prowess, a reward otherwise denied those confined to the lower limits of this deeply patriarchal society. The book offers a thorough and original account of violent ritual and ritual violence in Chinese religion and society. Close-up, sensitive portrayals and the voices of ritual actors themselves—mostly working-class men, many of them members of sworn brotherhoods and gangs—convincingly link martial ritual practice to the lives and desires of men on the margins of Chinese society.Less
Demon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the propitiation of plague gods and the worship of popular military deities, such ritual practices have an obvious but previously unexamined kinship with the traditional Chinese martial arts. The long and durable history of martial arts iconography and ritual in Chinese religion suggests something far deeper than mere historical coincidence. This book argues that martial arts gestures and movements are so deeply embedded in the ritual repertoire in part because they iconify masculine qualities of violence, aggressivity, and physical prowess, the implicit core of Chinese patriliny and patriarchy. At the same time, for actors and audience alike, martial arts gestures evoke the mythos of the jianghu, a shadowy, often violent realm of vagabonds, outlaws, and masters of martial and magic arts. Through the direct bodily practice of martial arts movement and creative rendering of jianghu narratives, martial ritual practitioners are able to identify and represent themselves, however briefly and incompletely, as men of prowess, a reward otherwise denied those confined to the lower limits of this deeply patriarchal society. The book offers a thorough and original account of violent ritual and ritual violence in Chinese religion and society. Close-up, sensitive portrayals and the voices of ritual actors themselves—mostly working-class men, many of them members of sworn brotherhoods and gangs—convincingly link martial ritual practice to the lives and desires of men on the margins of Chinese society.
Betty C. Eng
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789622098725
- eISBN:
- 9789882207134
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098725.003.0013
- Subject:
- Education, Secondary Education
This chapter presents a Chinese perspective on guidance and counselling that attends to the emotional, personal and social needs of learners with diverse learning needs through a whole-person and ...
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This chapter presents a Chinese perspective on guidance and counselling that attends to the emotional, personal and social needs of learners with diverse learning needs through a whole-person and whole-school approach. Framed by the historical and cultural evolution of guidance and counselling in traditional Chinese and Confucian-heritage culture (CHC) in the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, it discusses Western and Eastern counselling models that are also highly relevant to other Chinese societies such as Singapore and Taiwan.Less
This chapter presents a Chinese perspective on guidance and counselling that attends to the emotional, personal and social needs of learners with diverse learning needs through a whole-person and whole-school approach. Framed by the historical and cultural evolution of guidance and counselling in traditional Chinese and Confucian-heritage culture (CHC) in the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, it discusses Western and Eastern counselling models that are also highly relevant to other Chinese societies such as Singapore and Taiwan.
Joseph P. McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622097810
- eISBN:
- 9789882206557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622097810.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book addresses a variety of social and economic issues too seldom associated with the history of the Chinese book. Firstly, how was a book most commonly printed and why did this method of ...
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This book addresses a variety of social and economic issues too seldom associated with the history of the Chinese book. Firstly, how was a book most commonly printed and why did this method of woodblock printing remain the predominant technology for book printing for so long in China? Secondly, when and how did the imprint—that is, the printed book—replace the manuscript as the principal form of book in China? Thirdly, what changes did this adoption of the imprint bring about for the distribution, consumption, and use of books in late imperial times? Fourthly, when and how were Chinese scholars able to overcome problems of access to books and thereby constitute what we today might call a sizeable “community of learning”? And, finally, what were the understandings of the uses of literacy and books that the literate and illiterate held in late imperial China and how did they cut across social divisions? It specifically concentrates on one region in China, the lower Yangzi delta, and on the one type of reader that the most is known about, the literati. It is hoped that this book will play an important role in the understanding of Chinese culture and society from the eleventh to the eighteenth centuries.Less
This book addresses a variety of social and economic issues too seldom associated with the history of the Chinese book. Firstly, how was a book most commonly printed and why did this method of woodblock printing remain the predominant technology for book printing for so long in China? Secondly, when and how did the imprint—that is, the printed book—replace the manuscript as the principal form of book in China? Thirdly, what changes did this adoption of the imprint bring about for the distribution, consumption, and use of books in late imperial times? Fourthly, when and how were Chinese scholars able to overcome problems of access to books and thereby constitute what we today might call a sizeable “community of learning”? And, finally, what were the understandings of the uses of literacy and books that the literate and illiterate held in late imperial China and how did they cut across social divisions? It specifically concentrates on one region in China, the lower Yangzi delta, and on the one type of reader that the most is known about, the literati. It is hoped that this book will play an important role in the understanding of Chinese culture and society from the eleventh to the eighteenth centuries.
Arthur Kleinman
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520209657
- eISBN:
- 9780520919471
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520209657.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter discusses epilepsy and chronic illness as social experience in interior China, first addressing the fact that epilepsy is a relatively new focus for research in international health. It ...
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This chapter discusses epilepsy and chronic illness as social experience in interior China, first addressing the fact that epilepsy is a relatively new focus for research in international health. It presents some facts about epilepsy in Chinese society, before explaining the main purpose of the study, which was to examine the collective experience of epilepsy sufferers in poor interior regions of China that reflect the social conditions of most of the people in the country. The chapter also explains how epilepsy can be best regarded as possessing a social course.Less
This chapter discusses epilepsy and chronic illness as social experience in interior China, first addressing the fact that epilepsy is a relatively new focus for research in international health. It presents some facts about epilepsy in Chinese society, before explaining the main purpose of the study, which was to examine the collective experience of epilepsy sufferers in poor interior regions of China that reflect the social conditions of most of the people in the country. The chapter also explains how epilepsy can be best regarded as possessing a social course.
Rubie S. Watson
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520069305
- eISBN:
- 9780520910454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520069305.003.0012
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter is concerned specifically with the relation between marriage and gender inequality. While most of the contributors to this book have either touched on, or directly considered, this ...
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This chapter is concerned specifically with the relation between marriage and gender inequality. While most of the contributors to this book have either touched on, or directly considered, this theme, it attempts to integrate these contributions with earlier work and, in the process, suggest questions for the further study of gender and marriage in Chinese society.Less
This chapter is concerned specifically with the relation between marriage and gender inequality. While most of the contributors to this book have either touched on, or directly considered, this theme, it attempts to integrate these contributions with earlier work and, in the process, suggest questions for the further study of gender and marriage in Chinese society.
Timothy B. Weston
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520237674
- eISBN:
- 9780520929906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520237674.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Beijing University occupies a particularly distinguished place in modern Chinese history. This study is constructed around four major contentions. The first of these is that Beijing University's ...
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Beijing University occupies a particularly distinguished place in modern Chinese history. This study is constructed around four major contentions. The first of these is that Beijing University's early history provides an ideal space in which to study how humanistic intellectuals worked to reposition themselves during a period of profound change and uncertainty. The second is that the complexity of Beida's history has been obscured by the historiography on the May Fourth Movement. The next contention is that the May Fourth Movement, which was informed by conservative instincts in addition to the more familiar and far-better-studied radical ones, grows out of a focus on political culture. The last is that Beida's history is most profitably studied in the context of scholarship which is sensitive to spatial variation in China. The cultural power of the middle class significantly challenged the rationalistic May Fourth approach to the remaking of Chinese society.Less
Beijing University occupies a particularly distinguished place in modern Chinese history. This study is constructed around four major contentions. The first of these is that Beijing University's early history provides an ideal space in which to study how humanistic intellectuals worked to reposition themselves during a period of profound change and uncertainty. The second is that the complexity of Beida's history has been obscured by the historiography on the May Fourth Movement. The next contention is that the May Fourth Movement, which was informed by conservative instincts in addition to the more familiar and far-better-studied radical ones, grows out of a focus on political culture. The last is that Beida's history is most profitably studied in the context of scholarship which is sensitive to spatial variation in China. The cultural power of the middle class significantly challenged the rationalistic May Fourth approach to the remaking of Chinese society.
Gudrun Wacker
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199919864
- eISBN:
- 9780199345601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199919864.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Human rights has been one of the focal issues in China’s foreign relations for the past two decades. Since the Tian’anmen crackdown in 1989, China finds itself closely monitored and faces serious ...
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Human rights has been one of the focal issues in China’s foreign relations for the past two decades. Since the Tian’anmen crackdown in 1989, China finds itself closely monitored and faces serious criticism for its treatment of human rights. While China has learned how to withstand international pressures, growing demands and expectations from within Chinese society have led to gradual improvements in the human rights situation in the People’s Republic. Despite this progress, the chapter emphasizes that China’s willingness to accept the validity of human rights still has its limitations, especially when challenges to national sovereignty and stability, as well as to the Communist Party’s hold on power arise.Less
Human rights has been one of the focal issues in China’s foreign relations for the past two decades. Since the Tian’anmen crackdown in 1989, China finds itself closely monitored and faces serious criticism for its treatment of human rights. While China has learned how to withstand international pressures, growing demands and expectations from within Chinese society have led to gradual improvements in the human rights situation in the People’s Republic. Despite this progress, the chapter emphasizes that China’s willingness to accept the validity of human rights still has its limitations, especially when challenges to national sovereignty and stability, as well as to the Communist Party’s hold on power arise.
Susan Greenhalgh and Li Zhang (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747021
- eISBN:
- 9781501747045
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747021.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book assesses the intimate connections between science and society in China, offering an in-depth look at how an array of sciences and technologies are being made, how they are interfacing with ...
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This book assesses the intimate connections between science and society in China, offering an in-depth look at how an array of sciences and technologies are being made, how they are interfacing with society, and with what effects. Focusing on critical domains of daily life, the chapters explore how scientists, technicians, surgeons, therapists, and other experts create practical knowledges and innovations, as well as how ordinary people take them up as they pursue the good life. The book offers a rare, up-close view of the politics of Chinese science-making, showing how everyday logics, practices, and ethics of science, medicine, and technology are profoundly reshaping contemporary China. By foregrounding the notion of “governing through science,” and the contested role of science and technology as instruments of change, the book addresses important questions regarding what counts as science in China, what science and technology can do to transform China, as well as their limits and unintended consequences.Less
This book assesses the intimate connections between science and society in China, offering an in-depth look at how an array of sciences and technologies are being made, how they are interfacing with society, and with what effects. Focusing on critical domains of daily life, the chapters explore how scientists, technicians, surgeons, therapists, and other experts create practical knowledges and innovations, as well as how ordinary people take them up as they pursue the good life. The book offers a rare, up-close view of the politics of Chinese science-making, showing how everyday logics, practices, and ethics of science, medicine, and technology are profoundly reshaping contemporary China. By foregrounding the notion of “governing through science,” and the contested role of science and technology as instruments of change, the book addresses important questions regarding what counts as science in China, what science and technology can do to transform China, as well as their limits and unintended consequences.
Rubie Watson and Patricia Buckley Ebrey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520069305
- eISBN:
- 9780520910454
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520069305.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten scholars that is presented here provides a new vision ...
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Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten scholars that is presented here provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities which have so characterized Chinese society.Less
Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten scholars that is presented here provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities which have so characterized Chinese society.
