Chinese Emotionality in Chinese Emic Concepts and its Relevance for Discourse - Influences from Ecology, Thought Systems and Folk Religion

Abstract

Emotions are identified, categorised and expressed differently by different cultures and societies, what is also related to distinct reasoning (regarding which emotions are appropriate to a certain situation, time, or place, and the adequate way to express them, amongst others). A myriad factors contribute to this differentiated cultural development respecting emotionality, being geographical constrictions, history, and thought systems merely a few of them. Furthermore, discourse can be understood as a way through which culture is expressed. Chinese people have a common identity framework that dates back to a few millennia. Moreover, their cultural idiosyncrasies have a rich emphasis on emotional analysis and regulation. This work thus intends to present a few aspects of Chinese culture and society that are relevant to Chinese individuals’ perception and expression of emotionality in their everyday life, introducing also this society’s emphasis on moral, social and aesthetic emotions, and their work in contemporary Chinese discourse.