Suicide and the Family in Pre-modern Chinese Society

1981 ◽  
pp. 29-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. K. Hsieh ◽  
Jonathan D. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Society ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
The Family

scholarly journals A „Nóra-jelenség” és az ibsenizmus szerepe a 20. századi kínai dráma fejlődésében

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2017/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanka Nyirádi
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Pond Water ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Cultural Reform ◽  
Literary Traditions ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Chinese Intellectuals

The 19th-century Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen had an unparalleled,posthumous impact on the development of modern Chinese drama. How isit possible that he could influence the literature of a country so remote inspace and so different in its literary traditions? History is a key factor in thisstory. Early 20th century China was at the threshold of taking radical measures in reforming its society, and she was badly in need of a supporting ideology. Ibsen was a thinker and dramatist who, by means of presenting acutesocial problems in his plays, deeply influenced the society of his age. Hedid so in a realistic way and with the help of a clear language, both of whichfactors extremely appealed to modern Chinese intellectuals. It can be stated that it was to a great extent through Ibsen’s plays, mostimportantly through Nora, that modern Chinese intellectuals discovered thelong-range possibilities lying in the adoption of Western dramatic form,namely, transforming minds. Nora stirred the pond water of Chinese society,and came to symbolize the rebellion of the ‘Free Individual’: something that had no precedent whatsoever in China but what has long been in theair. Modern Chinese playwrights began to imitate Ibsen with great fervour,resulting in the flourishing of the social problem play, featuring brave andmodern ‘Chinese Noras’. Although advanced thinkers soon had to realize thatthe ideas of Ibsen cannot simply be adopted but must first be modified to beable to credibly represent contemporary Chinese social, cultural and moralreality, the ‘Nora-phenomenon’ and Ibsenism played a vital role in setting offthe literary and cultural reform in early 20th-century China.

Early Chinese Clan Organizations in Singapore and Malaya, 1819–1911

1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen Ching-Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Society ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Economic Unit ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family

The Chinese have always been known to have elaborate family and clan systems. In traditional Chinese society, the family was a close-knit group with four or five generations under the same roof. It was a biological and economic unit, and was the nucleus of all important social activities. The clan, which comprised various kinship-bound families, also formed an important part of the social fabric of the traditional Chinese society.

Lost Voices: Chinese Muslim Modernists and the Issue of Polygamy in the Republican Era

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-117
Author(s):  
Bin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Polygamous Marriage ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Republican Era ◽  
Vital Component ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
The Law

AbstractThis study brings the voices of Chinese Muslim modernists back into discussions on polygamy in the Republican era. Starting from the late nineteenth century, abolishing the practice of polygamous marriage became a vital component of Chinese modernizing elites’ vision of modern Chinese society, as they saw polygamy as an obstacle to modernization. Chinese Muslim modernists actively engaged in China's struggle with polygamy. Their dynamic discussions on polygamy were not insignificant and peripheral. On the contrary, when the Republican law promoting monogamy was hard to implement, some Chinese Muslim modernists pushed their fellow Muslims to set examples for other Chinese to obey the law. The Chinese translations of Arabic scholarly work even helped some Chinese Muslim modernists take a different approach to the issue of polygamy by arguing that polygamy, if properly regulated, could be beneficial to modern societies.

Treatment decision-making for older adults with cancer: A qualitative study

2020 ◽  
pp. 096973302094575
Author(s):  
Ni Gong ◽  
Qianqian Du ◽  
Hongyu Lou ◽  
Yiheng Zhang ◽  
Hengying Fang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Treatment Decision ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Treatment Decision Making ◽  
The Family ◽  
Older Cancer Patients

Background: Independent decision-making is one of the basic rights of patients. However, in clinical practice, most older cancer patients’ treatment decisions are made by family members. Objective: This study attempted to analyze the treatment decision-making process and formation mechanism for older cancer patients within the special cultural context of Chinese medical practice. Method: A qualitative study was conducted. With the sample saturation principle, data collected by in-depth interviews with 17 family members and 12 patients were subjected to thematic analysis. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the ethics committees of Sun Yat-sen University. All participants provided verbal informed consent after being told their rights of confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary participation. They had the right to refuse to answer questions and could withdraw at any time. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) complex process; (2) transformation of family decision-making power; and (3) individual compromise. Family members inevitably had different opinions during the long process of treatment decision-making for older cancer patients. The direction of this process could be regarded as an extension of the family power relationship. The patient usually compromised the decision to survive, which was made by family members. Conclusion: This study describes the treatment decision-making process of older cancer patients in the context of Chinese culture. The reasons underlying this process are related to the views on life and death and family values. An individual is a part of the family, which is often seen as the minimal interpersonal unit in Chinese society. It is significant that while emphasizing patient autonomy in the decision-making process, health professionals should also pay attention to the important roles of culture and family.

scholarly journals PROTECTING PRIVATE PROPERTY IN CHINA - WHOSE PROPERTY?

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-41
Author(s):  
Xiaoyang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Private Property ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
The Core ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Modern Chinese History ◽  
Core Value ◽  
The Right

The importance of protecting private property in China has now ascended to the same level as that of safeguarding public assets which has traditionally been a top priority for socialist nations. This article will firstly and heavily expound on the rationale behind the availability and at certain times the marginalisation of protecting private property de jure and de facto during some momentous stages in modern Chinese history. It will then touch on a lingering problem relevant to today’s Chinese society arising from the drainage of state assets, a phenomenon having occurred in the transformation process of China’s economic regimes over the most recent decades. It finally argues that while protecting the right to lawful private property is not a matter in dispute, pursuing the protection of private property shall in no way lead to the weakening of sticking to the core value of justice and egalitarianism, a key to ensuring a sound socialist institution.

scholarly journals Modest Worker of Russian Sinology: Remembering Vadim L’vovich Sichev

2021 ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Konstantin M. Pistsov
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
The State ◽  
State University ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
The Family ◽  
State Museum ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Moscow State University

The author recalls the outstanding Russian sinologist Vadim L’vovich Sichev (1940–2019): He narrates the scientist’s biography and names his main academic works. Vadim L. Sichev was born in the family of famous soviet artist Lev P. Sichev. After graduation from the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Lomonosov Moscow State University, he worked in the State Museum of Oriental Art for a long time. The main areas of his scientific research were the study of Chinese costume and Chinese classical painting. Vadim L. Sichev has published a large number of books and academic articles. The most famous works of the scholar are “Chinese Costume: Symbolism, History, Interpretation in Literature and Art” (1975, co-written with his farther Lev P. Sichev), “Chinese Classical Paintings in the Collection of State Museum of Oriental Art” (2016), “Modern Chinese Prints in the Collection of State Museum of Oriental Art” (2016). The article contains reflections about the creative method and research principles of Vadim L. Sichev.

scholarly journals A COURTYARD HOUSE – SIHEYUAN 四合院 AS THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE FAMILY

2020 ◽  
pp. 207-217
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Wesołowski SVD
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Family System ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Chinese Family ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Short Contribution ◽  
The Family ◽  
South Axis ◽  
Courtyard House

A Chinese courtyard house, called in Chinese siheyuan, equipped with a single entrance and with one or more open courtyards encompassed by one-storey buildings, represents traditional house dwelling in China. Throughout Chinese history, courtyard dwelling was the basic architectural pattern used for building governmental (palaces and offices) and family residences, and religious compounds (temples and monasteries). In this short contribution, the author depicts a standard traditional Beijing court house from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) which would normally host an extended family of three and four generations. The physical construction and spatial structure of the traditional Chinese courtyard house were deeply rooted in ancient Chinese philosophical thought. The Chinese used fengshui (wind and water) principles to harmonize themselves with their environment in order to secure prosperity, longevity, and family blessings. From the viewpoint of fengshui, a basic courtyard house compound was not only a dwelling place, but also a structured and complicated vision of the cosmos that should function as an ideal container of qi (life energy). The fundamental north-south axis which rhythmically and continuously guarantee the vital flow of qi and the square shape of a courtyard house which means near to the earth, should promise health, prosperity, and the growth of the family. The fengshui system (nowadays mostly associated with Daoism) in the context of a Chinese courtyard house was intimately combined with China’s strict social and family system (Confucianism). The structure of the Chinese traditional family – and the author calls it “Confucian familism” – i.e., the Confucian conviction of family as a model for the whole state. This rigid and hierarchically structured family system, which had been the basis of Chinese society in imperial China for over two thousand years, has been reflected in courtyard house compounds. At the end of this contribution, the author mentions the efforts of present-day architects to find a way to revive traditional courtyard housing for modern times.

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