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Chinese has a rich and diverse vocabulary of terms, especially verbs, expressing power relationships. This paper selected 25 power relationship terms from the Chinese Proficiency Scale for International Chinese Education, and used a true-false format to test the differences in acquisition between international students from Confucian cultural circles and those from non-Confucian cultural circles. The study found that: (1) The acquisition levels of both groups are generally behind that of ordinary vocabulary; (2) There is a significant difference in the acquisition levels between the two groups, with the former performing better than the latter; and (3) There is a significant difference in the acquisition of these terms in administrative and family settings between the two groups, with the former performing better than the latter, but there is no significant difference in the acquisition of terms in other settings such as education. In response to these findings, the paper used interview data to provide mutual confirmation, and applied theories related to learning input, language transfer, and cultural circles to analyze and interpret the results. Finally, the paper made targeted suggestions for the teaching of power relationship terms.

While enjoying the respect and prestige in some countries, in others, despite being a significant educational sector, vocational education continues to suffer from low status and negative societal sentiments. Vocational education in China has been positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, absorbing the 'left-over' students with 'less good' academic records. Addressing the research gap concerning the limited philosophical discourses about the academic/vocational divide from non-Western traditions, this paper seeks to explore the philosophical and historical heritage of the academic/vocational divide and how Confucianism may contribute to this divide and shaped the hierarchy of work in China. The Confucian literati, as 'the privileged other', determined the social rank of 'those who labour with their strength' and 'those who labour with their minds' through the Imperial Examination System. By using institutional logics theory, the paper explores how the legacy of these views may have negatively impacted on the standing of occupations and vocational education in contemporary Chinese society and argues that an alternative philosophical orientation is needed to counter the long-standing consequences for vocational education.

This paper examines the relationship between the concepts of humility and competition in Confucianism and Daoism, and discusses their relevance to contemporary education. It argues that while both philosophical traditions value humility and caution against excessive competition, they do not outrightly reject competition; instead, they advocate for a harmonious balance between humility and competition through yielding (rang) and showing reverence (gong) or acting through non-action (wei-wu-wei) to resolve conflicts and promote healthy competition. The insights gleaned from this exploration carry significant implications for the moral development and mental well-being of students, particularly in the context of high-stakes testing cultures in China and other countries. They also offer valuable support in nurturing students' qualities such as openness to learning, humble leadership, and appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism essential for success in a diverse and interconnected world.

Based on data from China's A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2017, this paper examines the influence of the contemporary values of Confucianism, namely benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and fidelity on the effectiveness of internal control. It indicates a significant positive correlation between the contemporary values of Confucianism and the effectiveness of internal control. Furthermore, this positive influence is noticeable in family-owned businesses but is unobserved in foreign-invested enterprises in China. In addition, the contemporary values of Confucianism enhance internal control quality through two pathways: promotion incentives and corporate reputation. In regions with lower degrees of openness, lower levels of rule of law and slower marketization, or in companies facing operational crises, the contemporary values of Confucianism have a more pronounced effect on enhancing the effectiveness of internal control. The contemporary values of Confucianism have strengthened the ability of internal control to decrease agency costs and mitigate the negative influence of internal control on risk-taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decades have witnessed the flourishing of consultative democracy (xieshang minzhu, a concept similar to deliberative democracy) in China, with ambitions for implementing consultative politics and governance. In the West, mainstream deliberative democracy studies largely overlook the fact that deliberation is an elusive and polysemic notion, which develops into various practices in different social and cultural contexts. Therefore, a non-Western-centred approach needs to be adopted to further investigate deliberative experimentation in rural China. Based on the four months of fieldwork conducted in several villages in rural China, this paper argues that China's rural villages have inherited a strong Confucianism-based idea of deliberation and consultation. With case studies from the sociological–political perspective, this paper also aims to shed some new light on the compatibilities between modern democratic governance approaches and the informal, hierarchical and highly moralised forms of public order in the rural Chinese acquaintance society. Incorporating these empirical observations could bridge the gap between Western and Chinese perspectives on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the West, criticism of Chinese censorship has long prompted extensive research and reporting on the scope, aims, and methods behind the elaborate apparatus. Beyond political motivations, Chinese censorship's stark contrast to the Western emphasis on free speech has also sparked inquiry into the cultural influences shaping the Chinese government's inclination towards stringent censorship. This paper examines the role of Confucianism in influencing Chinese censorship decisions, specifically within the realm of the Chinese Internet over the past decade. It argues that the Chinese government's commitment to creating the image of a harmonious Confucian society has driven an increase in media censorship to counter the perceived disruptive effects of the Internet. Three cases studies of internet censorship - relating to the feminist movement of the 2010s, criticism of health policies during the COVID pandemic, and criticism of economic policy during the economic slowdown of 2023-24-are analyzed to reveal the pervasiveness of Confucian theory in the rationale behind censorship. Though in no way does Confucianism fully explain the nature of the Chinese government and its proclivity for censorship, it continues to have a visible impact on the actions of the Chinese government, proving its enduring centrality in China's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the application of artificially intelligent robots within eldercare and explores a series of ethical considerations, including the challenges that AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology poses to traditional Chinese Confucian filial piety. From the perspective of Confucian ethics, the paper argues that robots cannot adequately fulfill duties of care. Due to their detachment from personal relationships and interactions, the "emotions" of AI robots are merely performative reactions in different situations, rather than actual emotional abilities. No matter how "humanized" robots become, it is difficult to establish genuine empathy and a meaningful relationship with them for this reason. Even so, we acknowledge that AI robots are a significant tool in managing the demands of elder care and the growth of care poverty, and as such, we attempt to outline some parameters within which care robotics could be acceptable within a Confucian ethical system. Finally, the paper discusses the social impact and ethical considerations brought on by the interaction between humans and machines. It is observed that the relationship between humans and technology has always had both utopian and dystopian aspects, and robotic elder care is no exception. AI caregiver robots will likely become a part of elder care, and the transformation of these robots from "service providers" to "companions" seems inevitable. In light of this, the application of AI-augmented robotic elder care will also eventually change our understanding of interpersonal relationships and traditional requirements of filial piety., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

While enjoying the respect and prestige in some countries, in others, despite being a significant educational sector, vocational education continues to suffer from low status and negative societal sentiments. Vocational education in China has been positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, absorbing the 'left-over' students with 'less good' academic records. Addressing the research gap concerning the limited philosophical discourses about the academic/vocational divide from non-Western traditions, this paper seeks to explore the philosophical and historical heritage of the academic/vocational divide and how Confucianism may contribute to this divide and shaped the hierarchy of work in China. The Confucian literati, as 'the privileged other', determined the social rank of 'those who labour with their strength' and 'those who labour with their minds' through the Imperial Examination System. By using institutional logics theory, the paper explores how the legacy of these views may have negatively impacted on the standing of occupations and vocational education in contemporary Chinese society and argues that an alternative philosophical orientation is needed to counter the long-standing consequences for vocational education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China entered the Xi Jinping Era, the CPC has formally put forward a series of significant theories on China's future development path, including Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. These theories have sparked active discussions and responses within both domestic and international academic and theoretical circles. This paper argues that when analyzing the major relationships between Chinese civilization and other civilizations worldwide, the Chinese path to modernization and the modern civilization of the Chinese Nation, and Chinese culture and its constituent ethnic cultures, we should further elucidate relationships and adhere to the three foundational principles: subjectivity, the contemporaneity of Chinese culture, and the arterial and leading attributes of Chinese culture, which encapsulate the core issues in fostering the modern civilization of Chinese Nation. A proper understanding and nuanced handling of these issues not only bolsters the perpetuation and evolution of China's excellent traditional culture but also propels the trajectory of the Chinese path to modernization and the overarching construction of the modern civilization of Chinese Nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Zhenshan" 鎮山 (which means a mountain that guards a certain territory) system is based on the traditional Chinese view of nature, which formed and developed through a long period of Confucian humanistic construction. It is the typical representation of China's nature-oriented worship space, and it has unique spatial order and spatial significance in the world's sacred mountain worship. The excavation of the spatial characteristics of Zhenshan worship and its network of humanistic meanings is an important part of research that aims to discover the traditional Chinese values of nature, religious views, and Chinese worship space. Based on the analysis of graphic historical materials and a digital chronicle literature review, this paper quantitatively analyzes the historical information of Zhenshan and summarizes the process of change from the birth of the concept of Zhenshan in the Zhou dynasty to the formation of the sacrificial system in the Han dynasty and its gradual localization after the Tang and Song dynasties with an analysis of its spatial pattern and characteristics of worship. The results show that Zhenshan is one of the typical cultural symbols of the transformation of Chinese mountain worship into the unity of government and religion. And it is a typical product of Confucianism, in which the worship of nature in China is integrated into the political system, and its worship space is rooted in the national, regional, and urban spaces at multiple levels. The Zhenshan system, in the course of its dynamic development, has formed two types of worship space: temple sacrificial and metaphorical constraint, constructing a Chinese worship space based on the order of nature, which is distinctly different from the inward-looking religious space of the West and the sacred mountain worship space formed around the religion of the "supreme god". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study seeks to understand how accountant stereotypes have been constructed and reconstructed at the macro-national and the structural level in Chinese society. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative investigation into China's social construction of accountant stereotypes employs Becker's (1963) labelling theory. Viewing stereotyping as a socially constructed practice, this study draws on a post-positivistic, reflexive epistemology in conducting 28 semi-structured interviews with accountants and related actors. Findings: Chinese accountant stereotypes are constructed and reconstructed according to the rules created and enforced in different cultural-political periods. The accountant stereotypes constructed during the ancient Confucian period (500 BC – 1948) were replaced during 1949 and 2012 when the political focus shifted towards propagating socialism and later promoting economic growth. They also show how Confucian stereotypes of accountants resurfaced in 2013 but were reconstructed by the central government's cultural confidence policy of propagating Confucianism. Originality/value: Empirically, prior literature has focused on what the accountant stereotype is and how accountants respond to such stereotypes, but it has neglected the ways in which these accountant stereotypes are politically and culturally constructed, diffused and legitimated. This paper fills in the gap by understanding the social practice of accountant stereotyping in a previously unexplored political-cultural context, namely Chinese society. In theoretical terms, by offering the first use of Becker's (1963) labelling theory in the accounting literature, it furthermore enhances our understanding of how accountants' identities and social standing are shaped by social rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reveals the interweaving of three traditions—Christian, Manchu, and Han Chinese—in the work of an unduly neglected figure in early modern China, Aisin-Gioro Depei 愛新覺羅·德沛 (1688–1752), who was a Manchu prince, neo-Confucian philosopher, and likely, a hidden Christian. The analysis demonstrates that Depei developed a particular syncretic philosophy based on the rational theology that he learned from the works of a significant Jesuit missionary, Giulio Aleni (1582–1649, 艾儒略), notably Aleni's Xingxue cushu 性學觕述 (A Brief Introduction to the Study of Human Nature). Using resources from Christian and Confucian traditions, Depei puts forward an approach, which marks the continuation of the cross-cultural interpretation movement launched by the missionaries since the late Ming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between the concepts of humility and competition in Confucianism and Daoism, and discusses their relevance to contemporary education. It argues that while both philosophical traditions value humility and caution against excessive competition, they do not outrightly reject competition; instead, they advocate for a harmonious balance between humility and competition through yielding (rang) and showing reverence (gong) or acting through non-action (wei-wu-wei) to resolve conflicts and promote healthy competition. The insights gleaned from this exploration carry significant implications for the moral development and mental well-being of students, particularly in the context of high-stakes testing cultures in China and other countries. They also offer valuable support in nurturing students' qualities such as openness to learning, humble leadership, and appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism essential for success in a diverse and interconnected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines four typologies of secularism in China from the sixteenth century onward, through an analysis of the triadic relationship between the secular, religious, and superstitious. These notions have been considered to be derived from the particular intellectual and political history of the West, but this fails to grasp the complexity of non-Western belief systems. This article proposes to instead examine how Chinese policymakers and intellectuals actively fabricated religion and produced secularization. It goes beyond a simple rebuttal of Eurocentrism, and arguments regarding the mutual incomparability of Western and Chinese experiences of secularization. It distinguishes four typologies of secularism that emerged successively in China: (1) the reduction of Christianity from the sixteenth century to the 1900s; (2) the Confucian secular and (3) atheist secular that were conceptualized, respectively, by royalist reformers and anti-Manchu revolutionaries during the final two decades of the Qing Dynasty; and (4) the interventionist secularism pursued by the Republican and the Communist regimes to strictly supervise and regulate religious beliefs and practices. The paper argues that, if secularization is indeed Christian in nature, secularism and religion were not imposed in China under Western cultural and political hegemony. Instead, the Christian secular model was produced in China mainly via pre-existing cultural norms and the state's ad hoc political needs, making the Christian secularism itself a multipolar phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional narratives hold that parties are "the orphans of political philosophy" and that systematic normative justifications of parties and partisanship have emerged only in recent years in the West. This article aims to show that when antiparty sentiments were prevalent in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Western societies, a systematic justification of party politics existed in China. Western antipartyism in that time shifted from an older accusation that parties were divisive and subversive to a "progressive antipartyism" that portrayed parties as elitist and antidemocratic "machines." In China, however, although proparty intellectuals faced the first type of antipartyism, the "progressive" type was relatively absent, as there weren't any mature party machines in the first place. Far from being a hindrance to democracy, parties comprised of public-spirited elites were justified as an instrument for political founding: transforming passive subjects under an imperial despotism into modern active citizens in a constitutional democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ganhua education has been viewed by some scholars as holding a critical position in the correctional system of the People's Republic of China (PRC), for achieving its primary target of imprisonment: rehabilitation. This article aims to redress this argument. Drawing on interviews undertaken with 30 female parolees/ex-prisoners and 10 prison officers, this article argues that the Ganhua education in prison, which is strongly imprinted with the key concept of Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) that "connection promotes growth," is ineffective and is unable to empower women to grow, change, and consequently open to rehabilitation at selected female prisons. This article suggests that the RCT is theoretically problematic in producing a "new person," for the reason of its unawareness of contextualized culture, values, and situations in prison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent and increasing domination of the state in China's contemporary capitalist development leads many to apply the vague concept of state capitalism to China's economic model. Comparing China with the earlier Asian developmental states, I discuss the distinctiveness of China's state capitalism, underlined by the state's paternalistic disposition toward capital and the weakness in private property protection. I argue that the subordination of capital to the political imperative of the Communist party-state, as well as the party-state elite's explicit reference to the state's paternalistic discipline of capital in the Qing dynasty, illustrates a connection between today's statist economic model and Qing dynasty's familial statism, under which the Manchu state conceptualized and governed the empire as an imagined hierarchal-communalist patrilineage. Comparing and connecting state-capital relations in China's past and present will help us better understand the nature of economic governance in China today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is authoritarianism a universal psychological phenomenon? Does the concept of authoritarianism in its current form effectively explain anti-democratic tendencies across societies? From a cultural perspective and using data of Chinese citizens in the fourth wave of the Asian Barometer Survey, this article identifies an authoritarian variant of an ethical and relational origin. This article argues that the received view of authoritarianism, which is conceptually bounded to prejudice, represents but one brand that arises as a function of threat. In paternalistic cultures such as Confucianism, people may develop hierarchical orientations through the learning of certain relational ethics. Called Confucian Authoritarian Orientation (CAO), this authoritarian variant encodes the following three attitudinal aspects: (1) authority reverence, (2) authority worship, and (3) authority dependence. Empirical results show that CAO stands as an entirely different construct from prejudice-bounded concepts such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism. Furthermore, CAO also serves as a powerful predictor of political docility in individuals; it is correlated with stronger political trust and weaker political efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examines the influence of Confucianism on corporate poverty alleviation (PA) participation. We argue that firms in regions with more Confucian temples are more likely to participate in government-initiated PA programs because Confucianism emphasizes common social welfare. This positive relationship is stronger for firms with chief executive officers born in Confucian regions and for firms that are under high media pressure, as the trade-off between social welfare and firm interest is in favor of Confucianism. Using a sample of Chinese-listed firms, we find evidence supporting our arguments. Moreover, we find consistent evidence that firms influenced by Confucianism are motivated to pay long-term attention to PA activities and improve corporate PA efficiency, highlighting the substantive role of Confucianism in a PA campaign. Our study contributes to the business ethics literature by introducing Confucianism into research on corporate social activities and provides practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of Confucianism, an influential cultural belief and ethical philosophy in East Asia, on business strategy. Employing a large-scale archival dataset of Chinese public firms covering 2007 to 2020, we provide evidence that Confucianism is positively associated with analytical-oriented strategies. Our empirical findings remain intact after accounting for alternative Confucianism measures, controlling formal institutions and religions, instrumental variable methods, and other approaches to addressing endogeneity and robustness issues. Cross-sectional analyses further reveal that the documented effect is more evident for non-state-owned firms, firms with executives lacking overseas experience, and those operating in higher economic policy uncertainty. Overall, our study sheds light on how traditional culture, an important dimension of informal institutions, shapes corporate strategic decisions in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire and the introduction of Buddhism into China, Christianity and Buddhism were both faced with the adjustment of the existing society. In the Roman Empire, faced with some censure, apologists began to write articles to clarify misunderstandings and express their beliefs. At the same time, there are similar argumentative documents on Buddhism in China. Their argumentation ideas also have many similarities, such as, firstly, distinguishing them from the original ideas, then using the existing ideas, and finally, actively integrating them into existing society. However, there are some bigger differences in the background of the debate between the Roman Empire and China—Christianity has strong political independence. The most fundamental difference is the atmosphere of the existing ruling ideology—China has been Confucianized, and the political independence of Confucianism is relatively weak. It is this fundamental difference that finally led to the final difference in the development paths of Christianity in the Roman Empire and Buddhism in China, which then affected their historical paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an in-depth analysis of the utopian vision proposed by contemporary Confucian philosopher Zhang Xianglong. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Confucianism has been the subject of intense criticism in China. It was often portrayed as a relic of a corrupt system that stands in the way of progress and modernity. Recent years, however, witnessed a Confucian renaissance. Academics, government officials, and grassroots activists in Mainland China have been engaged in various attempts to reassert Confucianism's enduring relevance for modern life. This article offers a close reading of Zhang's key works in an attempt to explore the motivation behind his call for the creation of Special Districts for Confucian Culture (SDC) and its place within the Confucian revival. Located in remote rural areas, these eco-friendly and self-sustainable intentional communities offer their members a refuge from modern society and an opportunity to take an active role in saving Confucian values and practices from extinction. The article situates Zhang's vision against the backdrop of modern Western utopianism and ancient Chinese descriptions of ideal societies, showing the distinctiveness of his syncretic utopian proposal and its potential legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]