CHINESE PHILOSOPHY IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

The article analyzes the differences between the philosophical traditions of the West and the East. Among the foundations of Chinese philosophy, the main categories of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are differentiated and separately presented. The understanding of this difference gives us the key to several mysteries in the development of Chinese society and to the understanding of how traditional Chinese philosophy affects interpersonal relations in modern China. In particular, the article discusses the concept of ancient Chinese ethics as the basis for religious and scientific views of traditional and modern Chinese society. In addition, the article indicates that the human-centered Chinese morality, oriented outside of human experience, determines the relationship between people and the outside world. The paper also provides a comparison of Christian and Chinese ethics. Since people are one of the most important factors of governance, it makes sense to understand how differently people behave in different countries. The study was conducted with the use of comparative analysis and document research methods. Reflecting on interpersonal relations through ancient Chinese philosophical thoughts, the authors try to explain the problem of Needham (The Great Question) and interpret the modern meaning of the philosophy of science using the philosophical truth of modern interpersonal relations. From this point of view, the thoughts contained in the article are of interest and novelty. In the context of researching Needham’s problem, the authors compare socio-political and religious traditions in China and Europe. The paper also discusses the guanxi mystery — the basis of social and business relationships that have a «quasi-family» trusting nature. In addition, when discussing the peculiarities of modern business relations, the text unfolds the mystery of mianzi, which determines the understanding of reputation and human dignity. From the point of view of philosophy, human is the first of the motivations in science, as well as one of the most important factors of influence in modern management, the authors try to investigate the characteristics of humanity of different countries in order to explain the behavior of people. The study also provides a basis for studying the role of the human factor in governance.

Strategies of Native Culture Integration in College English Teaching Based on “Education of Chinese Ethics and Culture in All Courses”

Language is one of the carriers of culture. Language teaching cannot be divorced from cultural teaching. As an important compulsory course of general education in university, college English has long largely ignored the teaching of native language nature, which affects students’ cultural consciousness and confidence. The aphasia of Chinese culture in inter-cultural communication has caused wide concerns and worries in the field of foreign language teaching. Based on the concept of education of Chinese ethics and culture in all courses, the first part of this paper introduces the basic idea of education of Chinese ethics and culture in college English teaching and the problem of aphasia of English expression for Chinese cultures which leads to the lack of cultural consciousness and confidence. Then in the second part, the paper deeply discusses and explores the reasons for Chinese culture aphasia in college English teaching from the perspectives of teaching syllabus, teachers and students, textbooks and teaching materials and assessment systems. The third part of the paper puts forward a series of efficient strategies from the aspects of teaching and learning ideas, teaching mode, curriculum setting and evaluation mechanism. Finally, conclusions and reflections that need further consideration and research are discussed in the fourth part of this paper.

Beyond Ethnic Enclave: Social Integration of Chinese Immigrants in Paris’s “Little Asia”

This paper studies the integration of Chinese immigrants in the Triangle de Choisy neighborhood in Paris, which is known for being an exotic hub of Chinese commercial and cultural activities. Based on Serge Paugam’s model, we investigated the social integration of Chinese residents in the neighborhood. Our ndings show that while dense social bonds allowed for better connection, our respondents are generally reluctant to address political engagement, which Paugam (2017) considers as one of the four key aspects of social integration. The apparent result seems to con rm the so-called Chinese ethics of diligent work and political indi erence. However, after closer examination, we found diverse forms of participation that have not been captured by the conventional ethnic- centric understanding of political engagement. First, universalistic welfare policies reduced incentives for community-based mobilization. Second, a high level of internal heterogeneity within the community and exclusion of ethnic-particularistic experience in mainstream politics both led to individualized, subtle forms of participation. By situating individual political choice within their particular memories and life histories and reconceptualizing minorities’ political engagement beyond ethnicity, more forms of political engagement can be understood and appreciated. Finally, we argue that the conventional ethnic-centred understanding of minority political participation needs to be challenged.

大疫當前: 訴諸儒家文明的倫理資源

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.本文論證對於新冠狀病毒疫情只做政治學論證是不夠的，還需要倫理學的反思，因為一個社會的倫理價值承諾才是對其現實政治的一種基礎性指導而不是相反。中華傳統文化的倫理精神同現代西方文化的倫理精神大異其趣。如果突出其不同特點的話，可以分別標識為儒家的天命美德倫理及其家庭主義與和諧主義的特點，針對現代的世俗原則倫理及其原則主義與自由主義的特點。東亞國家對於這次疫情的應對，至少在疫情明顯出現之後，總體上處理得較之西方國家更好，背後實有不同的倫理精神的反應和支撐。本文訴諸儒家美德倫理學的資源，宣導人類進行倫理學的範式轉向：我們需要和諧主義（而不是科學主義）的發展觀、美德主義（而不是原則主義）的決策觀、家庭主義（而不是契約主義）的天下觀。的確，不少人憂慮，這次疫情將會扭轉近些年的全球化發展趨勢，使國際社會進入互相敵對的、封閉的惡性競爭時代。儒家美德倫理學所攜帶的美德、和諧和和平的資訊，應該給予我們深遠的啟示。Why have some countries done better than others in dealing with the coronavirus crisis so far? One popular answer is in terms of politics: everything depends on state capacity, the level of political trust in society, and the quality of leadership. This paper suggests the need to go beyond politics and turn to ethics. If one does not delve into the ethical spirit and substance that underlie tangible political decisions and activities to combat the coronavirus pandemic in a state, one will fail to see the cultural momentum of the people’s responses in that state and miss the moral foundation of the social practices embedded within that state’s civilization in comparison with other civilizations. In particular, this paper argues that the spirit and substance of Chinese ethics differ from those of the contemporary mainstream Western ethics characteristic of secular principlism, which, although they possess important advantages and merits, suffer from a series of defects and failures, including untenable reductionism, a type of dogmatism, and even radicalism. In contrast, Confucian civilization provides the Chinese with a virtue ethics that is not principlism. It is rather an exposition of Confucian virtue (de), as a powerful but peaceful moral force, that is entrenched within the fundamental structures of the universe (as portrayed in the images of yin-yang, the eight trigrams, and the 64 hexagrams in the Classic of Change) and within the ritual activities of human beings (as described in the ceremonial and minute rituals in the three Confucian ritual classics) to shape the Confucian moral character. Confucian virtue principles and rules are implicit in such structures and the rituals to be formulated in connection with them, but they cannot be created through pure reason. They play their roles in human practices along with structures and rituals but can never exhaust their richness and profundity. The paper indicates that this virtue ethics contains a Confucian notion of harmonious freedom (that can counter scientific determinism) and a familist ethic (that can be adopted to check and balance runaway contractualism), which can be fruitfully used to direct political decisions and activities to combat the coronavirus pandemic and to accomplish peaceful and fruitful outcomes in society.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 9 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Chinese Ethics: An Empirical Study of Idealism and Relativism

The purpose of this empirical study is to examine the relationships between ethical views of certain Chinese demographics and to consider different trends that may affect academic and business considerations in the future pertaining to East-West interaction. This study utilizes Forsyth’s Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) to assess the ethical views of 401 Chinese undergraduate students in a rural province of Central China. Regression analyses are applied to investigate the following hypotheses: In a new Chinese context, the EPQ is applicable for assessing the ethical views of Chinese undergraduate students in rural China. Rural Chinese undergraduate student EPQ results are demonstrative of, and, in view of prior studies, are predictive of changes in Chinese ethical considerations. Rural Chinese undergraduate student EPQ results reflect long held Eastern worldview approaches however, in view of prior studies, there is some increasing similarity with Western EPQ outcomes. The findings of this study support the acceptance of the first and third null hypotheses. The practical implications of this study include an understanding that China, though it is rapidly equating with Western levels of market technology and sophistication, continues to resist Western ideals and ethics. Rather, the blending of Western and Eastern principles will continue to evolve and the Chinese worldview will continue to be dominated by the goals and needs of the Chinese State in a reflection of the millennia old culture. The value of this study is that it updates data relating to Chinese ethical approaches in a fast-changing Chinese and global marketplace. Secondly, it clarifies the different considerations and approaches needed when Westerners are dealing with Chinese counterparts in academia and/or business. Lastly, it posits current and future trends likely to affect East-West relationships in these realms.