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 enviro...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.展开更多
This article examines the strategies employed by the Qing empire to induce the Hart population in Taiwan to accept its rule following the island＇s conquest in 1683. Late-seventeenth-century Taiwan had a sparse popula...This article examines the strategies employed by the Qing empire to induce the Hart population in Taiwan to accept its rule following the island＇s conquest in 1683. Late-seventeenth-century Taiwan had a sparse population and a huge hinterland, and this made it difficult for the Qing government to enforce its rule by military means alone. I will argue that the Qing officials in Taiwan also used a number of cultural tactics to legitimize their government in the eyes of the Han Taiwan Residents. First, they built culture temples and schools in the hopes of both demonstrating their moral authority and convincing the Taiwan Residents to participate in the dynasty＇s examination system. Second, they involved themselves in local religion by founding or refurbishing temples to popular deities, demonstrating sympathy for local concerns and solidarity between religious groups on the mainland and in Taiwan. Finally, rather than denigrate the memory of the island＇s former rulers, the Ming-loyalist Zheng family who had resisted the Qing government＇s conquest of southern China, they portrayed them as honorable servants of the former dynasty whose legacy could be proudly remembered, but whose time had ultimately passed.展开更多
文摘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.
文摘This article examines the strategies employed by the Qing empire to induce the Hart population in Taiwan to accept its rule following the island＇s conquest in 1683. Late-seventeenth-century Taiwan had a sparse population and a huge hinterland, and this made it difficult for the Qing government to enforce its rule by military means alone. I will argue that the Qing officials in Taiwan also used a number of cultural tactics to legitimize their government in the eyes of the Han Taiwan Residents. First, they built culture temples and schools in the hopes of both demonstrating their moral authority and convincing the Taiwan Residents to participate in the dynasty＇s examination system. Second, they involved themselves in local religion by founding or refurbishing temples to popular deities, demonstrating sympathy for local concerns and solidarity between religious groups on the mainland and in Taiwan. Finally, rather than denigrate the memory of the island＇s former rulers, the Ming-loyalist Zheng family who had resisted the Qing government＇s conquest of southern China, they portrayed them as honorable servants of the former dynasty whose legacy could be proudly remembered, but whose time had ultimately passed.
