Chinese culture

… Culture change in China Perhaps the most important characterization of Chinese culture is its high collectivism and power distance. Many Chinese indigenous concepts, such as face, …

… Chinese culture is seen in this article as a set of core values that underlies social interaction among the ordinary Chinese … The focus in this article is on national culture, in particular, …

… in a particular culture (Geertz, 1973; Keesing, 1974). In this overview of Chinese culture and mental health, we present case after case showing that the cultural framework is of central …

… that primitive singing and dancing existed elsewhere in ancient Chinese culture, found in the relics unearthed in the remote northwest of China. From among the relics found close to the …

The study of beliefs is important because in addition to values, norms, and personality, beliefs are a major antecedent of social behaviours. This article provides an update of the study of beliefs in Chinese culture by integrating research that has emerged later on. The two major objectives of this article are to consolidate what has been known about beliefs in Chinese culture, and to identify fruitful directions for future research on this important topic. Chinese culture is rich in the variety and quantity of traditional beliefs because of its long history, but, as this article states, only a few of these rich belief constellations have been explored by psychologists. The article then reviews a few major traditional beliefs deemed important for future psychological research. However it states that there are still many gaps in the knowledge about beliefs among Chinese and how they function to influence social behaviours.

… studies, Chinese literature … Chinese culture is of interest in its own right, the essay moves to a broader perspective from which Chinese culture is conceptualized along with other cultures…

… of cultural development on the mainland. Although the words contemporary Chinese culture … sway that official culture held in 1990s China: at best, it covers a few people, incidents, and …

… CHINESE AFFAIRS The Grammar of 'One' and 'Two' I argue in my book that Chinese cultural … Munro uses this thesis to argue that, in Chinese culture, there is no place for a 'private self'.…

… Chinese culture, like the other cultures in the world, is rich in … Huang (1988) argued that the Chinese culture and values … on Chinese cultural history to explore the influences of cultural …

Anyone Who Works in the Field of Area Studies knows from experience that cultures are different. Indeed, the effort to understand the distinctiveness of cultures in comparative perspective is a central undertaking of the modern humanities and social sciences, not only in Asian studies but in studies of other parts of the world. But works on the subject seldom discuss the conceptual and methodological issues involved. What do we mean by culture in the context of comparative statements? How can a culture's distinctiveness be conceptualized? What is required to demonstrate that such distinctiveness exists, what it consists of, and what influence it has on the performance of societies? In the case of Chinese studies, how far have we come in establishing that Chinese culture is distinctive, in what ways, and with what consequences?It is helpful to discuss these issues in terms of two bodies of literature with different ways of conceptualizing culture and its distinctiveness, although I intend to blur the distinction at the end. Following Ying-shih Yü, I will label the two approaches hermeneutic and positivistic. I do not argue that one of the approaches is better than the other; each achieves goals that the other does not. The real problem is lack of clarity about the different logical statuses of the kinds of findings that typically emerge from the two approaches. This can lead to problems when insights are transposed from the hermeneutic approach into positivistic language or vice versa.

… In recent years, the question of Chinese traditional culture versus Western culture as related … What should be the relationship between the traditional Chinese culture, the Western culture…

… Traditional Chinese culture covers a variety of ethical principles and behavioral norms that have arisen from thousands of years of Chinese social … thing in traditional Chinese culture that …

… conduct of the present research: use of measures of traditional Chinese values that are (a) indigenous to Chinese culture, and (b) derived from both high culture and mass culture. High …

… Gradually, the lucky charm characteristic of Lingzhi became a unique component in the Chinese culture. For the Chinese, Lingzhi and its derivative, Ruyi (literally, as one wishes), have …

… ► Our study focuses on the symbol of traditional Chinese culture: Chinese calligraphic landscape. ► Attitude towards calligraphy is defined. ► We developed measurement scales of …

… First, we describe traditional Chinese cultural roots of parenting in Hong Kong. Second, we … Based on these two parts, we show the changing nature of parenting in the Chinese context …

… education of China is one that has inherited the Confucian culture; hence, this paper was intended to elaborate on the impact of traditional Chinese cultures on the traditional education …

… However, on top of this, they are grounded in traditional Chinese thinking and culture that form a catalyst for improving commitment and participation in management programs. …

… The objective of the present study is to examine the role of traditional Chinese cultural values. As mentioned above, regions of Greater China, including Hong Kong, are well known for …

… By rejecting the term of "Cultural Realism" covering both versions of the strategic cultures, traditional Chinese strategic culture centered on "Cultural Moralism" is conceived as mainly …

… Chinese civilization developed in China. It possesses a respectable antiquity and an indigenous, documented pedigree. The golden age now beginning is that of Chinese … of a Chinese …

… tion of China at the beginning of the first century BCE, when most of the distinctive political, … that characterized later Chinese civilization were already established. Civilization itself is un…

Thanks to the publication of Martin Jacques's When China Rules the World, the notion of China as a “civilization-state” has gained wide currency in China studies. This essay revisits his reading of Chinese civilization from a historical and comparative perspective. Historically, despite its exceptional longevity and continuity, Chinese civilization has gone through major changes, especially since China's entrance into the modern world. In fact, modern China, while consciously or unconsciously abolishing and retaining different aspects of its traditions, has embraced some basic components from Western modernity. Hence the transformation of China into a modern nation – first by Sun Yat-sen's ephemeral bourgeois revolution, and then by Mao Zedong's decisive socialist revolution. Contemporary China continues to be shaped by the interaction between the remaining fragments from Chinese traditions and global, mainly Western, forces. Comparatively, the Western dichotomy between tradition and modernity simply does not apply to China. In many ways China has been modern (by Western standard) since ancient times. For instance, a largely secular state, a meritocratic bureaucracy, a highly self-governed civil society, a written language accessible to both literati and laypeople, a stratification system based on achieved rather than ascribed status, a cohesive culture open to multiculturalism, the idea and practice of educational equality, etc., which are fundamental to the formation of Western modernity, have long existed in China. On the other hand, Chinese society, premodern or modern, distinguishes itself by its, among other things, Confucian values, family morality in particular. Indeed, even today, Confucian familism (in forms of paternalism, nepotism, groupism, personalism, communalism, authoritarianism, etc.) is crucial to the operation of China's power system, market economy, and everyday life. Therefore, as a function of its civilization, China is both similar to and dissimilar from the West. In defining China as a civilization-state or, more specifically, in identifying the role of Chinese civilization in contemporary China, we need to decipher Chinese civilization in both its continuity and discontinuity in Chinese history, and in both its similarities with and differences from its Western counterpart.

… Abstract Chinese civilization has continuously developed and formed on the foundation of China’s … Currently, academic scholarship on the historical evolution of Chinese civilization is …

… Chinese scholars. For thirty years he had been concerned with the study of Chinese civilization… views of Chinese civilization. On the one hand, he admired the great achievements of the …

… civilization to move forward. However, among civilizations born in these regions, the Chinese civilization … The Chinese civilization, with a length of 5000 years and a breadth of profound …

… of the Chinese people, and the other with the nature and the building of Chinese civilization. So … were the earliest Chinese and in what manner was the Chinese civilization developed? I …

This paper offers an alternative paradigm to dynastic history and state formation with which to understand the formation of Chinese civilization: cultural hegemony. It argues that an elite culture first crystallized in the early second millennium BCE at Yanshi Erlitou in Henan Province in which bronze was associated with a set of religious practices centered on ancestral offerings. It established a cultural hegemony over the Chinese continental region by the middle of the millennium (early Shang Dynasty). Archaeologically, its primary markers are bronze vessels with a common set of motifs and ritual forms. Although cultural diversity and local political authority remained, it was unlike the previous Neolithic cultures because it had no challenger in range or influence. Moreover, it anticipated the later common elite culture, which in Confucius's time was defined in terms of shared rites. Thus, we may legitimately call it an early stage of “Chinese civilization.”

… for as long as Chinese civilization has been brought into the company of other world civilizations. … : one attributes the emergence of Chinese civilization to external factors that range from …

… of civilization in the West have been moving ever farther away from the equator. But in China … There alone in antiquity a high civilization arose in a region of really cold winters, the basin …

… real homogeneity of Chinese civilization for several centuries … and at times political division of China into a north and a … what is generally known as the North China plain. South of this is …

… Japan the image of Chinese civilization we have described and the mode of studying that civilization which the literati tradition decreed. The emotional commitment to China which this …

… cultural heritage in the context of a rapidly changing China. A … cultural heritage and regional identity in southwest China … ’, culture and globalization, cultural heritage and cultural tourism, …

… Chinese notion of "mind-heart nature" ( xinxing ). This concept has become the marrow of Chinese culture, as the most important Chinese … see that the root of Chinese culture lies in its …

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, in alignment with globalization and the megatrend within the international socio-cultural sphere, China has initiated a large-scale “intangible cultural heritage (ICH) protection movement” through its proactive leadership and management of cultural heritage administration. As a significant component of Chinese cultural politics, this movement has profoundly influenced the cultural lives of Chinese society and its citizens and is poised to continue doing so. Some Chinese anthropologists have also participated in and significantly contributed to this movement in various ways. This paper comprehensively and meticulously examines these fundamental ways. Building upon this analysis, this paper further provides an overview and assessment of the research outcomes of anthropological research on Chinese cultural heritage, both domestically and internationally. The author posits that the paramount contribution of anthropologists, both domestically and internationally, to Chinese cultural heritages and the related protection endeavors lies in their academic research outcomes being predominantly based on their respective fieldwork practices. These outcomes, shaped and realized through on-the-ground fieldwork, hold exceptional value for cultural heritage administration and national cultural policies, as they effectively provide cultural criticism and dissenting perspectives.

… Chinese governmental ordinance on the protection of cultural heritage that we know. The … the removal of antiquities from China, and the legislation on cultural heritage developed. Gov…

… of cultural heritage management (CHM) in China within these … We focus on the existing system of CHM in China, evaluating … exemplifies the current problems ofCHM practices in China. …

… Chinese Cultural Heritage Computing that consists of three conceptual levels which are Chinese … -oriented computational framework for Cultural Heritage in the Chinese cultural context. …

Beijing, motivated by the 2008 Olympics, has impressively modernizedin the past decade, replacing crumbling infrastructure and architecture, missingstreet lights, grey dirt, and weeds with wide boulevards crowded with late modelcars, ultra-modern bridges, subways, and skyscrapers. Yet, experts say, everythingin China is a trade-off. My focus is on one form of trade-off, the degradation of historicChina. Traveling in China exactly ten years after my first visit gave me opportunitiesto meet with representatives from media, education, and government, andask: how well has China maintained its cultural heritage in the face of rapid modernization?And how important is it for citizens and government to do so? Today’sChina, where “everything new is better,” must be rendered “livable” for growingnumbers of citizens who are part of an ongoing mass internal migration involvingrelocation from rural areas to rapidly burgeoning cities, increasing pressures torepurpose spaces occupied by old structures. This paper presents current problemsrelating to historic preservation, and some perspectives for the future.

Exploring the spatial distribution of China’s intangible cultural heritage resources and its influencing factors is an important foundation for their protection and development and a key step toward the integration of culture and tourism. To analyse the geographical distribution patterns of China’s 3610 intangible cultural heritage resources and their influencing factors, we comprehensively applied methods such as spatial analysis and geodetectors. The main findings are as follows: (1) In terms of spatial distribution, China’s intangible cultural heritage resources are unevenly distributed, with an overall agglomeration-type distribution. The distribution in the north‒south direction is more significant, with more resources in the east than in the west and more resources in the south than in the north. (2) In terms of the spatial distribution of various types of intangible cultural heritage sites, North and East China have always been areas with a high kernel density. (3) In terms of spatial trends, there is a clear correlation between the distribution of intangible cultural heritage resources and the state of economic development and historical and cultural heritage, i.e., the more economically developed and culturally rich a region is, the more resources of intangible cultural heritage there are. (4) The causes of the distribution of China’s intangible cultural heritage resources are complicated, the influence of social factors is much greater than that of natural factors, and multidimensional interactions have a relatively significant impact. This study is conducive to the planning and protection of China’s intangible cultural heritage resources at the national and regional levels and provides a reference for the sustainable development of China’s intangible cultural heritage resources.

Purpose:  Being culturally rich and historically significant, China is seeing a growth in heritage and cultural tourism. From being seen as a country with a singular national identity, local communities are increasingly marketing their local heritage and culture for heritage tourism.   Theoretical framework:  These activities include the generation of money and the facilitation of the development of infrastructure. The advantages are mutually beneficial; for example, travelers report feeling psychologically better after participating in heritage tourism activities because they are motivated by feelings of nostalgia and a sense of cultural connection.   Design/methodology/approach: In this regard, authenticity becomes a state driven effort, where values in communities are expected to change as needed. For example, in Lijiang the local Dongba religious rituals which had been included into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register had been reinvented to be more suited for tourist consumption.   Findings:  These activities include the generation of money and the facilitation of the development of infrastructure. The advantages are mutually beneficial; for example, travelers report feeling psychologically better after participating in heritage tourism activities because they are motivated by feelings of nostalgia and a sense of cultural connection. Despite this, the advantages come with certain negatives, which manifest themselves as physical and cultural harms that are incurred as a result of the situation.   Research, Practical & Social implications: To begin, it paves the way for specific historic places to become a ritualized channel via which collective social memory may be conveyed and gathered together. To elaborate, heritage tourism enables a person to validate their membership in a nation based on the imagined reality that has been established through the course of their history.   Originality/value: Mentioned three perspectives in authenticity in China, namely spatial separation, value shifting and emotional banishment. In this regard, authenticity becomes a state driven effort, where values in communities are expected to change as needed.  

Abstract Community participation is a key part of heritage management. However, in practice, unlike natural heritage, the nature of community participation within cultural heritage is seldom assessed, nor are there theoretical frameworks developed to baseline such assessments. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper developed and tested an assessment framework, to assess community participation within cultural heritage. Based on the conceptualisation of community participation from heritage management policies, a literature review was conducted to develop an assessment framework, including four criteria and 23 indicators. This assessment framework was tested on the management practices of 36 Chinese cultural heritage properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List from 1987 to 2018. Using content analysis as a method, this research applied this assessment framework to UNESCO documents, reporting on the state-of-the-practice of heritage management as applied to Chinese World Heritage. The results provide an overview of the current situation on how community participation is positioned within World Heritage management in China. Several World Heritage properties in China have reported relatively high community participation in examples such as Honghe Hani Rice Terraces and Kulangsu. However, most of them demonstrate minimal community participation, such as the Yungang Grottoes and Lushan National Park. Moreover, the assessment framework of community participation in heritage management has been extended and improved, which is relevant to heritage management practices worldwide.

Empowered by the Internet and digital technology, Chinese cultural heritage can intuitively convey its historical stories and share its esthetic art with online users via “social  +  intelligence  +  sharing.” Using a survey (N  =  783) and semi structured interview (N  =  20), adapting and extending the theoretical framework of the third space and interactive ritual chain, this paper analyzes online users’ perceptions, emotions, and actions toward digital Chinese cultural heritage. The results indicate that the technology-enabled communication of digital cultural heritage can construct a kind of third cultural space (immersion & interculturality) where the interactive ritual chain can continuously drive and superimpose online users’ emotional energy. Such emotional energy is a kind of common human emotion that can transcend nationalities. During this process, traditional Chinese culture, popular culture, and global culture are connected.

Background: In the past century, the importance of historical villages has been highly recognized, as they serve aesthetic, functional, and environmental values and can foster local socioeconomic development through the heritagization process. The purpose of this paper is to outline the core features of the preservation and management of historical villages in the European and Chinese contexts. Methods: Using a qualitative systematic literature review, the research was based on international academic papers covering 73 case studies from the two contexts, addressing the fact that little work has been carried out comparing European and Chinese realities. Results: Similarities and differences in rural cultural heritage preservation and management between Europe and China were compared and discussed, paying particular attention to historical villages in both contexts. Using this method, rural heritage preservation in China can be better framed and analyzed for scholars engaged in both the Chinese and international contexts. Conclusions: Inspired by the European case studies, the research suggests that capacity building of different types of stakeholders, contextualized financial mechanism and multiple values the civic society perceived and recognized during the Chinese rural heritage preservation and management process should be further studied and implemented case by case based on a historical-sensitive approach. In addition, the issue of the lack of social capital and policy arrangements in rural areas should be further addressed to stimulate community resilience.

Abstract Community participation is an essential issue in heritage management. The international heritage organisation ICCROM published a guidance document discussing people-centred approaches to heritage management in 2015. Cultural heritage management is recommended to be carried out through a community participation process. Despite the growing literature on community participation in cultural heritage management, little research has been done on comparing Chinese to international approaches. Although in China several pilot projects have conducted effective community participation and achieved excellent outcomes. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing an overview that compares and discusses the similarities and differences between Chinese and international approaches. A systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art was conducted to explore these differences based on four themes: engaged communities, participatory methods, degrees of participation and steps taken within cultural heritage management. This review concludes both Chinese and international practices seek to collaborate with and empower local communities in their approaches, with Chinese pilot cases, such as Tianzifang in Shanghai. However, in general, Chinese cultural heritage management is government-led, in which community participation is happening to a minimal degree. China is encouraged to learn from international practices when developing contextualised management approaches, to better face the challenges of rapid urbanisation.

… The outcome of this research revealed the ways in which incorporating Chinese cultural heritage and aesthetics into brand identity, marketing communications and products built an …

… aspects of organizing cultural heritage activities in China. The … definition and public access to cultural heritage) posed by new … for a sort of “journey” inside the Chinese public sector. …

… this volume, entitled Chinese Culture and Confucian- ism, Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism) and … Part III concerns the native religion of China, Daoism (Taoism), the study of which helps …

… For the Confucians tao is the way, the method, of right conduct for the individual … Confucian tao was also an entity, since an individual or a state might "possess the tao" or "lack the tao."5 …

This paper proposes a process of synthesis based on Chinese socio-historical context in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the synthesis of three major religious traditions of East Asia such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. At the same time, to be considered is the syncretic approach through which these religions have attained popularity throughout all Eastern and Far Eastern parts of Asia. Thus, in order to make a reasonable justification for the current study, an attempt is made to explore how these religions have appeared to be more or less similar to each other in case of their beliefs and practices. The purpose of the current paper is to decipher the points where and how these three religions interact with each other in terms of belief and practice that is based on a cultural bridge between China and other East Asian countries. This paper offers an overview of the harmonious synthesis of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism in the matrix of Chinese culture. In conclusion, it points out a new mode of syncretism which can be called "Hybridization"- a new insight into the process of synthesis. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 68(2), 2023, pp. 207-218

Traditional Chinese culture is commonly viewed as a trinity of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Originally emerging from the Book of Changes, the concept of Taiji has a profound interactive influence with Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist thought in the history of Chinese philosophy. Because the construction of self-models is often closely related to thinking modes, as a root metaphor in the Chinese culture, the diagram of Taiji that best fits Chinese yin–yang thinking can be used as a prototype to explain the self-structure, the process of self-cultivation, and the realm of person making in the context of Chinese culture. This article reviews the Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist Taiji model of the self and the theory of self-cultivation realms based on these self-models and examines the similarities and differences among them. The ternary Taiji models of the self can complement one another and contribute to a more comprehensive, profound, and accurate understanding of the pluralistic connotations of the traditional Chinese self.

… Confucianism and Taoism, … of Confucianism and Taoism in general, without providing the full details of the sub-conflicts within each school. Even within the pre-Han classics of Taoism, …

… Both Confucianism and Taoism are close to nature, very much reflected in Chinese culture. Most Chinese gates or traditional Chinese gardens display a pair of lions, one male and one …

… schools” or schools established and managed by Confucius organisations or school … only in Confucian thought and Chinese culture but are also prevalent in Taoism, Buddhism, …

… between Chinese traditional values and transformational leadership behavior, Taoist work … Thus, this study firstly develops Confucian and Taoist work value scale (study 1) and then …

… with well-being in the Confucian context, suggesting that external and … the Chinese context. The study discusses the unique cultural contributions of Confucianism and Taoism in China, …

… OF CHINA In his study of the indigenous religions of China - Confucianism and Taoism- Weber is as much concerned with the overall structure and character of Chinese society as he is …

… 164 Journal of Popular Culture Being a nation of multiple nationalities, China's festivals are … new year, of the lunar calendar, was the greatest festival in the year for the Chinese people, …

… Chinese culture originated primarily in the context of an agrarian society and agricultural … through festivals, is essential to an understanding of Chinese culture. Traditional festivals, …

Despite a considerable body of research focusing on the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), the actual impact of ICH on shaping the cultural life of local communities needs further acknowledgement. Since 2004, China has rapidly engaged with ICH and the associated practices stipulated by UNESCO. Based on a critical analysis of two cultural festivals in China, this study illustrates the impact of official heritage discourse on local communities. Heritage policies have adopted a particular understanding of “culture” that certifies and beautifies related cultural practices and products for commercial purposes. However, these processes of cultural reproduction transform community-based leisure activities into tourism consumption for an external public. Such changes legitimize and reinforce social inequalities within state-society relationships. This study contributes to the broader discussion on the “right to heritage” – whose rights and what rights should be considered in the issues that ICH creates as a form of cultural reproduction

… , this practice became vogue. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was a period in which the customs of Chinese traditional festivals underwent radial changes. Festivals became entertaining …

On December 4, 2024, the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) was officially inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, signifying international recognition of its cultural value. As the most grand, important, and ceremonious traditional festival in China, the Spring Festival embodies the values, ethics, thinking patterns, behavioral norms, and aesthetic tastes of the Chinese nation, serving as a vital carrier of its culture. This study employs structural analysis to interpret how the conceptual origins of “Yuandan” (Chinese New Year’s Day, now celebrated as the Spring Festival), the series of related folk activities, and the symbolic meanings of traditional Chinese New Year foods together demonstrate the dualistic and dynamic thinking structure centered on “the harmony of Yin and Yang.” Furthermore, by examining sacrificial customs during the Spring Festival such as ancestor worship, deity veneration, and the welcoming of the Wulu Shen (Five-Road Wealth Deities), this study reveals the triadic (Sancai) and pentadic (Wuxing) thinking patterns in ancient Chinese thought. The author posits that these underlying cognitive frameworks and core concepts are manifested across diverse cultural phenomena, including Spring Festival rituals and customs. Therefore, a profound understanding of traditional Chinese culture requires grasping these foundational cognitive frameworks and conceptual cores, which in turn enables a more comprehensive interpretation of the culture and its people.

The Qingming festival (Qingming jie, 清明节), a significant Chinese cultural event, has been widely studied for its agricultural, ancestral, and entertainment aspects. However, a comprehensive analysis of its food customs, their evolution, and their cultural significance across different regions of China remains a notable gap in existing literature. This study addresses this lacuna by employing document analysis to examine the origins, evolution, symbolic meanings, and cultural impact of Qingming festival food customs, with a particular focus on the consumption of eggs, wheat, bird‐shaped foods, and green‐colored foods. The research reveals three key findings previously underexplored in academic literature: (1) the festival's syncretic nature, incorporating elements from ancient festivals like the cold food festival (Hanshi jie, 寒食节) and the Shangsi festival (Shangsi jie, 上巳节); (2) the profound symbolism in traditional foods such as qingtuan (青团) and Zitui buns (Zitui bing, 子推饼), reflecting concepts of renewal, fertility, and filial piety; and (3) the adaptive capacity of these customs in modern society, maintaining cultural significance while evolving to meet contemporary needs. By establishing novel connections between Qingming food culture, ancestral veneration, and traditional Chinese medicine, this study provides the first comprehensive, cross‐regional analysis of the festival's multifaceted role in Chinese culture. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of the Qingming Festival's culinary traditions and their role in preserving and adapting intangible cultural heritage in contemporary Chinese society.

… , which is celebrated during the MidAutumn Festival in Shuangjing Village, Jiangxi, China, … cultural practices, this study contributes to understanding how festivals can reinforce cultural …

… of Chinese festival … cultural principles manifest in specific, tangible practices. The Lunar New Year, as one of the most important and symbolically rich festivals in the Chinese cultural …

Landscape is an important object for research on local culture from a cultural geographical perspective. It is the spatial nature of memory that has seen the integrative study of memory and landscape receive increased attention from human geographers. The Qiqiao Festival is a traditional folk festival in the Lingnan region of Southern China. After half a century of suppression, the Qiqiao Festival in Zhucun was publically revitalized as the Guangzhou Qiqiao Cultural Festival, which coincided with the changing structure and significance of the landscape. This paper selected Zhucun, a typical urban village, as its case study and constructed an index system of festival landscapes. Through in-depth interviews, this paper studied the revival and restructure process of the Qiqiao Festival, and the role that landscapes play in the formation mechanism of memory on the part of subjects with different identities. The results showed that the elite and the local government selectively restructure festival landscapes, replacing authentic landscapes with “official” ones. The selection and production of a festival landscape constructed different memories among the subjects, where the festival memory of grassroots villagers was self-constructed and mostly came from traditional festival landscape elements while top-down interventions in the festival landscape constructed a different “official” memory for citizens and migrants to those of the villagers. The contemporary festival deviates from the original, which has weakened the conscious degree of cultural evolution and has had a reaction on the authenticity of memory. This research serves a reference for approaches in planning and conserving intangible cultural heritage in historic villages.

… study of Chinese festivals. Rather than reducing festivals to entertainment or cultural display, … by the convergence of Han Chinese traditions and indigenous cultural practices. Early Han …

Reading gender and religion in East Asia - 1 - Family formations and cultural transformations

… of traditional Chinese festivals. It is argued that traditional Chinese festivals are agriculture- … accepted practice in Chinese folklore, no one in the Chinese culture doubts its justice. Such …

As China's doors opened to the world, an increasing number of Chinese people chose to leave their homeland and seek opportunities abroad. The "migration to Nanyang" , the largest and most far-reaching cross-border migration wave in modern Chinese history, not only led Chinese migrants in the Nanyang region to uphold their ethnic beliefs, customs, and festivals but also fostered the development of a unique Chinese cultural identity in the area. This study constructs a conceptual framework and adopts qualitative research methods, integrating observation and literature analysis, to examine three festival-themed artworks by Chinese immigrant artists in Nanyang (Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Chinese New Year). The research aims to explore the cultural identity of Nanyang Chinese toward traditional Chinese festivals and its multifaceted representations. These artworks not only reflect the migrants' adherence to festival customs, decorations, foods, and activities but also highlight their efforts to preserve and practice the spirit of Chinese culture within a foreign environment.

… attention to the traditional Chinese festivals is a good way to inherit the folk culture, we must … forward the national spirit both in theory and practice, but the academic concern for the …

This exploratory case study investigated the organisers’ rationale for hosting a community festival for the Chinese diaspora and takes as its context the 2018 Brisbane Chinese Festival held in Queensland, Australia. Diaspora groups are in a paradoxical situation as they hold a dual identity, with a sense of belonging to their homeland and host land simultaneously, and thus festivals aimed at diasporic communities are culturally complex. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 15 Chinese community leaders living in Queensland who were festival organisers. The results show that organisers had reasons for both community internal and external development. The internal focused reasons include reinforcing Chinese community identities and increasing community solidarity and cohesiveness among different individuals and groups. The externally focused reasons include building a united image of the Chinese community, along with fostering social harmony between the minority diaspora groups and the dominant populations in a multicultural society. The research also demonstrated that defining and characterising the Chinese diaspora, which is acknowledged to be super-diverse, was highly complex, but that cultural identity was the key way in which members of the Chinese diaspora define themselves. Suggestions for future research using social capital as a potential theoretical framework are provided.

… festivals w ancient and traditional. Half of the color and ceremonial pageantry of California Chinese festivals … In recent years the practice of hoisting the national flag of China was added, …

Since the mid-2000s, the PRC has increasingly focused on pursuing cultural diplomacy abroad to improve its national image and enhance cultural soft power. Although China’s cultural “Charm Offensive” has not gone unnoticed, a variety of specific activities have not been subject to research so far. This paper, therefore, attempts to fill this research gap by analyzing Chinese state-level cultural diplomacy through a comparative case study of three China Culture Year events held in France (2004), Italy (2010), and Germany (2012). These findings are subsequently compared to the China Culture Year in Australia (2012), thereby allowing the identification of spatial variations. I argue that the Chinese government applies a general approach of organizing the events abroad by making use of local institutions. At the same time, through the strategic selection of events, the festivals portray distinct national images that transmit particular narratives of self-presentation to the European audience and take into account country-specific preferences.

Western and Chinese artists have different traditions in representing the world in their paintings. While Western artists start since the Renaissance to represent the world with a central perspective and focus on salient objects in a scene, Chinese artists concentrate on context information in their paintings, mainly before the mid-19th century. We investigated whether the different typical representations influence the aesthetic preference for traditional Chinese and Western paintings in the different cultural groups. Traditional Chinese and Western paintings were presented randomly for an aesthetic evaluation to Chinese and Western participants. Both Chinese and Western paintings included two categories: landscapes and people in different scenes. Results showed a significant interaction between the source of the painting and the cultural group. For Chinese and Western paintings, a reversed pattern of aesthetic preference was observed: while Chinese participants gave higher aesthetic scores to traditional Chinese paintings than to Western paintings, Western participants tended to give higher aesthetic scores to traditional Western paintings than to Chinese paintings. We interpret this observation as indicator that personal identity is supported and enriched within cultural belongingness. Another important finding was that landscapes were more preferable than people in a scene across different cultural groups indicating a universal principle of preferences for landscapes. Thus, our results suggest that, on the one hand, the way that artists represent the world in their paintings influences the way that culturally embedded viewers perceive and appreciate paintings, but on the other hand, independent of the cultural background, anthropological universals are disclosed by the preference of landscapes.

This paper examines the innovative approaches through which contemporary artists negotiate and express cultural identity within the framework of globalization. Through analysis of diverse artistic practices, this study demonstrates how artists employ hybrid methodologies, transnational collaborations, and digital technologies to create new forms of cultural expression that transcend traditional boundaries. The research reveals that contemporary art serves as a critical site for reimagining cultural identity beyond essentialist frameworks, offering nuanced perspectives on belonging, authenticity, and cultural exchange in an increasingly interconnected world. Through in-depth case studies and comparative analysis, this study systematically identifies and analyses the dual driving forces that shape the landscape of Chinese contemporary art: on the one hand, cross-cultural exchanges, technological innovations, and market access brought about by globalization have provided unprecedented opportunities for artistic creation; on the other hand, the pressure of global cultural homogenization, the reconstruction of cultural identity, and the challenges brought about by the commercialization of art are also becoming increasingly severe. The core of the study is the complex interactive relationship between China's profound traditional culture (such as unique ink painting techniques and symbolic themes) and emerging artistic media and forms (such as digital art and installation art). This study deeply explains how Chinese artists construct unique and vibrant contemporary art through the creative transformation of tradition and the critical use of new media in the process of participating in global art discourse. Representative cases include Cai Guiyang's magnificent artistic practice using gunpowder as the medium, Xu Bing's subversive deconstruction of texts, and innovative exploration of ink aesthetics. The results show that in the context of globalization, the key path for Chinese contemporary art to achieve sustainable development lies in embracing the opportunities brought by global vision and technological innovation while adhering to local cultural roots, and promoting the tension between tradition and modernity through critical dialogue and creative transformation. The local and the global become drivers of innovation in artistic language and the active construction of identity.

The depiction of landscape in art has played a major role in the creation of cultural identities in both China and Europe. Landscape depiction has a history of over 1000 years in China, whilst in Europe its evolution has been more recent. Landscape art ( shan shui ) has remained a constant feature of Chinese culture and has changed little in style and purpose since the Song dynasty. In Europe, landscape depictions have been significant in the modern determination of cultural and national identities and have served to educate consumers about their country. Consideration is given here to Holland, England, Norway, Finland and China, demonstrating how landscape depictions served to support a certain definition of Chinese culture but have played little political role there, whilst in Europe landscape art has been produced in a variety of contexts, including providing support for nationalism and the determination of national identity.

Abstract: The 1935-1936 International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London played a pivotal role in reshaping Western perceptions of Chinese cultural identity. This study examines the philosophical and curatorial frameworks underpinning the exhibition, analyzing how the transition from “Japonisme” to a distinctly “Chinese Style” was strategically curated to challenge entrenched Western stereotypes. Through a multidisciplinary approach integrating cultural philosophy, art history and museum studies, the study employs theoretical frameworks from Homi Bhabha’s cultural hybridity, Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural capital and Edward Said’s orientalism to interrogate the power dynamics in the representation of Chinese art. The findings demonstrate how curatorial decisions, deeply rooted in Confucian and Taoist aesthetics, functioned as both artistic and diplomatic tools, reinforcing China’s cultural sovereignty while influencing Western museological practices. This paper contributes to ongoing discourses in cultural diplomacy, transnational art history and the global circulation of aesthetics.

Abstract References to native culture are frequently in the foreground of works by Chinese women artists. When they make contact with different cultures, although not necessarily connected with leaving their place of birth thanks to the transfer of information and cultural heritage that has developed extremely efficiently in the era of globalization (Gordon Mathews), they see their own entanglement in the cultural tradition. In the process of constructing their identity they try to find answers to the following question: which part of the cultural tradition is mine? Which one do I identify with? In the case of Chinese women artists, is it the legacy of literati? Classic ink painting and calligraphy? Or perhaps women's crafts that bear no name? Or perhaps a mixture of inspirations? Such questions about material heritage might also be augmented by others that consider aspects of the immaterial heritage of China. This article explores how Chinese women artists such as Chen Qingqing, Qin Yufen, Shi Hui, Wang Xiaohui, Cheng Caroline, Lin Tianmiao, Zhang Yanzi, Man Fung-yi, Liu Liyun, Peng Wei, Chen Lingyang, Chen Qiulin, Zhang Ou and Liu Ren refer to their cultural tradition.

… of cultural identity in shaping contemporary community-based mural art practices in China … it investigates how mural artists engage with local cultural heritage, social diversity, and urban …

… Chinese art, while his exquisite dance and singing skills devoid of sociopolitical content were scoffed at in China by … Now, the Chinese government wants to use opera to promote …

… will be improved, and the opportunities for cultural self-expression will be enhanced. The … Chinese form and implied cultural image. The study applied the knowledge of culture identity …

… Cultural identities in both the colonial and post-colonial worlds, thus, cannot be clearly … and its present as a Special Administrative Region of China. The first section of this writing will …

… As we examine China today, we find the forces shaping identity shifting ever more rapidly. Attitudes to the past, to traditional culture, and to the regions within all China are changing; …

… of Chinese Culture. And finally, I assess Liu’s History of Chinese Culture in the context of the 1920s Chinese … , Liu’sHistory of Chinese Culture offered both a historical perspective and a …

Research on Chinesecommunication has so far focused on the understanding of the impact of traditional Confucian cultural values on Chinesecommunicationcharacteristics. While this Confucian-oriented Chinesecommunication style remains meaningful and in many situations powerful in Chinese society and in communication between Chinese and western professionals, the paradox inherent in Chinese culture and communication has rarely been researched. Moreover, China's three decades of rapid economic progress and unprecedented interactions with the rest of the world have contributed to an emergent Chinesecommunication style, which differs from the traditional one. Based on the philosophical principle of Yin Yang, this paper provides a framework to capture the paradox and change of Chinesecommunicationcharacteristics in today's changing Chinese society. Implications for how to communicate effectively with the Chinese from practitioners’ point of view are also discussed.

Many definitions and models of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) have emerged over the years, predominantly influenced by Euro-American perspectives. To explore this concept within diverse cultural contexts, this study delves into ICC in the Chinese setting using a qualitative approach. Byram’s ICC model served as the theoretical foundation, guiding the investigation into English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduates’ experiences and perceptions regarding factors that influence intercultural communication, the qualities of effective intercultural communicators, and the challenges encountered in intercultural interactions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 purposively selected undergraduates and analyzed using Nvivo 12. The findings revealed nine crucial factors for ICC: knowledge, attitude, language competence, awareness, skills, empathy, motivation, mindset, and personal traits. These factors align with the scholarly notion that ICC is typically categorized into cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. The study supports Byram’s model in understanding ICC, and further reinforces the significant role of language competence in developing ICC within the Chinese context. The study provides a nuanced understanding of ICC by emphasizing mindset, influenced by traditional Chinese cultural values, as a distinctive factor in intercultural communication. The research enhances understanding of how these factors impact communication effectiveness and personal growth among Chinese students, offering insights for enhancing ICC education. Plain language summary Exploring How Chinese Students Develop Intercultural Communication Skills: A Qualitative Study Intercultural communication skills help people from different cultures understand each other better. Many studies on these skills are based on Western ideas, but this research looks at how Chinese university students experience and develop them. This study used interviews with 17 students to explore what influences their ability to communicate across cultures. The findings highlight nine key factors: knowledge, attitude, language skills, awareness, empathy, motivation, mindset, and personal traits. These factors shape how students think, feel, and behave in intercultural situations. The research supports an existing intercultural communication model and shows that strong language skills are essential for improving communication. It also highlights how Chinese cultural values shape students’ mindsets, influencing how they interact with people from different backgrounds. This study helps educators understand how to better support students in developing intercultural communication skills.

China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations with a splendid culture. But what is the uniqueness of Chinese culture that transcends the Chinese society from its “blue gowns” and “bound feet” times (Little, 1902) to today’s China with increasingly sophisticated information technology and with popular TV shows such as “Super Girls” (超女Chaonü) and “You are the One” (非诚勿扰 Fei cheng wu rao) followed live by tens of millions of Chinese fans? What is the same uniqueness of Chinese culture that has contributed to making China’s market economy differ from Western market economy in the same way Chinese Communism differs from the former Soviet (or Eastern Bloc) Communism?

… users in intercultural communication and explores its impact on Chinese studentsL social … complexity and fluidity of intercultural communication in TNHE in China and other countries. …

Abstract This paper reports a five-year computer-mediated intercultural exchange project between Chinese and American university students that explores the use of various social media tools with WeChat application as the main medium in collaborative intercultural assignments. The study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches by using questionnaires and action research, to investigate how Chinese EFL and American CFL learners increase their intercultural communication competence by assessing their knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and skills of discovery and awareness. The findings reveal their changes and progress in the following variables: knowledge about the variety and subtlety of both the home and target cultures, a different worldview, and cultural study methods; awareness of the importance of differences and similarities between the home and target cultures, their negative reactions to these differences (e.g., fear, ridicule, disgust, feeling of superiority, etc.) and therefore, critical evaluation of the target and home cultures; attitudes from excitement or blind admiration of the target culture to confusion, anxiety or frustration about the cultural differences, later to toleration and appreciation of cultural differences, adaptation to the target culture, and eventually to openness and readiness to suspend disbelief about other cultures and belief about one’s own; skills to contrast the target culture with their own, to demonstrate a capacity to interact appropriately in a variety of different social situations in the target culture and resolve cross-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings. This research will serve as a valuable reference for computer-mediated intercultural communication teaching and open up new possibilities to extend classroom teaching by bridging the gap between second-hand knowledge and hands-on experience.

… problem of cultural stereotyping in work on intercultural communication. Recent interest in culture in … , and the problematic nature of the concept of culture is discussed. A recent study of …

… Chinese international students and local students understand and experience intercultural communication. … are quite positive about language and cultural differences but struggle with …

The purpose of this study is to understand students' successful experiences in intercultural communication, this study systematically reviewed the challenges Chinese students face in intercultural communication, the strategies used to address these challenges—including coping strategies and interventions—and the impact and outcomes of their implementation. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, five online databases were searched, yielding 60 studies for analysis. Thematic analysis was applied to examine the data. Findings indicate that ‘comprehension and production’ and ‘forming a common ground’ are the primary challenges Chinese students encounter. To address these, ‘competence-driven strategies’ and ‘constructing an appropriate context’ emerged as the most frequently employed coping mechanisms and interventions. However, no clear one-to-one correspondence was found between specific challenges and coping strategies/interventions, and their effectiveness varied significantly across different contexts. Additionally, the impact of most strategies and interventions has not been rigorously tested. This study provides valuable insights into the role and manifestation of Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) and offers a foundation for developing more effective approaches to enhance engagement in intercultural communication.

Abstract Chinese students nowadays have more opportunities to engage in interactions with people from different cultures, but meanwhile, their performance in authentic intercultural communications may be impeded by a variety of barriers. In this study, we qualitatively explored and summarized various types of barriers of intercultural communication as perceived by 40 Chinese students, based on Rozkwitalska’s (2010) model. The findings revealed a series of universal barriers that coincided previous studies (e.g., lack of confidence, shyness, feelings of remoteness, nonproficient use of functional language), and enriched Rozkwitalska’s (2010) model with newly identified barriers (e.g., lack of stress tolerance, self-centered communication, protection of face, discrepant performance concerning SES and age). Our study examined intercultural communications in a more comprehensive manner and made an attempt to develop a well-established, coherent frame of theory-building in international education research. Practical implications for educators and schools are discussed.

… and awareness of Chinese culture and the perceived effects of home culture on IC. An aim … the concept of Chinese culture while developing intercultural awareness when learning …

… The results of this study show that Chinese college students’ intercultural communication … inaccurate understanding of American and Japanese cultures. However, these stereotypes can …

… intercultural communication is our willingness to communicate with people of different cultures. … in China were more willing to communicate with Chinese than were Americans in the US; …

Foreign countries are very attractive destinations for Chinese students to pursue higher education. The promises of quality education and job prospect made by attending and graduating from these internationally acclaimed educational institutions are highly sought after by many Chinese students. In this regards, these internationally acclaimed educational institutions also welcome international students with the purpose of pursuing higher ranks and meeting global challenges by welcoming more international students. Due to this push in the market for Chinese students and other international students to pursue their studies overseas in these internationally acclaimed educational institutions, it is very important for these students to develop communicative competence in the English language as well as intercultural competence. However, the main issues Chinese international students have suffered in foreign universities are language anxiety, culture shock, initial adaptation, psychological changes, and academic issues. These language and cultural issues are pertinent amongst international students, especially those from China, but there have been many studies that posit that these intercultural communication challenges can be overcome with intercultural communicative competence. Therefore, this article intends to review studies on intercultural communicative competence, especially for Chinese international students. This review article also intends to report studies that were done to examine Chinese international students’ challenges with communication skills and intercultural communicative competence. The findings from the review of these articles might provide insights into the importance of intercultural communicative competence as well as the challenges that Chinese international students face in developing communicative competence that may shed the light for future Chinese international students. This is so that they may be able to prepare themselves not only in developing communication skills, but also intercultural appreciation before studying in foreign countries. This article also hopes to provide program planners and host universities with insightful information about effectively supporting Chinese international students.

… assessed the communication of Chinese, Western, and intercultural Chinese–Western couples in the current study, and the associations between their communication behaviors and …