The Political Leadership of Mao Zedong

This paper presents an analysis of the former Chinese Communist Party leader Chairman Mao Zedong’s political career(reigned 1949–1976),with regard to his success and failures.Mao was one of the most prominent Communist theoreticians who governed a quarter of humankind for a quarter of a century.His political philosophy,particularly his Method of Leadership,focusing on the“masses”is discussed here.The analytical arguments are centered on three phases of his leadership:The rise,the apex,and the fall.In the first phase,the paper attributes his victory before 1949 to his profound understanding of Chinese peasants.In the second phase,it elaborates on his successful method of leadership in the early 1950s.And in the third and last phase,it criticizes his disastrous political movements,particularly the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution,from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s.The study hopes to offer an objective and a balanced view of Chairman Mao,who had a complex personality and was a highly controversial figure in human history.The article also wishes to help readers gain a better understanding of China’s top leader in recent history,and how China came to be what it is today.

Philosophical Influences on Education in China:Different Schools of Thought on Self-Cultivation

This essay takes a holistic look at the philosophy of education in China from the antiquity to the present time,with an emphasis on the notion of self-cultivation in different schools of thought.The purpose of the study is to draw out the positive aspects of Chinese philosophy for newer generations to carry forward the cultural heritage for a healthy development of their mind,body,and spirit in the 21st century and beyond.The study is meaningful since the Chinese civilization can be traced back at least 5,000 years,and perhaps even further.Its endurance,intellectual and cultural contributions to the world civilization,and China’s current rise as a world leading political and economic superpower,makes it especially worth examination.The paper is structured around four key themes:the quest for harmony,the pursuit of happiness,the search for health,and the action for healing.The article concludes with a suggestion of an integrated educational philosophy for contemporary Chinese educational practice.The study may have global implications as Confucius Institutes and Classrooms have been established worldwide since 2004 to teach Chinese language and culture.The localization and smooth integration of Chinese philosophy with Western ideologies in these countries is the key to bringing world peace and harmony.

Cooperative Housing and Cohousing in Canada——The Pursuit of Happiness in the Common Courtyards

This paper investigates residents living experience in the common courtyards of cooperative housing and cohousing in Canada,and their sense of happiness associated with it.Cooperative housing as a form of social housing established in Toronto,Ontario,Canada as early as the 1910s.Cohousing as its subsequent name has evolved into a global movement since the 1960s,to promote residents sharing and caring for one another through active participation in community lives and cooperative management.A key feature of this housing is the inclusion of shared spaces,such as common courtyards.This research explored what make residents happy and/or unhappy in the common courtyards,and how to improve their living experience in the common courtyards.Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 residents in three cooperative housing in Toronto and three cohousing across Canada.The findings suggest that the Courtyard is a central component to promote social happiness of residents.The paper contributes to the topic of Housing and Happiness that is rarely studied.It finally proposes a courtyard garden housing scheme that can be a template for universal application.The main conclusion is that there is a need for more courtyard configuration in contemporary Canadian urban planning and architectural design to promote community development.

Chinese Residents’Philosophy and Religion in Contemporary China and North America

The cultural dimension of sustainability as the fourth pillar of the overall sustainable development framework encompasses both tangible and intangible cultures.In this study,tangible culture refers to the home environments of Chinese residents in China and North America,while intangible culture refers to their faiths and belief systems,in other words,their philosophy and religion,reflected(or not)in their home environments.The paper argues that Chinese philosophy and religion have historically contributed to Chinese people’s environmental ethics and their health and happiness.Set within this context,the paper presents the author’s two empirical research findings on Chinese residents’philosophy and religion in contemporary China and North America.Quantitative and qualitative data were collected by asking Chinese residents the same research question in the 2007-2008 onsite survey and follow-up interviews in Beijing and Suzhou of China,and the 2013 online survey and follow-up interviews in the US and Canada.The findings show a significantly higher percentage of ethnic Chinese in North America holds traditional Chinese faiths than those in China,though Western cultural infiltration is also happening to them.Nevertheless,due to the limited number of participants,the findings may only be indicative.