Li Zehou belongs among the ranks of the most important Chinese philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries. In his complex theoretical system, he aimed to reconcile the Chinese cultural heritage with the demands of th...Li Zehou belongs among the ranks of the most important Chinese philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries. In his complex theoretical system, he aimed to reconcile the Chinese cultural heritage with the demands of the contemporary world. Besides elaborating on traditional Chinese philosophy, Li launched many innovative views based on his understanding of specific developments in pre-modern and modern Western philosophy. His philosophy could be described as the search for a synthesis between Western and traditional Chinese thought and a specifically Chinese modernization. In order to provide a basic insight into Li＇s specific methods of combining Kant, early Marx and classical Chinese philosophy, the present article investigates his elaboration of the traditional Chinese paradigm of “the unity of nature and man” （tianren heyi 天人合一） through the lens of ideas about humanized nature （renhua de ziran ）人化的自然） and naturalized humans （ziranhua de ten 自然化的人）.展开更多
Critics have observed that memory is an important theme in Lu Xun＇s writings. At the same time, memory--more precisely a struggle over the shaping of cultural memory--is a vital component of the iconoclastic May Four...Critics have observed that memory is an important theme in Lu Xun＇s writings. At the same time, memory--more precisely a struggle over the shaping of cultural memory--is a vital component of the iconoclastic May Fourth Movement with which Lu Xun is strongly associated. This article examines the ways in which several of Lu Xun＇s creative writings and memoirs depict memory and its transmission. I argue that, 1） These texts suggest the importance of objects as mnemonic devices that aid the transmission of memory, 2） The agency of the receiver is key in interpreting these texts and in transmitting them onward, and 3） That Lu Xun posits the texts he creates as such mnemonic objects that serve to transmit his interpretation of cultural and personal memory to his readers. Lu Xun＇s texts thus implicate the reader in the author＇s project of transmitting onward his reinterpretation of the past in the hope of redeeming China. Examining these mechanisms of memory transmission I conclude that for Lu Xun redemption lies not in a transcendent future but in reexamining the past.展开更多
China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of ...China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of migrant workers who have flooded to the cities, it has engendered exploitative states of vulnerability, especially for rural women. In this paper we locate our inquiry in the context of globalization and its impact on rural women＇s lives as witnessed through the medium of a unique and distinctive women＇s life narrative, Sheng Keyi＇s Bei mei （Northern Girls）. The text testifies to the underside of women＇s lives within the new market economy, documenting the cruelty of global capitalism. It presents an alternative version of the history of China＇s rise in the global economy and maps a trajectory of increasing inequality from a previously silenced female perspective. Sheng Keyi＇s world speaks to the sordid world of women, the world of yin. It coexists with the dizzying ascent of the yang--as the powerful nation grapples with social inequality and fragmentation. In its international circulation, Northern Girls opens readers to the contradictions and ambivalent aspects of China＇s economic rise and its consequences specifically for migrant women.展开更多
The relationship between the State of Israel and the People’s Republic of China offers a fascinating case in modern international relations.Ostensibly there is not much that unites the two countries so different in s...The relationship between the State of Israel and the People’s Republic of China offers a fascinating case in modern international relations.Ostensibly there is not much that unites the two countries so different in size and population,in regimes and politics,yet,over the past two decades,these relations have acquired a great deal of importance and significance for both.While it is easy to understand the attraction to China of Israel’s experience,innovation and its exemplary human capital,it is less evident what China is seeking to achieve in deepening its ties with Israel.This paper attempts to assess the state of Sino-Israel bilateral relations and their impact on the future of the two nations.展开更多
This paper discusses the biography, thought, and works of Li Ruqian （1852-19o9）. He was appointed Consul in Kobe 1882-84, during which period he studied the political institutions and culture of Meiji Japan and the ...This paper discusses the biography, thought, and works of Li Ruqian （1852-19o9）. He was appointed Consul in Kobe 1882-84, during which period he studied the political institutions and culture of Meiji Japan and the West, eventually translating Washington Irving＇s biography of George Washington into Classical Chinese, a book which exercised a great influence on late Qing reformers. Li＇s literary theory strongly emphasized the importance of originality. He also cultivated a style that was simpler and closer to spoken Chinese than many of his contemporaries. He eventually espoused a thoroughgoing reform of Chinese government and society. He abandoned the idea of the centrality of Chinese culture for a worldview of cultural relativity in which all cultures of the world are viewed as equally valid. After his return to China Li became even more involved in reform activities, but soon he became almost totally alienated from Chinese society and even began expressing strong doubts about the whole tradition of classical writing. In his poems and prose works, he warned Chinese intellectuals to abandon their smug conservatism and adapt to the new world or perish, making fun of his own society in biting satirical pieces that remind one of the writings of Lu Xun＇s May Fourth era. Li Ruqian may, indeed, be the first Chinese author to develop the idea of Chinese inadequacy and guilt which is so common in the literature of the next century.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
This article focuses on the strategies that literature and cultural criticism adopt to represent trauma in comparison to a current medical definition. The contemporary medical definition, trauma as post-traumatic stre...This article focuses on the strategies that literature and cultural criticism adopt to represent trauma in comparison to a current medical definition. The contemporary medical definition, trauma as post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD）, is the most narrow and specific definition to discuss trauma. The discourse of medicine does not necessarily match those of literature and cultural criticism, nor need they conform to each other. PTSD includes a collection of symptoms, any one of which might not have anything to do with traumatic experience, but which together point with increasing intensity to a psychological syndrome caused by traumatic shock. Although this is historically a recently defined syndrome （1980）, its features had long before attracted attention and been recorded under other terms and diagnoses. Although Chinese literature is only occasionally given to psychological realism, we do find occasional descriptions that strongly suggest aspects of the syndrome. Also, the aims and the needs of medicine and literature or cultural criticism are not necessarily the same, but it is important to explore in greater detail the aims and the needs of literature and cultural criticism.展开更多
Although China’s One Belt One Road(OBOR)initiative seems to concentrate on Asia and Africa,its ultimate target is Western Europe.However,the road to Europe–either on land or at sea–has to pass through the Middle Ea...Although China’s One Belt One Road(OBOR)initiative seems to concentrate on Asia and Africa,its ultimate target is Western Europe.However,the road to Europe–either on land or at sea–has to pass through the Middle East,which is both a part of the OBOR initiative and an essential stopover on the way to Western Europe.Given China’s historical experience in the Middle East and the current Middle Eastern instability,unrest and obstacles,Beijing’s OBOR initiative is facing serious challenges.These are detailed in this article,which offers,in its conclusion,some lessons underlining Beijing’s disadvantages as well as advantages.展开更多
In the past few decades, the field of late Qing poetry has rapidly evolved and continues to grow in exciting new directions. Before turning to the history of recent developments in the field, I will briefly introduce ...In the past few decades, the field of late Qing poetry has rapidly evolved and continues to grow in exciting new directions. Before turning to the history of recent developments in the field, I will briefly introduce my own experience in the field and how I first became interested in Qing verse. In high school, I taught myself German and, while I was not able to master German conversation, I did manage to learn how to read the language fairly well. My reading of German had a decisive influence on my future studies, because it exposed me to the poetry of Goethe, Schiller, and Heine, the first time in my life when poetry began ＂speaking＂ to me. I originally thought about majoring in German in university, but before I graduated from high school I decided that I would first try out another, even more challenging, language, Chinese. Since I knew China had a long history, I thought that China might have some great poetry, too, and I have been busy with it ever since and hope to continue with it to my final day.展开更多
Since the early twenty-first century,interaction between East Asia and the Middle East has grown considerably.An expected,though understudied,consequence of this development is a gradual spillover of the intra-East As...Since the early twenty-first century,interaction between East Asia and the Middle East has grown considerably.An expected,though understudied,consequence of this development is a gradual spillover of the intra-East Asian political process to the Middle East.Attempting to enhance the understanding of this understudied aspect of East-West Asia relations,as well as new aspects of the China-Japan dynamic,this article explores the competition and possible expansion of the Sino-Japanese rivalry into the Middle East.To examine more concretely we focus on two areas of activities that exceed China’s and Japan’s traditional interests in the Middle East:the utilisation of Middle East events by Japan to loosen its half-century restrictions on the use of military force,and China’s respective response;and Japan’s reaction to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.展开更多
文摘Li Zehou belongs among the ranks of the most important Chinese philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries. In his complex theoretical system, he aimed to reconcile the Chinese cultural heritage with the demands of the contemporary world. Besides elaborating on traditional Chinese philosophy, Li launched many innovative views based on his understanding of specific developments in pre-modern and modern Western philosophy. His philosophy could be described as the search for a synthesis between Western and traditional Chinese thought and a specifically Chinese modernization. In order to provide a basic insight into Li＇s specific methods of combining Kant, early Marx and classical Chinese philosophy, the present article investigates his elaboration of the traditional Chinese paradigm of “the unity of nature and man” （tianren heyi 天人合一） through the lens of ideas about humanized nature （renhua de ziran ）人化的自然） and naturalized humans （ziranhua de ten 自然化的人）.
文摘Critics have observed that memory is an important theme in Lu Xun＇s writings. At the same time, memory--more precisely a struggle over the shaping of cultural memory--is a vital component of the iconoclastic May Fourth Movement with which Lu Xun is strongly associated. This article examines the ways in which several of Lu Xun＇s creative writings and memoirs depict memory and its transmission. I argue that, 1） These texts suggest the importance of objects as mnemonic devices that aid the transmission of memory, 2） The agency of the receiver is key in interpreting these texts and in transmitting them onward, and 3） That Lu Xun posits the texts he creates as such mnemonic objects that serve to transmit his interpretation of cultural and personal memory to his readers. Lu Xun＇s texts thus implicate the reader in the author＇s project of transmitting onward his reinterpretation of the past in the hope of redeeming China. Examining these mechanisms of memory transmission I conclude that for Lu Xun redemption lies not in a transcendent future but in reexamining the past.
文摘China＇s rise within a global economy has had diverse consequences for Chinese women. For the super rich and the rising middle class, it has offered opportunities for vast wealth. For the newly emergent underclass of migrant workers who have flooded to the cities, it has engendered exploitative states of vulnerability, especially for rural women. In this paper we locate our inquiry in the context of globalization and its impact on rural women＇s lives as witnessed through the medium of a unique and distinctive women＇s life narrative, Sheng Keyi＇s Bei mei （Northern Girls）. The text testifies to the underside of women＇s lives within the new market economy, documenting the cruelty of global capitalism. It presents an alternative version of the history of China＇s rise in the global economy and maps a trajectory of increasing inequality from a previously silenced female perspective. Sheng Keyi＇s world speaks to the sordid world of women, the world of yin. It coexists with the dizzying ascent of the yang--as the powerful nation grapples with social inequality and fragmentation. In its international circulation, Northern Girls opens readers to the contradictions and ambivalent aspects of China＇s economic rise and its consequences specifically for migrant women.
文摘The relationship between the State of Israel and the People’s Republic of China offers a fascinating case in modern international relations.Ostensibly there is not much that unites the two countries so different in size and population,in regimes and politics,yet,over the past two decades,these relations have acquired a great deal of importance and significance for both.While it is easy to understand the attraction to China of Israel’s experience,innovation and its exemplary human capital,it is less evident what China is seeking to achieve in deepening its ties with Israel.This paper attempts to assess the state of Sino-Israel bilateral relations and their impact on the future of the two nations.
文摘This paper discusses the biography, thought, and works of Li Ruqian （1852-19o9）. He was appointed Consul in Kobe 1882-84, during which period he studied the political institutions and culture of Meiji Japan and the West, eventually translating Washington Irving＇s biography of George Washington into Classical Chinese, a book which exercised a great influence on late Qing reformers. Li＇s literary theory strongly emphasized the importance of originality. He also cultivated a style that was simpler and closer to spoken Chinese than many of his contemporaries. He eventually espoused a thoroughgoing reform of Chinese government and society. He abandoned the idea of the centrality of Chinese culture for a worldview of cultural relativity in which all cultures of the world are viewed as equally valid. After his return to China Li became even more involved in reform activities, but soon he became almost totally alienated from Chinese society and even began expressing strong doubts about the whole tradition of classical writing. In his poems and prose works, he warned Chinese intellectuals to abandon their smug conservatism and adapt to the new world or perish, making fun of his own society in biting satirical pieces that remind one of the writings of Lu Xun＇s May Fourth era. Li Ruqian may, indeed, be the first Chinese author to develop the idea of Chinese inadequacy and guilt which is so common in the literature of the next century.
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.
文摘This article focuses on the strategies that literature and cultural criticism adopt to represent trauma in comparison to a current medical definition. The contemporary medical definition, trauma as post-traumatic stress disorder （PTSD）, is the most narrow and specific definition to discuss trauma. The discourse of medicine does not necessarily match those of literature and cultural criticism, nor need they conform to each other. PTSD includes a collection of symptoms, any one of which might not have anything to do with traumatic experience, but which together point with increasing intensity to a psychological syndrome caused by traumatic shock. Although this is historically a recently defined syndrome （1980）, its features had long before attracted attention and been recorded under other terms and diagnoses. Although Chinese literature is only occasionally given to psychological realism, we do find occasional descriptions that strongly suggest aspects of the syndrome. Also, the aims and the needs of medicine and literature or cultural criticism are not necessarily the same, but it is important to explore in greater detail the aims and the needs of literature and cultural criticism.
文摘Although China’s One Belt One Road(OBOR)initiative seems to concentrate on Asia and Africa,its ultimate target is Western Europe.However,the road to Europe–either on land or at sea–has to pass through the Middle East,which is both a part of the OBOR initiative and an essential stopover on the way to Western Europe.Given China’s historical experience in the Middle East and the current Middle Eastern instability,unrest and obstacles,Beijing’s OBOR initiative is facing serious challenges.These are detailed in this article,which offers,in its conclusion,some lessons underlining Beijing’s disadvantages as well as advantages.
文摘In the past few decades, the field of late Qing poetry has rapidly evolved and continues to grow in exciting new directions. Before turning to the history of recent developments in the field, I will briefly introduce my own experience in the field and how I first became interested in Qing verse. In high school, I taught myself German and, while I was not able to master German conversation, I did manage to learn how to read the language fairly well. My reading of German had a decisive influence on my future studies, because it exposed me to the poetry of Goethe, Schiller, and Heine, the first time in my life when poetry began ＂speaking＂ to me. I originally thought about majoring in German in university, but before I graduated from high school I decided that I would first try out another, even more challenging, language, Chinese. Since I knew China had a long history, I thought that China might have some great poetry, too, and I have been busy with it ever since and hope to continue with it to my final day.
文摘Since the early twenty-first century,interaction between East Asia and the Middle East has grown considerably.An expected,though understudied,consequence of this development is a gradual spillover of the intra-East Asian political process to the Middle East.Attempting to enhance the understanding of this understudied aspect of East-West Asia relations,as well as new aspects of the China-Japan dynamic,this article explores the competition and possible expansion of the Sino-Japanese rivalry into the Middle East.To examine more concretely we focus on two areas of activities that exceed China’s and Japan’s traditional interests in the Middle East:the utilisation of Middle East events by Japan to loosen its half-century restrictions on the use of military force,and China’s respective response;and Japan’s reaction to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
基金the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency(ARRS)in the framework of the research core funding Asian Languages and Cultures(P6-0243)in the scope of the research project N6-0161(Complementary Scheme)Humanism in Intercultural Perspective:Europe and China。
