Confucian Norms Research Articles

Communist propaganda and women’s status

This paper examines how communist propaganda affects gender norms and behavior in China. Improving women’s status and promoting gender equality were significant themes of revolutionary propaganda in China from the 1950s to the 1970s. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation resulting from topography, I find that exposure to radio broadcasts during the Cultural Revolution improved educational gender equality, and such effects were stronger in areas with weaker Confucian norms. Using individual-level census data, I also find positive effects of radio exposure on women’s family-related and career-related outcomes. I explore the possible mechanisms using data from two surveys on gender norms, and my evidence is consistent with rational updating. The significant persuasion effects disappear when more recent data are employed, implying temporary communist influences on entrenched social norms.

Commemoration of body donors in a religiously diverse society: A tale of two Korean medical schools.

Although a diversity of religions exists in South Korea, with Buddhism and Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism) being the two main faiths, Korean beliefs are deeply rooted in Confucianism. Despite the notion that the Confucian norm of filial piety discourages body donation to medical science, there has been a mindset shift in favor of body donation, driven by a heightened awareness of the body bequest programs and the care and dignity accorded to the altruistic body donors, together with the institution of commemorative services to honor them. As spirituality and religion are known to be factors that influence body donation, how religious- and non-religious-based memorial services are held to honor the donors as exemplified by two Korean medical schools-from a public university with no religious affiliation and from a Protestant-based university-are described here. The key concept of expressing gratitude and respect for the donors and their family members has positively impacted body bequest programs in this multi-religious society. Commemorative services held to pay tribute to the altruistic body donors may play an important role in inspiring a humanistic spirit in students, regardless of religious or non-religious beliefs, as exemplified by the two Korean medical schools. The takeaway here is that the elevation of spirituality in memorial services effectively resonates with society, thereby demonstrating the impact of spiritual principles independent of religious influence.

Правовая система Китая

Annotation: Introduction. Currently, China occupies one of the leading positions in the world in the field of economics, culture and law. Russia has long-standing ties with China, which are currently developing rapidly. Of particular interest to Russian lawyers is the legal system of China, which is truly unique. There isanorganic link between traditions and customs, on the one hand, and constant legal modernization, on the other, and the law itself is closely connected with culture. This paper poses the problem of studying the legal system of the People’s Republic of China, clarifying its genesis, considering the stages of modernization
 of law, in particular civil law, and analyzing the development path.
 Methodology. When performing the research, general scientific and specific scientific methods (comparative legal, specific historical) were used. Formal-dogmatic and logical-linguistic methods were also used, with the help of which the content and meaning of legal regulations are clarified.
 Research findings. Traditional sources of social regulation are considered, namely, customs that cover all spheres of public life. The comprehensive influence of Confucianism and Confucian principles is shown.
 The paper reveals the ways of forming “li” norms which are the basis of people’s behavior. The article analyses formation of the modern Chinese legal system, which takes shape in the process of reception of Roman-Germanic law, Anglo-Saxon law, more precisely, its American version, Confucian norms and Marxism. Particular attention is paid to the development of civil law and civil law regulations; issues of harmonization of Western institutions and customs established in the society are considered.

“Chinese core, global trend”: A critical discourse analysis of Chinese civics teachers’ perceptions on global citizenship education

ABSTRACT Globalization has stimulated widespread reforms of traditional citizenship education. Regional sociopolitical and cultural circumstances substantially influence global citizenship education (GCE) discourse. A more in-depth examination of the recontextualization of GCE in educational institutions is required to comprehend its inner power tensions and potential dilemmas. This study investigates how GCE is recontextualized in China’s civics curriculum through a critical discourse analysis of 17 civics teachers’ perceptions, considering the expanding global perspective on national curriculum in recent years. The analysis revealed a nation-centric view of GCE dominated by sociopolitical ideology and Confucian norms, communicated in complicity with localized constructivist teaching and learning approaches that tend to be co-opted as a tool for dissimulating and euphemizing official knowledge standing for nationalism in educational practice. The study discusses the epistemological paradox in Chinese teachers’ perceptions, shedding light on repressed teacher subjectivity and limited educational initiatives in the nationalist-dominated GCE. It advocates a critical and reflective examination of the educational practice of GCE and a better way of speaking GCE that avoids equating it with teaching and learning techniques while ignoring the extent to which these methods have shaken educational relationships and value assumptions.

Interstate Relational Ethics: Mengzi and Later Mohists in Dialogue

The popular interpretation holds that Mengzi was strongly critical of Mozi because the Mohist moral theory was antithetical to Confucian relational ethics. According to this interpretation, Mohism promotes the norm of “impartiality” or “impartial care”, which violates the Confucian norms of “filial piety” and “graded love”. Accordingly, Mengzi thought that the Confucian ideal would not be realized if Mohism continued to prevail. Scholars have tried to nuance and revise this dominant interpretation. For example, some have pointed out the importance of family-oriented values in Mohist ethical theory, arguing that Mengzi likely misunderstood or purposefully mispresented Mohism. This article is an initial attempt to modify the popular interpretation by arguing that the debate between Mengzi and Mohist regarding relational ethics is predominantly about the relations between states rather than individuals. This interpretation sheds light on a core difference between Confucian and Mohist ethical theories and can help make better sense of some later Mohist passages.

Yuan Dynasty Religious Art View

The Yuan Dynasty was a special period ruled by ethnic minorities. It was the tradition of the horseback people to give preference to martial arts over literature, and the feudal society developed until the Song Dynasty, when the ritual and music system was complete, and the Yuan Dynasty opened a new horizon for it. On an objective level, the cultural background and the abolition of the imperial examination system by the ruling class made the literati determined to return to seclusion, and on a subjective level, culture was not dominated by Confucian norms, the creative environment was freer, and the arts showed diversified development. The ruling class respected Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion, the literati were indifferent and reclusive, and the common people were happy with the secularism.

Feministyczna dekonstrukcja tradycyjnego obrazu kobiety w utworach Qiu Jin

Women’s issues are a significant subject of study in the realm of Chinese literature. In many works, it can be seen to oppose stereotypes or norms imposed on the female gender and to take measures leading to the emancipation of the individual. Such literature is symptomatic of a desire for change in society, that is, the overthrow of the patriarchal system and the introduction of equal rights between the sexes. An example of such prose is the works of China’s first feminist, Qiu Jin, who decided to fight for women’s rights. She was sentenced to death for her revolutionary activities. However, her texts introduced a completely new image of women into the public sphere - different from the one that had been reproduced for hundreds of years in ancient China. The poet chose to endow her heroines with charisma, courage, intelligence and the will to fight for a better life. Her aim was to make women aware of their situation in life, their social role, and to encourage them to leave the male-dominated world. Michalina Koniuk, in the chapter “Feminist Deconstruction of the Traditional Image of Woman in Qiu Jin’s Works”, proposes to analyse Qiu Jin’s works and present that the characters created by the writer oppose and destroy the image of the obedient and uneducated woman that existed in ancient China. First, the social role imposed on women in Chinese society has been described, namely that of obedient daughter, wife and daughter-in-law. The requirements and rules expected of Chinese women have been presented, and how Confucian norms contributed to the belittling of women’s role and position in Chinese society. As the poet was inspired by her own life experiences, Qiu Jin’s life were briefly introduced. Her childhood, during which the first signs of dissatisfaction with the obligations and social norms imposed on girls could be observed. An unsuccessful marriage mobilised the feminist to fight for women’s rights, to oppose the doctrines of Confucius and to leave home and go abroad. This was a great act of courage and at the same time a struggle for freedom and independence in the life of a feminist. That part was followed by an analysis of Qiu Jin’s works, whose female characters exemplify the kind of norms and behaviours that Qiu Jin rebelled against. At the same time, these characters deconstruct the traditional image of a woman and introduce a new one of a strong and independent individual. In this chapter, all poems and quotations have been translated by the author from Chinese into Polish.

Discarding the Brush: Kang Sehwang and a Sociocultural History of the Chŏlp’il Practice in Eighteenth-Century Chosŏn

Literally meaning “discarding the brush,” chŏlp’il refers to a painter’s sudden withdrawal from artistic activities. In the field of Korean art history, chŏlp’il has long been treated as a secondary topic of inquiry, occupying merely the margins of scholarly discourse. Eighteenth-century Chosŏn, however, witnessed a remarkable increase in the frequency of occasions that the scholar-painter “discarded the brush.” That suggests the decision of chŏlp’il was neither a personal choice nor an accidental event, but a reflection of certain sociocultural norms and values. This article discusses the historical significance of this “chŏlp’il” as a social practice through the case of Kang Sehwang. He was one of the most celebrated scholar-painters of eighteenth-century Chosŏn. Yet, the question of why he halted his painterly practice for two decades has not been adequately addressed. This article investigates the abrupt pause in Kang’s artistic career in light of Chosŏn’s social system and cultural norms through a reconstruction of the entire trajectory of his chŏlp’il and its comparison with instances of other scholar-painters of the late Chosŏn period. It was the Confucian conception of class ethics that propelled the scholar-painter to eschew artistic creation. The late Joseon Confucian teachings disparaged painting as a ch’ŏn’gi, or a “trade of the lower class,” and propagated the perception that involvement in painterly practice would bring disgrace on the literati. For scholar-painters, chŏlp’il was a last resort for honoring their families and preserving their elite identities in a society that deprecated the painterly exercise. Kang’s chŏlp’il attests that Chosŏn’s scholar-painters strove for artistic excellence while still being part of their social circle who were obliged by the eighteenth-century Confucian norms. Chŏlp’il was their strategy to maintain their dual identities as a Confucian scholar and a painter.

Does hierarchical ranking matter to corporate innovation efficiency? An empirical study based on a corporate culture of seniority

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether and how corporate seniority culture (a form of high power distance or hierarchy), a typical feature of Confucian norms, affects the corporate innovation efficiency in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach This study defines and measures seniority culture through the ranking method of independent directors in company’s annual report. Unlike most companies in the USA where directors are listed alphabetically, the ranking of directors in China is meaningful and reflects hierarchy. This study considers a firm with seniority if independent directors are ranked according to their status, including age, social position and political connection. Using data from Chinese listed companies between 2009 and 2013, this study conducts multiple regressions to examine the impact of seniority on innovative efficiency. Findings The empirical results show that seniority culture is negatively associated with innovative efficiency. Moreover, the negative association between a corporate culture of seniority and innovative efficiency is more pronounced in firms with more male executives and knowledge-intensive firms. Further analysis reveals that seniority culture expands pay disparities among different classes, hinders their enthusiasm to communicate and ultimately damages the corporate efficiency of innovation. Practical implications Corporate seniority culture is an essential factor that may hinder employee communication and inhibit innovation efficiency. Therefore, companies should break the identity barrier at different levels and advocate a culture of equality to promote information exchange and knowledge sharing among employees. Originality/value This study extends the field of literature on the determinants of corporate innovation efficiency and deepens our theoretical understanding of the negative impact of corporate seniority culture.

Amnesty and Surrender in the White Lotus War

Abstract This study focuses on amnesty and surrender in the White Lotus war (1796–1804) from the rebel perspective. Offers of amnesty corresponded to Confucian norms regarding the relationship between rulers and subjects and were regularly utilized throughout the war by the court and its officials as a tool to pacify and succor the people. Paternalistic language about the proper behavior of good subjects notwithstanding, the rebels acted of their own accord. The rebels made strategic decisions about amnesty and surrender and sought the advantage when opportunities arose; their responses to amnesty proclamations accordingly alternated between engagement and opposition. Over the course of the revolt, there was significant resistance to pacification initiatives from the rebel side. Rebel intransigence detracted from the efficacy of amnesty policies and compelled the court to adapt its tactics. In sum, viewing state policies of appeasement from the rebel side reveals the contingencies governing decisions to surrender and further demonstrates that the contest over amnesty and surrender was an important component of the overall conflict.

조선시대 사족(士族) 일상생활의 유교적 의례화 양상*

In the Joseon Dynasty, Confucian literati sacralized their daily lives through ritual practices across the three dimensions of time, place, and humanity. 1) In the dimension of time, they cultivated in their personal lives by accepting and thoroughly practicing the ethical principles of the Elementary Learning (『小學』). These practices of self-cultivation developed into ritualized practices of daily routine from the perspective of neo-Confucianism. 2) In the spatial dimension, local public schools (鄕校), local private academies (書院), and village private schools (書塾) were constructed as the symbolic places for disseminating Confucian norms through intensive seminar activities and collective learning sessions (講會). These places were also used for the pious recitations of selected Confucian proverbs that had been ritualized by Confucian literati. 3) In the dimension of humanity, pious consciousness, reinforced by the ritualized practice of periodic sacrifices or intensive reading, was subconsciously deepened and projected onto dreams individuals reported of their deceased fathers or teachers. According to the Confucian ritualization process, people were seen as being able to sanctify their daily lives by thoroughly internalizing and effectively realizing Confucian values.

‘Although I had a failed marriage, I won't be a failure as a mother’: An analysis of Vietnamese single mothers' involvement in their children's schooling

Parents' involvement in their children's schooling is well documented in sociological and educational research. However, the ways in which single mothers engage in their children's schooling is an understudied subject in the Vietnamese context. This article aims to address this gap by documenting single mothers' investments in their children's education. The findings reveal that single mothers in both rural and urban areas invest a large amount of their limited time and income on their children's education despite the heavy mental, physical and emotional toll these activities place on them. The mothers anticipate that these sacrifices will result in better educational outcomes for their children, thereby improving their social and economic status. These sacrifices are also a self-investment as the mothers anticipate that their children's education will facilitate class mobility and provide the mothers with support in old age. The findings illustrate that the parenting style of single mothers in Vietnam is heavily influenced by the dominant ideology of ‘good mothering’ which is constructed by cultural values, especially Confucian norms, as well as local government rhetoric and globalisation.

The Tao of consumption: private self in a collective culture

PurposeCollectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic consumption facets of consumers within a collectivist cultural setting, describing the compensating role servicescapes may play and the service marketing opportunities they present.Design/methodology/approachWithin a Chinese cultural research frame, a qualitative grounded approach is adopted that surfaces subconscious metaphors of private consumption through photo elicitation, deep psychological metaphor elicitation and triangulated with field observation.FindingsIndividuals within a collectivist culture do actively seek private psychic space to regenerate the self and prepare for social obligations heavily influenced by Confucian norms. Servicescapes play an important role in private consumption as they provide both a physical and mental oasis of privacy not easily obtainable in regular life and work.Practical implicationsService providers could offer East Asian consumers a package that includes the individual aspect of their value system, whenever and however they see suitable. More specifically, servicescapes can be designed to provide services that facilitate consumer restoration by implementing the mental metaphors consumers of have this process.Social implicationsA stereotype of a consumption has grown around Chinese consumers that while not totally false, misses a vital aspect of human values and risks missing profitable market niches. Consideration of the whole person's collective-individualistic cycle benefits both the consumer and the business.Originality/valueMoving beyond a one-dimensional description of East Asian consumer behavior, focused on collective values, we show the key role servicescapes play in private consumption. A psychological renewal of the self, in preparation to re-enter the collective, show the multiple aspects of Asian consumers.

АНТИГЕРОЙ В ПРОСТРАНСТВЕ ЮЖНОКОРЕЙСКОГО СЕРИАЛА: НОРМАЛЬНО ЛИ БЫТЬ НЕНОРМАЛЬНЫМ?

The article focuses on the image of an antihero in South Korean television series: its typical features, its functions, and interaction with the audience. The article opens with a brief outline of the antihero version that has been sought after by the global audience since the 2000s—a gifted sociopath, unable and unwilling to maintain the generally accepted format of interaction with other people. Further, the article turns to the historical and cultural conditions in which such antiheroes find themselves in the South Korean TV series. First of all, there are the principles of Confucian ideology: the priority of society over an individual, reverence for elders, drive to maintaining family ties, strict adherence to etiquette. This ideology, combined with the South Korean television’s tendency to be didactic, seems to create an unfavorable environment for antiheroes. However, the following three South Korean dramas—Kill Me, Heal Me (2015), A Beautiful Mind (2016), and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)—show that a character with recognizable antihero traits may successfully fit into the structure of these narratives. And since the antihero function in the third series is performed by the main female character, her behavior conflicts not only with Confucian norms, but also with stereotypical behavior patterns of female characters in South Korean TV series. However, the results of the study suggest that, in general, a South-Korean-type antihero is created under the influence of Confucian ethics. Society and family play an important role both in the formation of the antihero’s personality and in his or her subsequent “normalization”. Besides, the image of a South Korean antihero may indicate a more tolerant attitude of contemporary South Korean society towards the non-standard lifestyles and behavior of the individuals.

TRANSGRESSION OF LEGAL TEXT IN LATE JOSEON KOREA – FOCUSING ON HEUMHEUMSINSEO –

This article aims to shed light on the transgression of legal text in Late Joseon Korea. Legal text of Joseon contains ‘self-confession’ that reveals the cracks of yechi 예치 禮治, dominance under the Confucian norm. In this regard, this article reviews the principles of penal administration and legal culture in late Joseon period which functioned as the mechanism to produce dominant discourses to control transgressions. In particular, focusing on Heumheumsinseo 흠흠신서 欽欽新書 written by Jeong Yakyong 정약용 丁若鏞 (1762-1836), which contains most diverse types of legal texts, this article takes the transgression of genre of legal texts into consideration. Through this, how the secular genre of legal text obtains the cultural reality and reveals the suppressed social discourse would be explained.

Confucianism as a Eurasian Driving Force: What Does It Really Mean for Women in China and Eurasian Space?

Confucianism is persistently named one of the main Eurasian driving forces, cultural, legal, social and political. However, such definitions are usually given by male researchers that are often eager to ignore the real impact of Confucianism on women social roles and statuses in imperial China, modern China and in wider Eurasian space. In Confucian culture, although all rules and regulations are focused on the patrilineal, patriarchal, and patrilocal family system functioning to manage the state and the family, they promote the unequal gendered division of labor, social roles differentiated in a highly biased manner, and often unjust class hierarchy. In fact, Confucian norms strictly and rigidly regulate women’s roles, course of life and even destiny. Despite plethora of examples of women’s outstanding performances in the public sphere in China’s historical past, women are not regarded as social entities capable of occupying public tenures and positions within middle and late Confucianism. Even worse, several modern Confucian discourses degrade women to lowest social strata in the wide Eurasian space. In the paper, I examine what modern Confucianism – in additional to historical Confucianism – may really mean for a woman in Eurasia.

The summit of a moral pilgrimage: Confucianism on healthy ageing and social eldercare.

To effectively address ageing and develop adequate eldercare needs, among others, new ethical visions are much needed. One of the ways to formulate sound ethical visions for contemporary issues is to reclaim, reinterpret and revive old moral ideas and ideals rooted in different indigenous cultural traditions. Drawing thought, wisdom and inspirations from classical Confucianism, the article offers a Confucian ethical outlook on healthy ageing and social eldercare. The popular perception of ageing in the West as well as China regards old age as a period of inevitable decline. However, Kong Zi (Confucius) treats human life as an ongoing moral pilgrimage, with old age the summit of the lifelong journey. This Confucian ethical view on ageing as the culmination of a lifelong moral cultivation has various important themes. They include the primary feature of learning in healthy ageing, the essential role of social eldercare embedded in the popular Confucian norm ‘filial piety’ (xiao), intergenerational flourishing and the necessity to respect the rights and dignity of each old person. Such a Confucian socio-ethical vision can not only help identify contemporary failings in the area of eldercare but also generate novel ideas and frameworks to help China and the world to face population ageing and elderly care in a more positive way.

Wu Shujuan: an architect of cultural innovation or a traditionalist conservative?

Wu Shujuan was a Chinese female painter working in the tradition of the masters, whose works were predicated upon the ideological framework of Confucianism and yet managed to incorporate the heterogeneity of the emerging modern China. She broke into the genre of the male preserve of observational landscape painting and introduced Chinese art to the world’s art collectors, utilising new innovations in quality printing. This article makes an estimate as to where the balance lies between Wu as a moderniser and innovator and Wu as a traditionalist and conservative. In engaging in this study I employ a methodology based on analyses of: gender roles; the nature of the Chinese gentry; the resonance of Confucian norms and values; the emergence of a Chinese bourgeoisie and the consequent growth of the art market; and the emergence of modernity in the discourse of the emergent Republic of China. I conclude that Wu Shujuan was cultural reformist who sought changes within the existing framework of norms and values that were integral to the Chinese gentry’s way of life.

Can Confucian norms raise enterprise performance Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

Can Confucian norms raise enterprise performance Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

When the Sage Becomes a “God”

Southern Vietnam’s tradition has been mainly built on Confucian ideology, although it is a transformed one. There have been two types of Confucianism in the region: state-sponsored and mass Confucianism. During the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, under harsh colonial rule, a number of messianic religious movements emerged. The Minh Đức Nho giáo Đại đạo sect (MĐNGĐĐ, founded in 1932 in Trà Vinh province) is one such movement. The sect takes Confucian norms and values as its basic platform and further acculturates and transforms the philosophical values and rituals of Buddhism, Daoism, and Caodaism, as well as popular religions, to consolidate its settings.This article uses fieldwork––survey data and written documents––and applies historical particularism and acculturation theories, as well as the concepts of “standardization” and “de-standardization” by Watson (1985), to generalize the birth and features of MĐNGĐĐ in the local context. The study provides a comprehensive means to access the history of social thought in pre-modern Vietnam and possible principles of Confucian propagation and transformation in the country. The study finds that Confucianism may easily transform into a religious institution if the civilizing missions of local elites are missing.