Confucius and American Democracy

UPON the establishment of European universities in the Middle Ages,the educational system in Western countries became characterized by an essentially Eurocentric worldview.This was reflected in the study of Latin and Greek in high school,and in basing public life and political systems on philosophies of classical antiquity.The work of the influential Chinese philosopher Confucius(551-479 B.C.),a near-contemporary of the major Greek philosophers Socrates(469-399 B.C.),Plato(428-348 B.C.)and Aristotle(384-322 B.C.),whose ethical and political ideas entered into the constitutions of European states,remained unknown.

Xue and Haoxue:Learning Contents and Learning Attitude in The Analects of Confucius

The Analects(Lunyu論語)is a fundamental text for understanding the teachings of Confucius and offers an extensive account of the importance and methodology of learning(xue學)in the quest to become a junzi(君子),or exemplary person.This paper explores the contents and attitudes of learning as presented in The Analects,focusing on how Confucius’disciples and subsequent generations compiled and understood his teachings.Confucius emphasized that the ultimate goal of learning is to become a junzi.The term junzi originally referred to nobles or aristocrats but was redefined by Confucius to describe anyone who cultivates themselves to achieve moral excellence and serve society effectively.In The Analects,the concept of junzi is constructed through various entries that illustrate what a junzi should and should not do,highlighting attributes such as being highly principled,disciplined,ethical,and capable.Confucius outlined specific content areas for learning that were essential for personal and social development.These included learning cultural knowledge(學文),the Book of Changes(學易),the Book of Odes(學詩),the Book of Propriety(學禮),and the Way(學道).He believed that proper behavior,such as filial piety,respect for elders,trustworthiness,and benevolence,was a prerequisite for effective learning.Through the study of these classical texts,learners could cultivate their emotions,improve their observational abilities,and enhance their social skills.In addition to content,Confucius stressed the importance of having the right attitude towards learning.He valued the enjoyment of learning(好學)and praised those who pursued knowledge with diligence and an open mind.This attitude was exemplified by his favorite disciple,Yan Hui,who was noted for his ability to learn without repeating mistakes or transferring anger to others.Confucius himself also modeled this attitude,demonstrating a lifelong commitment to learning and self-improvement.In conclusion,The Analects presents learning as a holistic process that encompasses not only the acquisition of knowledge but also the development of moral and social virtues.Confucius’teachings emphasize that through persistent and disciplined learning,individuals can achieve personal growth and contribute positively to society,embodying the qualities of a true junzi.

A Study on the Cross-Cultural Adaptation of International Chinese Teachers at Confucius Institutes in South Korea

International Chinese teachers are one of the determinants of the quality development of Confucius Institutes,and their cross-cultural sociocultural adaption,psychological adaption,and job adaption are in need of in-depth investigation and research.Based on previous research,this paper analyzed the cross-cultural adaptation of international Chinese teachers at Confucius Institutes in South Korea during 2022-2023 through surveys and personal interviews.The study found that the teachers’adaptation was best in terms of work,followed by sociocultural adaptation,and weakest in terms of psychological adaptation.In terms of work adaptation,attention should be focused on adapting to teaching language and teaching methods.In terms of sociocultural adaptation,the focus should be on adapting to personal communication.In terms of psychological adaptation,attention should be paid to feelings of loneliness and anxiety.The study also focused on the internal and external factors influencing their cross-cultural adaptation,as well as the true inner feelings of international Chinese teachers.The study found that factors such as English proficiency,gender,education,professional background,and overseas experience had little impact on teachers’cross-cultural adaptation,while factors such as Korean proficiency,participation in cross-cultural training before going to South Korea,understanding of Korean culture before going to South Korea,and length of time spent in working in South Korea had a greater impact on the cross-cultural adaptation of the research subjects.This study provides reliable reference materials for international Chinese teachers going to South Korea to improve their cross-cultural adaptation abilities and promote the reform and innovation of international Chinese education.

Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)films with simultaneous high oxygen barrier and fast degradation properties

Although poly(lactic acid)(PLA)is a good environmentally-friendly bio-degradable polymer which is used to substitute traditional petrochemical-based polymer packaging films,the barrier properties of PLA films are still insufficient for high-barrier packaging applications.In this study,oxygen scavenger hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene(HTPB)and cobalt salt catalyst were incorporated into the PLA/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PLA/PBAT),followed by melting extrusion and three-layer co-extrusion blown film process to prepare the composite films.The oxygen permeability coefficient of the composite film combined with 6 wt%oxygen scavenger and 0.4 wt%catalyst was decreased significantly from 377.00 cc·mil·m^(-2)·day^(-1)·0.1 MPa^(-1) to 0.98 cc·mil·m^(-2)·day^(-1)·0.1 MPa^(-1),showing a remarkable enhancement of 384.69 times compared with the PLA/PBAT composite film.Meanwhile,the degradation behavior of the composite film was also accelerated,exhibiting a mass loss of nearly 60%of the original mass after seven days of degradation in an alkaline environment,whereas PLA/PBAT composite film only showed a mass loss of 32%.This work has successfully prepared PLA/PBAT composite films with simultaneously improved oxygen barrier property and degradation behavior,which has great potential for high-demanding green chemistry packaging industries,including food,agricultural,and military packaging.

林语堂与The Wisdom of Confucius

林语堂的翻译活动前后跨越了半个世纪,历经了中国"五四"新文化运动和美国20世纪50年代"反文化"运动和现代性的冲击。他的译品,就犹如他的创作一样,带有鲜明的中西合璧的文化色彩。林语堂通过通俗的艺术方法为中国古典文化的精华在西方文化世界的传播做出了卓越贡献。由林语堂编译的The Wisdom of Confucius(中文名《孔子的智慧)》较为完整地表达了林语堂的孔子观,也系统地向西方介绍了儒家学说,对促进西方读者了解中国传统文化起到了重要作用。林语堂的翻译思想、The Wisdom of Confucius的编译内容、林语堂《论语》的英译本都具有深刻的学术研究价值。

Residents' Collective Memory of Urban Street and Lane Spaces:A Case Study of the Confucius Temple Block in Nanjing City

Along with the rapid globalization and urbanization,primitive ecological environment and cultural life atmosphere of urban streets and lanes have degraded,memories of the city have been lost,and cities have shown the tendency of convergence and homogenization.Taking the Confucius Temple Block for example,this paper applied cognitive map,oral interview and GIS spatial statistics to study residents' col ective memories of urban street and lane spaces,and found that the locals' collective memories of streets and lanes in the Confucius Temple Block declined gradually in the sequence of "aura area" → "secondary aura area" → "buffer area" → "blind spot area",and "civilian" urban design concept was claimed as the major incentive of the decline.Streets and lanes as important components of urban public spaces have specific historical connotations and genius loci,and they deserve wide concern from the academic circle and the society for their function of protecting collective memories of residents.

Constructing a Harmonious World——Linguistic Studies on the Analects of Confucius

Following Halliday’s view that "if a text is to be described at all,then it should be described properly;and this means by the theories and methods developed in linguistics"(Halliday,2002),we use the theoretical framework and methods developed in Systemic-Functional linguistics to explore "the socio-historical and ideological environment" for the "engendering" (ibid.) of the Analects,the particular contextual features of this great work,the hierarchical structure of Confucius’ main teachings,and also the ways of realizing his ideas in this book by the lexico-grammatical choices.We also discuss the implication and relevance of Confucianism to China and the present world.

Empirical Research on Tourists' After-trip Perception of Landscape Preference in the Confucius Temple in Nanjing City

Thurstone’s Comparative Judgment Model was applied to measure characteristics of tourists’after-trip perception of landscape preference in the Confucius Temple,a famous historical block in Nanjing City.The results show that(a)as time goes by,the tourists’time perception differentiation has continuously sublimated from the general experience into the peak experience,and gradually evolved into the core experience element in the overall perception.In terms of content,perceptional contents of tourists decrease in sequence of the Confucian culture,the commercial culture and the culture of refined scholars.As a whole,tourists’after-trip perception differentiation has 3 sections:halo zone,sub-halo zone,and gray zone.(b)Because of tourism development,the Confucian culture is influenced by other cultures,and the commercial culture shows the trend of"over-generalization",and the culture of refined scholars has weakening carriers and modes of inheritance.Inheritance of its unique cultural connotations deserves increasing attention.

Significantly Improved High-Temperature Energy Storage Performance of BOPP Films by Coating Nanoscale Inorganic Layer

Biaxially oriented polypropylene(BOPP)is one of the most commonly used commercial capacitor films,but its upper operating temperature is below 105℃due to the sharply increased electrical conduction loss at high temperature.In this study,growing an inorganic nanoscale coating layer onto the BOPP film's surface is proposed to suppress electrical conduction loss at high temperature,as well as increase its upper operating temperature.Four kinds of inorganic coating layers that have different energy band structure and dielectric property are grown onto the both surface of BOPP films,respectively.The effect of inorganic coating layer on the high-temperature energy storage performance has been systematically investigated.The favorable coating layer materials and appropriate thickness enable the BOPP films to have a significant improvement in high-temperature energy storage performance.Specifically,when the aluminum nitride(AIN)acts as a coating layer,the AIN-BOPP-AIN sandwich-structured films possess a discharged energy density of 1.5 J cm^(-3)with an efficiency of 90%at 125℃,accompanying an outstandingly cyclic property.Both the discharged energy density and operation temperature are significantly enhanced,indicating that this efficient and facile method provides an important reference to improve the high-temperature energy storage performance of polymer-based dielectric films.

Problems and Countermeasures of Chinese Cultural Communication about the Confucius Institutes in Africa

Chinese cultural communication in Africa has developed quickly under the framework of the Confucius Institutes. The Confucius Institutes in Africa have opened multilevel Chinese classes and held rich and colorful cultural activities. At the moment, however, Chinese cultural communication through the Confucius Institutes in Africa is still confronted with problems, such as the difficult communication environment, lack of local high-level Chinese talents, language and cultural differences, and degree of acceptance. This paper puts forward strategies for Chinese cultural communication: Constructing models with multiple Chinese teaching spots supported by individual Confucius Institutes; strengthening the training of high-level talents for Chinese cultural communications; pushing forward localization of Chinese cultural communications; focusing on the interactivity of language in cultural communications; and establishing a Chinese cultural communication model with multiple subject participation.

Research on Residents' Perception after the Trip to Historic and Cultural Block Based on Urban Memory:A Case Study of Confucius Temple of Nanjing

From the perspective of urban memory, the paper made empirical analysis of residents' perception after the trip to the historic and cultural block, by selecting Confucius Temple of Nanjing as the typical case, using questionnaire survey, mathematical statistics and structural equation model. The results indicated that residents had different perceptions after the trip of different elements of the urban memory and some important influential factors were discussed. Moreover, some implications for local governments and planning department were proposed.

The Coupling of Landscape Pattern and Landscape Esthetics of Urban Traditional Cultural Tourism Destination: A Case Study of Confucius Temple-Qinhuai River Scenic Area in Nanjing City

Study on the relationship between landscape beauty and ecological beauty is an important scientifi c problem that refl ects the nature of man-land relation, and current academic researches on this topic are most based on a single perspective. Therefore, this paper took the Confucius Temple–Qinhuai River Scenic Area in Nanjing City as a typical case of urban traditional cultural tourism destination, adopted landscape pattern indexes and balanced incomplete block comparison and evaluation method as the evaluation standards of ecological beauty and landscape beauty, and analyzed the coupling characteristics and rules of landscape pattern and landscape aesthetics. The results showed that(a) The overall landscape of the study area had higher fragmentation degree, but different landscape groups were infl uenced by different human interventions, landscape patches showed moderate diversity and heterogeneity, patch area, spatial distribution and spatial aggregation degree showed structural differences.(b) The locals and visitors had aesthetic perception of the study area, but preferred the beautiful natural scenery of the Qinhuai River, as well as the historical buildings and cultural landscapes that contain rich memories of the city.(c) Landscape pattern and landscape aesthetics showed coupled complementation and harmonious coexistence. The Confucius Temple–Qinhuai River Scenic Area has profound historical and cultural background, but it has witnessed gradual loss of cultural characteristics and fast "delocalization" against the background of rapid urbanization. As an urban traditional cultural tourism destination, it carries the responsibility of protecting city memories and inheriting regional cultures.

Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films with Ultra‑High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding,achieving a flexible EMI shielding film,while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge.Herein,a flexible,transparent,and conductive copper(Cu)metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique.The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance(0.18Ω□^(-1)),high transmittance(85.8%@550 nm),and ultra-high figure of merit(>13,000).It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability,with a resistance increases of only 1.3%after 1,000 bending cycles.As a stretchable heater(ε>30%),the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110°C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage.Moreover,the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5μm.As a demonstration,it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves.Therefore,the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.

Transformative Learning:Intercultural Adaptation of Chinese Teachers at the Confucius Institute in Spain

In recent years there has been a proliferation of studies demonstrating the value of teaching abroad as much for its benefits for the training and professional development of these teachers,as for its impact and beneficial effects on students.This article uses transformative learning as a theoretical framework to interpret the achievements associated with the experience of teaching abroad,and to identify and analyze different motivational factors,adjustments,changes,challenges,and perspectives of Chinese teachers linked to a Confucius Institute in Spain,through a qualitative analysis of narratives elicited through in-depth interviews and focus groups.It highlights the role and potential of the transnational,intercultural experience of these teachers as authentic actors in the part played by the Confucius Institutes in language teaching and the promotion of Chinese culture,indicating many issues including language difficulties,professional adjustment,ideas about education,beliefs of teachers and the management of the program.

New Interpretation on“Qin Bu Shi(寝不尸)”in The Analects of Confucius

“When sacrifices are to be offered to ancestors,Shi(尸)is indispensable.This ceremonial convention has been kept intact in the dynasties of Yu,Xia,Shang and Zhou.”Shi refers to a person alive in place of the deceased to be sacrificed.Shi is required to stand in the sacrificial ceremony in Xia dynasty,which is called the standing Shi,while in dynasties of Shang and Zhou,Shi is supposed to be seated,calling the sitting Shi.The sitting posture of Shi at the sacrificial ritual then is different considerably from the way we sit on the buttocks today.Shi is expected to sit on the knees.Specifically,Shi should keep a kneeling position,with knees on the ground and buttocks on the heels whilst his head bowing and his back arching.Accordingly,Qin Bu Shi(寝不尸)in The Analects of Confucius should be interpreted as one should not bother to adopt the sitting Shi posture while retiring to bed,rather than the version,as has been annotated by Yang Bojun,“Confucius does not sleep(lying stretched out)like a dead body.”

OptoGPT: A foundation model for inverse design in optical multilayer thin film structures

Optical multilayer thin film structures have been widely used in numerous photonic applications.However,existing inverse design methods have many drawbacks because they either fail to quickly adapt to different design targets,or are difficult to suit for different types of structures,e.g.,designing for different materials at each layer.These methods also cannot accommodate versatile design situations under different angles and polarizations.In addition,how to benefit practical fabrications and manufacturing has not been extensively considered yet.In this work,we introduce OptoGPT(Opto Generative Pretrained Transformer),a decoder-only transformer,to solve all these drawbacks and issues simultaneously.

A Bridge of Cross-Cultural Communication Confucius Institutes in the Eyes of Foreign University Presidents

We now hold 200 classes in the Sheffield Confucius Institute,and 14,000 local residents have studied in it.Besides the cooperation with Chinese universities to offer language courses,our focus is to deepen mutual understanding between the two nations’business partners.

Reconsider Confucius＇ enlightening reflection： Implications on heuristic teaching

Western heuristic teaching method was originated from Socrates who initiated the teaching mode of ＂teachers ask, students answer＂. A distinctive feature of this mode was that teachers were the decisive factor in the process of teaching and learning, who raised the questions at the very beginning and gave conclusions in the end. On the contrary, oriental style of heuristic teaching method based itself on the principle that students put forward their puzzles and then asked the teachers for advice. This paper will reconsider Confucius enlightening reflection and probe into how to develop students＇ ability of thinking by questioning strategies in the heuristic teaching methodology.

Analyzing a Cross-cultural Communication Framework From the Perspective of Relational Rationality： A Case Study of Chinese Confucius Institute in the Last Decade

In this study, we discuss the role of ＂relational rationality＂ and the multi-dimensions in interpreting ongoing cross-cultural communication between China and the world. The concept of relational rationality is in search of the best community instead of an exclusive communication. Thus, from this relationological point of view, we have to re-build the framework of cross-cultural communication on the basis of coexistence rather than of closed existence. It is correlations that determine the existential situation and values of communication in the current world. Therefore, cross-cultural communication could not only recognize the pattern of one culture, but also provide the possibility of the cultural formation of common sense. In order to establish the framework, we need to understand the exogenous multi-dimensional elements including politics, economy, culture and so on, as well as the interrelationship among those elements; at the same time, we also need to study the endogenous process of cross-cultural communication on the micro level, including the senders, channels and receivers. As a result, we illustrate the cross-cultural framework with an empirical case study of the 5,932 news of Chinese Confucius Institute within 1,246 main websites in more than a hundred countries or districts from 2004 to 2015.