Chinese Tradition Research Articles

Tracing the Pioneers: Ballroom Dance Instructors and “Taxi-dance Girls” in Modern Chinese Leisure Sports

This research examines the introduction and development of ballroom dancing in Modern China, focusing on the cultural clashes, professional evolution, and survival strategies of pioneers like instructors and “Taxi-dance Girls.” It shows ballroom dancing epitomized tensions between Chinese traditions and Western modernity. The transformations of dancing and its pioneers provided insights into China’s socioeconomic transition, urbanization, and modernization. The shift from foreign to Chinese instructors reflected tensions between westernization and localization, as well as China’s cultural awakening. Case studies on instructors enabled nuanced analysis. As commodified entertainers, “Taxi-dance Girls” gained economic sustainability and social mobility through talents and gender charm, though their glamorized images provoked debates on gender relations. By exploring multifaceted roles and experiences of pioneers, this research enriches understanding of entertainment consumption, urban middle-class lifestyles, and Eastern-Western cultural integration in Modern China. It provides new historical materials and perspectives, unveiling complex interplay between cultural globalization and localization.

Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (Thhk), and Nationalism Among Chinese People in Dutch East Indies 1900-1942

THHK was the first modern organization in the Dutch East Indies. The purpose of establishing this organization was to unite Chinese people in Dutch East Indies and instill love for the country (nationalism) by establishing schools run by THHK. The founders of THHK school hoped that Chinese traditions and culture, language, religion (Confucianism), Chinese history and other subjects were reintroduction of the school’s curriculum. The education was selected as a medium to instill love for the motherland of Chinese people in Dutch East Indies. This was evidenced by their actions, these were continuing to study in China, refusing to become citizens of the Dutch East Indies, becoming athletes on behalf of China, and raising funds for the people of their ancestral countries. However, the mission of this organization faced obstacles as well due to the new policies of the Dutch East Indies government that were detrimental to the THHK movement. The growth and development of Indonesian nationalism caused divisions among Chinese people, especially among the elites.

ФОРТЕПИАННЫЙ КОНЦЕРТ ЧУ ВАНХУА «МОЯ РОДИНА»: СПЕЦИФИКА ПРЕЛОМЛЕНИЯ ИММАНЕНТНЫХ СВОЙСТВ ЖАНРА

The article analyses the piano concerto “My Homeland” by the Chinese composer Chu Wanghua, written under the impression of the war film “The Battle on Shangganling Mountain” (1956). The work is based on the song “My Homeland”, which is very popular among the Chinese people. In the Concerto, the composer turns to a generalized programme, which, as revealed in analysing the composition, is directly related to the plot of the film. Based on the immanent properties of the concerto genre, Chu Wanghua presents the listener with its nonstandard interpretation. As the initial form, Chu Wanghua chooses free variations, a structure typical to the Chinese national tradition, interpreting them in accordance with the musical content of the work. The Concerto reveals the features of the sonata cycle and the sonata allegro in the role of the supporting form. At the same time, the work bears the signs of a suite, a genre widely spread in Chinese musical culture. Masterfully owning the compositional technique, Chu Wanghua implements in the Concerto such immanent features of the genre as game logic, virtuosity, competitiveness, concertising, improvisation, which are presented in the work with varying degrees of intensity. According to the concept, “My Homeland” can be attributed to a synthetic type, where virtuosity and the desire for symphonisation are equally represented. In terms of composition, the Concerto is an atypical form, but rather approaches the concertina in scale (the composition sounds about fifteen minutes). According to the principle of the performing parts ratio, the Concerto belongs to the parity type.

АЛЕКСАНДР ЧЕРЕПНИН: РУССКО-КИТАЙСКИЙ КОМПОЗИТОР-ПИАНИСТ-ПЕДАГОГ

The article is devoted to the activities of the greatest Russian composer and pianist A. Tcherepnin, son of the famous Saint Petersburg professor N. Tcherepnin. The author traces the work of the Tcherepnin dynasty, which for almost a century and a half contributed to the development of musical art not only in Russia and China, but also in the Far East, Europe and America. A. Tcherepnin is characterised as a Russian and American composer, pianist, theorist, teacher and critic. The stages of life of an outstanding composer and musician are considered and structured. The most important innovations introduced by Professor Tcherepnin in the system of pedagogy are noted, concerning the change in the chronology of the vectors of studying Classics and Modernity, as well as the revision of the fundamental sound basis of music teaching aids and the actual creation of a new Chinese repertoire for performers. The evolution of aesthetic and stylistic views of young Chinese composers is traced: while in the 1920s the emphasis was placed on harmonious combination of the traditions of Eastern and Western music, in the following decades the interest in national roots increased significantly. A. Tcherepnin’s main thesis receives scientific analytical substantiation — to teach the Chinese to create and perform, preserving their belonging to the Chinese national tradition. The characteristic of the cycle of piano pieces “From Tcherepnin” analyses the etudes, that have a programme interpretation in a literary epigraph or in an expanded title, which is an aesthetic norm of Chinese music.

The New Ecology of Chinese Language and Literature in the Digital Age--Cultural Inheritance and Innovation

Abstract Digital media is perpetually evolving, significantly impacting the Chinese language and literature. Concurrently, the rapid pace of modern lifestyles poses challenges to the transmission of cultural heritage within Chinese literary traditions. Accordingly, this study explores the pathways for digital innovation in Chinese literature, focusing on the integration of key virtual technologies to facilitate the cultural inheritance of the Chinese language. This research highlights the application of advanced virtual technologies in preserving and transmitting Chinese linguistic culture. It involves designing an experiential process for cultural inheritance, utilizing these technologies to process graphic and textual information pertinent to the Chinese language and literature. Furthermore, the study innovates cultural transmission methods through the synthesis of virtual 3D scenes and the implementation of human-computer interaction functionalities. An experimental evaluation approach was employed to assess the impact of virtual reality technology on the learning outcomes in Chinese literature and its cultural transmission. The findings indicate that users who interactively engage with the content in a virtual environment achieve a learning effect score that is 0.6528 points higher than those using traditional browsing methods. This underscores the enhanced efficacy of interactive experiences in facilitating the learning of Chinese literature. The regression analysis further demonstrates the significant promotional effects of the number of virtual experiences in Chinese literature (P1) and the rate of user interaction with computers (P2) on the dissemination of Chinese cultural content. The fixed and random effects for the number of virtual experiences are 0.9428 and 0.9784, respectively, while those for user interaction rates are 0.8945 and 0.8835. These results suggest a substantial impact on the broader dissemination and transmission of Chinese language literature, reinforcing the value of integrating virtual reality technologies in cultural education.

Analysis on the Reasons for the Absence of Light and Shadow Processing Techniques in Chinese Painting Tradition

Analysis on the Reasons for the Absence of Light and Shadow Processing Techniques in Chinese Painting Tradition

French Narrative Theory and the Boom of Chinese Narrative Studies

The 1980s, an era in the wake of opening-up policy after the cultural revolution, witnessed an unprecedented passion for Chinese critics to read, embrace and import Western theories, among which French narrative theory deserves a particular mention. To a large extent, it is French narrative theory that has led to the upsurge and explosion of Chinese narrative studies, which prevails in the 21st century. This paper, first of all, connects the boom of Chinese narrative studies with French narrative theory which was translated and warmly received in Chinese academia in the 1980s. Second, it attempts to examine the travelling, the impact and the after-life of French narrative theory in China, arguing that inspired by their French predecessors, Chinese narrative theorists have cultivated their increasing interest in the narrative form of literary works and developed Chinese narratology with special reference to Chinese narrative traditions. Third, it investigates how Chinese narratologists foster theoretical dialogues with their French colleagues by challenging and revising some narratological concepts. Finally, it calls for a narratology beyond French structuralism by proposing comparative and transcultural perspectives on narrative studies with the aim to draw scholarly attention to those neglected and peripheral narratives and to subvert the hegemony of Anglo-American narrative theory.

Humor in Chinese Traditions of Thought, Part One: Systematic Reflections in View of Ancient Confucian and Daoist Applications of Humor

Humor in Chinese Traditions of Thought, Part One: Systematic Reflections in View of Ancient Confucian and Daoist Applications of Humor

To study island China

As greater attention has been paid to island research in China, interactions between Chinese and international island scholars have increased. However, research has tended to take an ‘islands of China’ approach, which perceives China as a continental country surrounded by a large number of islands. The present paper proposes an alternative ‘island China’ perspective, informed by selected Chinese traditions of thinking about islands and the sea, that captures the role islands have played and continue to play in Chinese culture. Drawing upon Fei Xiaotong’s reflexive concept of ‘cultural self-consciousness’, we consider the cultural history of island China, including conceptual tensions between the binaries of continent/island and center/periphery, conceptions of land dwellers and water dwellers, the role of islands as hubs of cultural transmission, and the formation of maritime societies across East and Southeast Asia. We also argue that this cultural history ought to influence island governance in China today.

Czy Tadeusz Miciński znał taoizm? O "Romansie Siedmiu Braci Śpiących w Chinach"

The aim of this article is to examine how elements of Taoist philosophy are incorporated into Tadeusz Miciński’s one-act drama "The Ballad of the Seven Sleeping Brothers in China". Despite culturally syncretic references to Eastern philosophical systems, the author rarely referred to Chinese traditions of thought in his works. Published posthumously from manuscript, the ballad is therefore original in the context of Miciński’s oeuvre, both in terms of these references and its dramatic construction. It is interesting to note that the drama was written around 1910, the year when Polish translation of the Daodejing book was published under the title "Tao czyli Droga niebios czyli Doktryna najwyższego rozumu: (Lao-Tse i jego nauka)" ["Tao or the Path of Heaven or the Doctrine of the Supreme Reason: (Lao Tzu and His Teachings)"]. Taoism is one of the many aspects of the work that constitutes a reflection on the condition of the artist and evidence of Tadeusz Miciński’s exploration of Chinese religious-philosophical systems.

Exploring the Economic Foundations Behind Interpersonal Relationships

This paper focuses on economic issues related to the presence of shopping malls, as economic activities are inevitably influenced by social interactions and interpersonal relationships. Different types of relationships, ranging from weak to strong and positive to negative, form a complex system. The combination of Chinese tradition, cultural background, and the requirements of the current social system has led to the prominence of interpersonal connections. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the significant impact of relationships on transaction subjects. Furthermore, it explores how interpersonal relationships affect the formation and development of enterprises, as well as the allocation and utilization of resources. The paper emphasizes the importance of reducing the negative impact of interpersonal relationships by adopting an approach that prioritizes interpersonal connections. This involves considering new cost and profit expectations and minimizing the reliance on relational functions when constraining economic activities.

How to Obtain Hexagrams with Yijing Divination – An Application of Ancient Chinese Wisdom Analysis

This article provides an analysis of a fundamental issue in Yijing studies （易学), that is, how to obtain a gua (卦, or hexagram) from Yijing divination. It modifies existing interpretations of the Dayan Divination method (大衍筮法) and proposes a new algorithm, thereby discovers the probability distribution of all gua in Yijing (易卦).The sixty-four hexagrams (重卦, 或六爻卦) of Yijing have appeared during the Shang Dynasty (ca BCE 1600-1046) and became prevalent during the Zhou Dynasty (ca BCE 1045-256), forming the foundation of Yijing. The images of gua (卦象, 64 hexagrams with six lines (爻) each and 8 trigrams (单卦) with three lines) constitute a systematic whole. Any interpretation of Yijing needs to be based on the full set of gua images. Yijing is well known as the foremost origin of all the Chinese classics, and the “divine intent” revealed by the Yijing gua is the source from which various concepts as well as their interpretations of Chinese civilization are drawn. As Yijing being a divination book, the “divine revelation” embodied in the gua serves as the authentic source in Chinese tradition to seek guidance for all kinds of risk decision-making. Regardless of applications of wide variety, the wisdom of Fuxi (伏羲, ca BCE 4600-?), the archaic sage of Chinese civilization and the root source of Yijing, has been congealed and conveyed through Yijing gua.How to acquire a gua related to “my issue,” viz., how to get know the divine intent from Heaven guiding the matters of my concern is the key question to all Yijing users. The answer involves three stages: requesting in earnest; throwing divination to obtain the gua; interpreting the underlying meaning of gua. Of them, the legitimacy of the request depends on sincerity of the prayer; the interpretation of mystic revelation of the acquired gua benefits from collective experience and intelligence. The divination throw, the stage in the middle, however, relies on the Dayan Divination method, which is the only authentic way to obtain a gua in Yijing.The Dayan Divination method is essentially a random number generator. The four numbers entailed from the divination process represent the four primary symbols (四象): 6 (六) represents the Great Yin (⚏, 老阴), 7 (七) represents the Lesser Yang (⚎, 少阳), 8 (八) represents the Lesser Yin (⚍, 少阴), and 9 (九) represents the Great Yang (⚌, 老阳). The probabilities to obtain the random number 6, 7, 8, 9 are 1/16, 5/16, 7/16, and 3/16, respectively. (This probability distribution is way different from the simplified method used in the public commoners known as the “coin flipping method.”)With the Dayan Divination, the probability distribution of the entire system of gua in Yijing can be inferred, which is of significant importance for examining and calculating the connections and evolutions among gua. (See Appendix II)In Appendix I, the author provides a thorough analysis of Shao Yong’s “doubling method” and its close association with Leibniz’s binary algorithm. With the new perspective created by the binary coding, he is therefore convinced that the Shao Yong-Leibniz sequence is indeed a substantial advancement in the overall ordering of gua in Yijing, and subsequently proposes an innovative approach enabling, extending and deepening Yijing studies.

Death, Identity, and Awakening in Chinese Buddhist Doctrinal Traditions

Death, Identity, and Awakening in Chinese Buddhist Doctrinal Traditions

The semantics of the names of Luo Maishuo’s Piano Etudes as the transformation of traditional national images

The semantics of the names of Luo Maishuo’s Piano Etudes as the transformation of traditional national images

Soprano as a phenomenon of artistic representation of the human image in European and Chinese traditions

Soprano as a phenomenon of artistic representation of the human image in European and Chinese traditions

TRANSFORMATION OF BORROWED PHENOMENA: THE BUDDHIST FRESCO IN DUNGHUAN AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE MOSQUES OF SHAANXI PROVINCE IN CHINA

The purpose of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of borrowing without being limited by a specific style, and on the basis of this to argue at which hierarchical level the transformation took place: at the level of composition, form or decor.
 The relevance of the research topic is determined by the need to analyze how local cultural and artistic traditions influenced the transformation of borrowed styles and what exactly the phenomenon of transformation consisted of, whether it was the same for several borrowed styles.
 As a result of the study of wall paintings in different periods, it was established that, according to the figurative concept of Dunhuang, the transformation was as follows:
 – a departure from the original Indian frescoes by complicating the compositions in the direction of three-dimensionality and polymorphism, diversifying polychromy, anatomical perfection, detailing and giving the image a national color through portrait images of founders in Chinese clothes, scenes from their lives, landscape images; 
 – therefore, in the Dunhuang frescoes, the transformation was focused on the planar images of the fresco (the role of ritual sculpture in the Dunhuang sanctuaries was much smaller). 
 Despite the fact that Islam never competed with Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism in terms of the number of believers in China, the rulers were friendly towards the construction of mosques. However, they are clearly dominated by Chinese traditions:
 – there are much more courtyards than in traditional mosques, and they are landscaped according to Chinese landscape design and have ponds with fish (this is a purely Chinese tradition);
 – the appearance of the pavilions and gates is purely Chinese: pavilions with a traditional Chinese silhouette, curved roofs with tiled roofs, complex multi-level eaves, open galleries on pillars, the use of traditional Chinese building materials (stone, brick, wood, tiles), bright polychromy, small detailing.
 So, in the case of mosques as well, Chinese culture radically changed their appearance, giving them maximum similarity with the temples of traditional religions.
 Thus, the transformation took place equally at all levels – planning, landscape design, three-dimensional form, plane with wall paintings and carvings.
 Later, this style manifested itself in the transformation of European Art Nouveau, which was also superimposed on local traditions.

MUSIC AND WORD IN THE CULTURAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY: THE PERSPECTIVE OF PEDAGOGICAL HERMENEUTICS

The article is devoted to the cultural contacts between the Russian and Chinese traditions of the first half of the 20th century from the perspective of pedagogical hermeneutics, which contributes to understanding the mechanisms of mastering the chamber and vocal works of Russian composers in higher educational institutions of China as cultural texts capable of influencing students’ personalities and thereby determining the strategies of “understanding” education.

Hong Kong Poets and the Making of a Sinophone Literary Genre

Hong Kong has always existed on the margins of history. Interestingly, Hong Kong’s liminal status also made it a cosmopolitan space for transcultural exchanges between Chinese and Western worlds throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Despite its unique position vis-à-vis China and the West, however, Hong Kong has long been dismissed as lacking cultural gravitas. As such, Hong Kong culture finds itself self-consciously confronting a perennial crisis: as the People’s Republic of China gains increasing recognition in the canons of world literature, Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan culture is indirectly side-lined in the process. Meanwhile, Hong Kong literature is routinely underrepresented in the canons of modern Chinese literature. Anthologies of modern Chinese poetry and poetry research, for instance, scarcely include Hong Kong poets, if at all. Given this context, this essay seeks to rearticulate the place of Hong Kong in modern Chinese literary history. More specifically, it traces the emergence of Hong Kong poetry as a cosmopolitan literary genre in the latter half of the twentieth century. The goals are threefold: to historicise the confluence of Chinese and Western literary traditions in the city of Hong Kong; to locate specific intersections of identity, language, and politics in the production of Hong Kong poetry; and to introduce biographical and bibliographical data on notable Hong Kong poets.

Educational Benefits of Cu An Kiong Lasem Temple in Social Science Learning

Cu An Kiong Lasem Temple is one of the oldest temples in Lasem, located around the Babagan river. This sincerity has a continuous history of Chinese civilization which until now can still be found some ancient relics of former glory. This aim of article is to analyze the educational benefits of Cu An Kiong Temple in Lasem as an educational resource within the context of Social Studies at SMA N 1 Lasem. Cu An Kiong Temple is likely a significant historical and cultural site that plays a vital role in the study of this subject. This article will explore how Cu An Kiong Temple contributes to students' understanding of Chinese history, culture, and traditions, with a focus on the local context of Lasem. The article will also discuss approaches and teaching strategies that teachers can employ to integrate Cu An Kiong Temple into the Social Studies curriculum. This may involve field trips, research projects, or experiential learning methods to engage students and enhance their comprehension of the subject matter. Supported by research or case studies, this article will emphasize that Cu An Kiong Temple is not merely a tourist attraction or historical site but also an effective tool to enrich students' learning experiences in Social Studies and promote a better understanding of Chinese culture and history in the local environment.

Comparative Analysis of the «Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian language» by V.I. Dahl and the Chinese «Kangxi Dictionary»

The subject of study in the presented work is a comparative analysis of explanatory dictionaries of Russian and Chinese languages based on the material of the «Explanatory Dictionary of the living Great Russian language» by V.I. Dahl and the Chinese «Kangxi Dictionary». The purpose of the analysis is to clarify the similarities and differences in the nature of the explanation of the meaning of words and to compile the structure of explanatory dictionaries in the Russian and Chinese lexicographic tradition.
 The study was conducted using a descriptive and comparative method, based on a comparative analysis of the structure and presentation of information in the dictionary entry of the dictionaries under study.
 The obtained conclusions allow us to note the similarities between the Russian and Chinese explanatory dictionary: 1) when explaining the meaning of a word, both dictionaries use the same (or similar) methods; 2) the structure of both dictionaries reflects the formal semantic connections between words; 3) both dictionaries
 in the process of interpreting words provide information of an ethnographic and linguocultural nature; 4) both Russian and Chinese explanatory dictionaries approach a dictionary of a combined type. The paper notes important differences in the structure of the alphabetic and hieroglyphic dictionary, in the nature of the dictionary information provided.
 The results of the research conducted in this article can be used in research and teaching activities related to the study of the lexicography of the Russian and Chinese languages.