From Going Beyond the “Nation-State” to the Construction of the “East Asia Community”? Myths About “East Asia New Regionalism”

With the deepening of globalization,geographically speaking,East Asian countries have proceeded from their respective realist positions and tried to promote the successful practice of economic cooperation between countries after the Cold War into a discussion of new regionalism in East Asia and Asia-Pacificism.Although the prototype of the“East Asia Community”led by Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)gradually emerged,the successful practice of the East Asia Summit proved that the low-binding regional integration model led by ASEAN has a high probability of becoming a classic sample of the“East Asia Community”.It not only maintains regional stability,promotes regional cooperation,shapes regional norms,but also builds a collective identity within the region.However,in today’s world,isolationism which takes the supremacy of national interests as the supremacy has risen.It is difficult to internalize the value identity into a super-national model that breaks through the principles of realism,breakthroughs in interests,and the power framework.The thorny issues pose various challenges to the nation-states in the region trying to integrate into regional integration.The openness of East Asian regionalism has led to the persistent illness of its generalization.In the context of insufficient political mutual trust among regional countries,intensified competition among major powers,and continued weakening of ASEAN leadership,it is often prone to controversy and doubt when proposing new cooperation initiatives or ideas.The idea of the“East Asia Community”that once guided East Asian cooperation and was temporarily ignored now is still the most realistic choice.Although the theoretical construction and practical roads of East Asian regionalism are full of thorns,difficulties coexist with opportunities.With the extensive participation of countries in the region,the optimization and reconstruction of the East Asian cooperation model will be worth looking forward to.

Livable and Ecological Theory of Chinese Classical Gardens and the Planning of Modern Eco-residential Community

With some modern communities in Suzhou as the example,this paper mainly expounded the application of the artistic techniques of landscapes in the planning of modern landscape-type eco-residential communities according to the classical livable and ecological theory in Yuan Ye(an ancient book of garden design in China).It was learnt that there were many inner links between the livable and ecological theory of classical Chinese gardens and the planning of modern eco-residential communities.Ecological community is a new-type inhabitation model which represents the future development direction of dwelling construction in China and the main type of ecological communities.Classical Suzhou-style gardens are the representation of gardens in southern Yangtze River as well as the classical livable environment in China.Both of the above two residential models emphasize the harmonious unification between human and nature as well as the sustainable development,and lay their cores on the livability and the harmony with the nature.

A Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings in the Vision of Modernization of Global Governance: China's Expression and Practice

The human rights cause in the world still faces structural challenges and crises, the factor of which including scarcity of living material resources, global environmental crisis and global terrorism. However, the existing global governance model and governance pattern have made it difficult to deal effectively with the above structural challenges and crises facing the development of human rights in the world. Therefore, it’s necessary to advance and modernize global governance. In order to realize these ends, the Chinese government presents the ideal of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings as the modernization of global governance and the Belt and Road Initiative as the proper project for this process of modernization. It calls on all countries to work hand in hand and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind so as to realize the modernization of global governance and hence the comprehensive development of human beings.

Why Do the Imaginary and Imaginary Communities Emerge in Social Theory? National Imaginary in the Context of Globalization

The end of modernism questions reality and its theoretical description,and various attempts of postmodern rethinking of the social emerge-from denial,assertion of the disappearance of the social to its salvation through radical rethinking.Theorizing around the imaginary emerges and continues as a result of this rethinking.Cornelius Castoriadis,for example,absolutizes the concept of the imaginary,which,in his opinion,even contains the rational.Charles Taylor gives imaginary,though important,but limited role as a background knowledge.Speaking of the imaginary,one cannot,of course,ignore Benedict Andersen’s imaginary communities.According to Andersen,the“imagination”of a nation,like any other community,reflects not the fact that they are“invented”or“constructed”but that they are the result of human practice,that social reality is a socio-historical and cultural product.Nation differs from other communities in the style of representation,namely,the representation-understanding,first of all,of space and time.A specific moment in time is connected not only with the past and future,but also with the same moment in another time and space measurement.People in this case,communicate and socialize through books,newspapers,and national languages.Most importantly,the nation as an imaginary community opposes itself to other communities,distinguishes itself from them,and strives for autonomy.And the guarantee of autonomy is the sovereign state,the nation-state,therefore the nation is always connected with the state and the territory of the exercise of its monopoly right.That is,the nation is an imaginary community that is real only to the extent that it is correlated with the modern territorial state.According to the author,the transformation of the national imaginary under the conditions of globalization is characterized by the loss of attachment to the territory,by the fact that territoriality ceases to be the main,organizing principle of social life.Social practices are increasingly formed beyond borders,belonging to ethnicity,national identity is not determined by territory and citizenship.Despite this,we must not forget that globalization is not a finished project.The transformation of the national imaginary should be viewed not only as the emergence of new imaginary communities,whether national or transnational,but also against the backdrop of interaction and even struggle between traditional forms of social practices and new ones,as evidenced by the growth of ethnic conflicts and separatist movements.According to Appudurai,this is also a consequence of globalization processes.And how this confrontation will end,the question remains open.

TOWARDS A FOURTH ECOLOGY: Social and Environmental Sustainability with Architecture and Urban Design

The architect has always been interested in the social and cultural dimensions while creating architecture for people to last,with the help of building science and technology.Science could solve some problems,but is yet to solve many of the problems of urbanization in human history.Perhaps many of the problems can only be solved with careful understanding of human behavior,social intercourse,and economics in relation to the urban environments and organizations,and the natural environment simultaneously.There seemed to be a divide between the way an engineer and an architect think and practice in making a building and a piece of architecture,where the former is highly mathematical,and the latter deals with cultural poetics and a whole range of social and technical issues of which the physics of the environment is but one dimension(Bay and Ong 2006).It may appear natural in this age of environmental crisis and rapid urban development in many cities that the current Ecologically Sustainable Design(ESD)system,which is mainly based on science of the physical world,would be readily accepted by the architect in practice and education.Many of the current ESD guidelines can contribute to the avoidance of a further decay of the earth,thus preventing droughts and floods,etc.,and hope to maintain the status quo of the environment for all the“business as usual”social-economic activities.With more world leaders of the developed world agreeing in principle on the need to address climate change,perhaps a lot more will be done based on the engineering models for ecologically friendly planning,commerce,industry,and design.There could be a cognitive bias3 of overconfidence and systemic error that the predominantly engineering focus to keep climate change at bay will solve the problem of sustainability in various parts of the world.The current limited concept of“ecological”or the“green”design does contribute to sustainability,but is quite limited and not the whole picture of sustainability.The concept of sustainability involves the dynamic and complex balance of environmental(man-made and natural),economic and social dimensions,from many earlier sources including the theory of the Third Ecology(Chermayeff and Tzonis 1971)about social ecology directly related to the man-made urban fabric,and recently,the much accepted pervasive framework of the Brundtland Commission Report 1987:Our Common Future,which included more discussions about the interrelatedness with economic equity and the natural environment.Foremost and ultimately it is about promoting and ensuring social quality of living now and sustaining that into the future,for all nations,the rich and the poor,through solving the matrix of social,economic,and environmental problems.From the perspective of the theory and practice of architecture,this paper discusses the following issues:1.Belief in science,disenchantment,symbol of failure of modern architecture-Pruitt Igoe;2.An anti-thesis to Pruitt Igoe-Bedok Court;3.The cultural concerns and preparametric design thinking process of the architect;4.Architecture,social science,cultural value,social capital,behavior,and ESD;5.A Fourth Ecology,multi-disciplinary research by architects,social scientists,and engineers.

ROLE OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN MODERN URBAN COMMUNITIES OF BRUSSELS

Medicinal and aromatic plants(MAPs)have been used by humans for centuries.A big part of the knowledge and interest in MAPs was lost during periods of intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.According to the estimations of the United Nations,the world urban population is expected to increase by 84%by 2050.

Towards Happiness: Value Orientation and Approaches with Respect to China’s National Governance

The modernization of national governance has become the fifth modernization that modem China urgently needs to push forward and bring into reality.The building of a modern Chinese model of national governance must pursue,as its ultimate goals,the realization of the happiness of the people.The modernization of China’s national governance has chosen to rely on realizing good governance based on good laws,whereas development is the intrinsic force driving such modernization.Participating in global human rights governance and building a community with a shared future for human beings are connotation requirements of the modernization of China’s national governance.

On Theories and Methods of Modern Civilization for Promoting the Building of Community for the Chinese Nation

The community of the Chinese nation,in its essence,is a community of civilization.On the basis of extensive and in-depth exchanges and integration and interaction,people from all ethnic groups in China collectively nurtured Chinese civilization,which has prominent features of continuity,innovation,unity,inclusiveness,and peacefulness and lays a solid foundation for the building of community for the Chinese nation of the time.In the context of the new era,the Party advances the building of community for the Chinese nation on all fronts and has successfully made a series of achievements to promote ethnic unity and progressions through promoting material,political,cultural-ethical,social,and ecological advancement.As we advance the building of modern Chinese civilization on all fronts,strengthening foundations for economic,political,cultural,social,and ecological development can foster new drivers for the modernization of the civilization of community of the Chinese nation.Faced with the practical needs of building a community of the Chinese nation at the new development stage,we must step up efforts to establish the theoretical discourse system of community for modern Chinese civilization,lay emphasis on the construction of systems for symbol and image,discourse and narrative,as well as overseas communications,and on the exploration of development patterns for theories,so as to present theories and methods of modern civilization for promoting the building of community for the Chinese nation.

The Multiple Images of Modernity

The multiple images of modernity are used here to put forward and corroborate the possibility of the genesis of multiple modern civilizations and their very modernity while confirming the prior existence of modern Western civilization. In examining the complexity, inner tensions and contemporary predicaments appearing in the formation and evolution of earlier Western modernity, this paper reveals the basic mechanisms of modernity and the various possible approaches to it, that is, the fact that there are more possibilities for modernity other than the Western one. Economic globalization is the first step and the only pathway towards the modernity goals of human society, and any deglobalization or antiglobalization will hinder or check the progress of human society towards the ideal goal of modernity. History and the real-world economy demonstrate that “building a community with a shared future for mankind” is so far a more suitable and more explanatory guiding concept for seeking and approaching the human ideal of modernity;it surpasses existing concepts such as “ecumenicalism,” “cosmopolitanism,” and “globalism,” and is the latest understanding of the modernity of human society in contemporary China.

The Multiple Cultural Origins of Contemporary Chinese Volunteer Spirit:A Life History Study

Community volunteers occupy a unique position,being at the margins of institutional systems but central to public life in communities.They play a crucial role in forming and maintaining primary-level social order.Through life history interviews that explore the spiritual world of community volunteers,this study proposes a typology of community actors:enthusiasts,devotees,the dissatisfied,and neutrals.The first two types broadly constitute what can be termed"community volunteers."Analyzing the multiple cultural origins that give rise to proactive community actors reveals that the interplay of familial,individual,and danwei(work unit)consciousness is the fundamental driving force behind their engagement in public life.Actors carry the cultural weight of multiple contexts through their life practice,with community an intermediary structure between family and state.This exploration provides a new framework for understanding contemporary Chinese urban community volunteers and community governance,uncovering the consciousness and emotional structures embedded in individual actors by macro-social transformation and highlighting a historical path of primary-level governance modernization in China that is distinct from that of the West.

Liang Qichao at the Fin-de-siecle: The Antinomy of Asian-African Consciousness and National Imperialism

This paper combs a series of Liang Qichao's manuscripts at the turn of the century in 1899,supplemented by other related discussions on China Discussion during this period,to show the impact of Africa,particularly the Boer War,on Liang's understanding of"national imperialism."Within the framework of community politics,the paper analyses Liang's distinction between Chinese nationalism and the national imperialism of the great powers,as well as his response to the issue of"national competition"in the spatial expanse of Asia,Africa,the United States and Europe combined.The author argues that Liang's intellectual transformation can be seen as a universal ideological phenomenon during the formation of the modern capitalist world system at the end of the 19th century.To understand the cause of this universal phenomenon,there are two focal points:the will of the hegemonic powers to rule and the will of the oppressed to resist.The tension and conflict between these two dynamic forces provides the basic premise for our understanding of Liang's thinking about China's fate and its limitations.

Interrogating Naturalness of National Identity

Nation-state has been considered both an intellectual brainchild and a practical offshoot of the European Enlightenment.The liberal philosophy as an intellectual representative of the Enlightenment tradition and the modernists who emphasize modernization as the practical derivative of it not only deliberated on the simultaneousness and coexistence of the two happenings--the rise of national consciousness on the one hand and appreciation for modern values such as equality,liberty and justice on the other,many theorists argued that these modern values could be realized within a nation-state model(a modern institution).Hence,they contributed to naturalization and de-politicization of the nation-state model.Naturalization/secularization of the nation-state idea without deliberating on the possibilities of politicization and construction of national identities legitimize exclusion of people from national space,drives toward homogenization and nation-building process producing refugees and stateless people.Further,nation-states do not feel the urgency in meeting the normative demands of the international order that strive to defend human rights and address the problem of statelessness.In this context,the article seeks to interrogate the naturalness of national identity of individuals by examining the factors that tend to secularize and naturalize it and by unraveling the real socioeconomic forces that engender and shape national identity and help it look the way it does.

States,Nations,and Civilizations

Nation-states are inherently part of cultural formations,sustaining,legitimating,and inspiring them.The nations sustaining contemporary states are very different,and major routes of historical nation-state formation can be distinguished,which means that global discussions of nation-states cannot be confined to such states<lin a European sense^only.Civilization(s)is a concept with different meanings in singular and in plural,belonging to different semantic fields,at least in European languages.As a singular concept it arose in mid-eighteenth century,distinguishing a high degree of social and cultural development from“barbarism”and“savagery”.It spread rapidly across European languages in the nineteenth century with European world supremacy and evolutionism,as a European self-designation.Civilizations in plural first appeared on a large intellectual scale after World War I,the horrendous slaughters of which shattered the Western ideas of continuous evolution and progress,and of the West as the unique pinnacle of human development.In the plural,civilizations have been used in philosophies of comparative history and evolution,but it may also be used as a tool of cultural analysis.In this sense,civilizations refer to large,ancient enduring cultural configurations,to the deepest layer of contemporary cultural geology.In terms of current demographic size five major such civilizations can be identified.They impinge upon the political culture of states,upon the visions and the language of the state rulers.They do not clash,and they do not determine state behaviour.Nations and civilizations are compared as cultural entities or referents,with a view to laying a basis for analytical comparisons of nation states and civilization-states,in particular their implications of agency,time and history,including their different historical contexts of emergence.The nation and civilization designations of states also related to a wider range of contemporary state categorizations.Contemporary politics and political theorizing of civilizations are looked at in brief empirical overviews of the impact of civilizations upon international relations in the wake of Samuel Huntington’s thesis of“clashes of civilizations”,and of the promise of civilization states as a political project,and as an illuminating tool of cognition.

Does palynological diversity reflect floristic diversity?A case study from Northeast China

Fossil pollen data can provide important information of past vegetation diversity,on the basis of established relationship between modern palynological and floristic diversity.However,current studies on modern pollen assemblages in China have not examined this relationship yet.Herein,we report a case study from Northeast China,aiming to investigate the representation of modern palynological diversity to regional floristic diversity.A total of 87 sets of modern pollen and vegetation data from various vegetation types were applied to assess modern palynological diversity and floristic diversity in Northeast China,and the relationship between palynological and floristic diversity was studied using spatial pattern comparison and correlation analysis.Moreover,to reduce representation bias related to pollen production and dispersal,we calibrated pollen data using the Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites(REVEALS)model with Pollen Productivity Estimates(PPEs)and Fall Speeds of Pollen(FSP).The results show that the spatial variations of palynological and floristic richness among vegetation types are similar,and have a good positive correlation(r=0.41,p<0.01).However,palynological evenness presents a different spatial pattern from floristic evenness,with a weaker positive correlation(r=0.21,p>0.05).The calibration on pollen data using REVEALS model minimized the differences in spatial patterns between palynological and floristic diversity,and improved the correlations between them(richness,r=0.50,p<0.01;evenness,r=0.33,p<0.01).Our study indicates that palynological richness in Northeast China could reflect regional floristic richness in general,and the calibration with REVEALS model is recommended for reconstructing past floristic diversity from pollen data.