Communicative Role Of Traditional Values In Maintaining the Social Stability of Chinese Society

Abstract

Traditional values of Confucianism are perceived as the binding foundation for all sectors of society and social institutions in China – both in the past and in present. Communicativeness is interpreted from the point of view of values that go back to the centuries-old history of China, rather than from the point of view of new digital technologies that play supporting role. The common principles of interaction learned, understood and adopted by all members of society make it possible to develop universal value-institutionalized practices that are introduced into communication between people and organizations on a newly emerging technological basis. The traditional values of Confucianism are being revived after a period of oblivion and acquiring a binding meaning in public communications, significantly contributing to the maintenance of social stability. To ensure social stability on such grounds, the authors consider it is necessary to observe traditional moral and value guidelines in the subjects of communication themselves, especially when they implement the functions of solidarity and coordination of communications between all subjects and objects of this process. The authors outline the following criteria for the effectiveness of social communications based on traditional values: (1) cognitive – unity of understanding of generally accepted values; (2) traditional – preservation of the original meaning and purpose of value systems ; (3) technological – the ability to preserve the original value essence in the shell of new communication technologies. At the end, the authors offer a framework vision of the communicative traditionalist-value mechanism for maintaining social stability and criteria for its effectiveness with the prospect of developing an approach to identifying the communicative capabilities of traditional values in order to maintain social stability. The authors’ reflections and conclusions are accompanied by examples of communication practices in Chinese society of the past and in present.