Distinctive Chinese Characteristics Research Articles

HOW ARE HONG KONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS INSPIRED BY CHINESE ART AND CULTURE IN DESIGNING NEW FASHION?

Chinese traditional culture has been widely used and provides a rich resource for modern fashion design. Through the “Stitchable Chinese Art” fashion design competition 2024, organized by the Arts Education Section of the Education Bureau and the School of Fashion and Textiles of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, secondary school students deeply explored the meanings embedded in traditional Chinese culture and create new fashion styles with distinct Chinese characteristics. This study aimed to motivate students’ appreciation of Chinese art and culture and investigate how Hong Kong secondary students were inspired when designing new fashionable clothing. Mixed research methods were adopted. The quantitative method was used to analyze all 844 submitted works to determine the most frequently used Chinese artistic and cultural themes. Qualitative methods, comprising an in-depth examination of the 30 shortlisted design works, were used to identify how inspiration was drawn from traditional Chinese cultural elements. The key findings suggest that their most favorable design elements are: the conventional dragon as the main design inspiration; cheongsam style as the core silhouette; red as the major color; embroidery patterns as the featured design detail and silk fabric as the foremost fabrication.

Analyzing the Xinjiang Elements in Sun Yiqiang's Piano Work Spring Dance

Spring Dance, composed in the 1980s by Sun Yiqiang, who was born in 1948 in Shanghai, is a piano piece with distinct Chinese national characteristics. At the invitation of his friend Liu Shikun, Sun Yiqiang traveled to Xinjiang to conduct field research on local music. He was particularly inspired by observing the joyful scenes of people dancing and riding horses after work, which became the foundation for his composition. The music reflects Suns genuine emotional response to these experiences, blending both gentle and passionate tones, creating dynamic contrasts throughout the piece. It incorporates the musical elements from Xinjiang, giving the composition a regional flavor. The listener can almost feel the warmth of the Xinjiang people and the beauty of the regions environment through the music. The analysis of these elements in Spring Dance enable foreign piano enthusiasts to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, particularly the musical characteristics of ethnic minorities in that border region. This, in turn, helps promote Chinese culture as a bridge of friendship both domestically and internationally.

The Making of a Sociology with Distinctive Chinese Characteristics

Abstract: This article re-examines the recent history of Chinese sociology from a sociological viewpoint by adopting a perspective that transcends the official powerholders’ framework. It focuses on the period between 1978 and 2023, and offers a descriptive analysis of the six features of socialist sociology with distinctive Chinese characteristics under Xi Jinping’s regime. It also introduces the concept of “cooperation to resist” and identifies the subfields of sociology that are at risk of decline. The article contends that sociology in China has faced a crisis in the past decade due to its increased utilisation as a tool to support the authoritarian vision of China’s modernisation. Such a shift has constrained the discipline and limited the scope of its inquiries, so that it increasingly focuses on politically safe subjects and topics that avoid critical scrutiny. Consequently, such scholarship blurs the boundaries between academic knowledge and propaganda, ultimately compromising the quality of scholarly work in favour of political power.

A Top Model of Urban Residents’ Subjective Well-Being in China

Past research on subjective well-being (SWB) in Western society and China has revealed various contributing factors. This study conducted a series of interviews with Chinese urban residents to systematically analyze those factors based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory. The results revealed that 5 layers, 23 factors, and 55 elements, many of which had distinct Chinese characteristics, contributed to Chinese urban residents’ SWB. The Top Model of SWB, visualized as a spinning top or gyroscope, showcased the interdependent layers of factors impacting Chinese urban residents’ SWB. At its vertical axis is a time dimension as residents often reflect on factors by comparing their present situation with the past and the future. Discussion regarding each layer, the primary factors that comprise each layer, links between the layers, and the impact of a time dimension was included to substantiate the proposed model. The discussions focus on the study’s contribution to SWB literature, public policy-making, and future research on urban Chinese residents’ SWB.

Conceptions of democracy in China: New evidence from the structural topic model

This article investigates popular conceptions of democracy and its underlying factors in China. Democratic conceptions among Chinese citizens have long been debated, with most concluding that economic welfare and government performance dominate how the Chinese view democracy. This article offers a different picture, with new evidence drawn from text data. By employing the structural topic model to analyze the responses to open-ended questions from three waves of the Asian Barometer Survey between 2008 and 2015, this article delineates four democratic conceptions prevalent among the Chinese populace, namely ‘Political Participation’, ‘Political Rights’, ‘Consultative Decision-making’ and ‘Socioeconomic Performance’. The analysis shows that political participation has become the most prominent conception, closely followed by political rights. This finding suggests a shift in the Chinese interpretation of democracy, aligning more closely with western procedural notions while still retaining distinct Chinese characteristics. In addition to rising demands for freedom and equality, informed respondents ask for deeper involvement in public affairs and higher inclusion in the decision-making process. These trends underscore the necessity for the Chinese authorities to more effectively address public demands, especially in the context of the ongoing endeavor to cultivate China’s new model of whole-process people’s democracy.

Milestone of China's Foreign-Related Legislation – A Review of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Relations

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Relations is China's first foundational and comprehensive law in the field of foreign relations. This law promotes the rule of law both domestically and internationally in a coordinated manner, significantly enhancing the legal framework governing China's conduct of foreign affairs. It also makes substantial progress in the strategic development of foreign-related legislation, advancing the overall foreign-related legal system and integrity, quality and timeliness of specific legislation. Bearing distinct Chinese characteristics and reflecting the ethos of our era, this law stands as a milestone in the legislative history of China.

Research on the Overseas Communication Image of Chinese Cosmetic Brands-Case Study of Florasis and Perfect Diary

The overseas expansion of Chinese brands and the presentation of their video advertisements has been a crucial topic in media studies. Researchers have found that more and more Chinese companies are expanding abroad in the context of economic globalization, yet there is still a research gap on the issue of advertising in overseas markets. Therefore, this paper aims to further analyses the similarities and differences in advertising presentation between two Chinese local cosmetic brands, Florasis and Perfect Diary with a particular focus on their advertisements on overseas online platforms. The comparative study reveals that there are significant differences in the brand images established by the two brands in overseas markets. The advertisement of Florasis has distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics and expresses the concept that "the national is the global", which reflects the unique cultural specificity in the international market. In contrast, Perfect Diary's advertising is integrated into the international market without Chinese traces, which shows its ambition to compete with other world-renowned brands.

Guidance Certification Effect and Governance Supervision Effect of Government Investment Funds

The establishment of government investment funds serves as a crucial measure for governments at all levels to leverage their certification role and financial resources in attracting social capital to support enterprise development. This paper empirically examines the guiding certification effect and governance supervision effect of government investment funds on enterprise value enhancement, utilising panel data from listed companies and government investment fund investment event data spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. The research findings reveal that government investment funds significantly enhance the value of recipient enterprises. By leveraging their guidance and certification effects and governance supervision effects, these funds alleviate financing constraints, actively participate in corporate governance, and ultimately enhance corporate value. The impact of government investment funds is negatively moderated by the age and size of the enterprise, indicating that the “invest in early-stage and small businesses” investment strategy yields better results in promoting value enhancement. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that government investment funds have a more pronounced impact on the value of non-heavily polluting industries, enterprises located in the eastern and southern regions of China, and non-state-owned enterprises. This article expands the research scope of government investment funds at the micro level, providing empirical evidence and theoretical support for optimising government investment funding policies and fostering the development of a modern capital market with distinctive Chinese characteristics.

Assessing Narratives in the Translation of Chinese Political Discourse: A Perspective from the Narrative Paradigm

In the global era, translating Chinese political discourse is key to enhancing international understanding and diplomacy. This research employs the narrative paradigm to assess the translation of Chinese political discourse, with the goal of enhancing the effective narrative comprehension of such translations for international communication. It applies Fisher’s narrative paradigm and Baker’s assessing narratives to investigate the application and impact of the principles of narrative coherence and fidelity in the translation of Chinese political discourse for international audiences. Employing a qualitative research approach, it conducts an analysis based on translations from volumes III and IV of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, as primary case studies. The research finds that translations of Chinese political discourse face specific challenges and opportunities in maintaining narrative coherence and fidelity. The principle of narrative coherence emphasizes the importance of creating coherent, accessible narrative structures in translation, while the principle of fidelity demands fidelity to the source’s cultural information and political connotations, reflecting distinctive Chinese characteristics. Highlighting the significance of adopting the narrative paradigm in the international communication of Chinese political discourse, this research provides theoretical and practical insights for assessing narrative comprehension of Chinese political discourse translation. Moreover, the results offer a new perspective on narrative assessment for comprehension in cross-cultural and international communication, pointing directions for future research.

Path to global knowledge: a review of Chinese scholars on international publishing

Abstract The article selects 634 papers authored by Chinese scholars on international publishing from CNKI, China’s foremost dataset for Chinese academic papers, in the past three decades. Employing the thematic analysis, the article explores the trends, developments and issues deliberated by Chinese scholars in the realm of international publishing. The article first scrutinizes the major themes discussed by Chinese scholars, revealing an evolution in their perceptions on international publishing. This evolution progresses from initial awareness in the first stage to adeptly handling challenges and enhancing the quality of international publishing in the second and third stages. In the fourth stage, scholars in China emphasize distinctive Chinese characteristics. The second part of the article outlines six issues deliberated by Chinese scholars in the field of international publishing, including international influence, contextual debates, English language, academic motivations, evaluation systems and publication charges. These six issues underscore the resilience and proactive efforts exhibited by Chinese scholars as they endeavor to adapt to and integrate into the international academic arena. In conclusion, the article summarizes the features of Chinese scholarship on international publishing and advocates that Chinese scholarship continues its engagement in global collaboration to make a more substantial contribution to global knowledge production.

Sexual experiences of postmenopausal women in China: a qualitative study.

Sexual dysfunction is common among postmenopausal women and can have a significant negative impact on quality of life. This study aimed to explore perceptions, experiences, and coping strategies related to sex among postmenopausal women in China. We used phenomenologic qualitative methods in this study. On the basis of purposive sampling and the data saturation principle, 21 volunteers from a community cohort study were selected for semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed and themes were extracted. Thematic codes pertaining to sexual experiences and coping strategies were defined and assessed in this study. Four themes and 12 subthemes were extracted from the interview data. The sexual concepts were relatively conservative for most of the Chinese women; the majority experienced physical and psychological distress with respect to sex, although negative and positive psychological experiences were described. The women often passively accepted and adapted to negative changes to their sex lives during the postmenopause period. This study highlights the importance of and need for effective dissemination of sexual health-related knowledge and the opening of appropriate communication channels. By using a qualitative approach, this study provides individuals with the opportunity to describe their cognition and attitudes toward sexuality. Limitations include limited generalizability, as is true for most qualitative research. Additionally, the study is based solely on the female perspective and cannot fully reflect the sex life of couples. The sexual experiences of our respondents exhibited distinct Chinese cultural characteristics. The interviews show the importance of paying attention to postmenopausal women's sexual health and providing relevant professional support and guidance to improve women's overall health-related quality of life.

Translating the pet man: the “milky puppy” imaginary and neoliberal subjectivity

ABSTRACT The term “milky puppy” (xiao naigou) gained popularity as a slang term in Chinese cyberspace since 2017, symbolizing a young, endearing, and adorable male figure, much like the perception of a puppy. This phenomenon, influenced by Hallyu 4.0 and the toshishita romantic motif prevalent in Japanese and Korean popular cultures, has led to the emergence of an “older woman-younger man” relationship pattern as a new trend in Chinese digital entertainment, particularly TV dramas. In this context, the younger, “pet” boyfriend is commonly referred to as a “milky puppy.” This article investigates the transnational flow and cultural translation of the Pet Man imaginary in East Asia, arguing that the bodily rhetoric of “milky puppy” signifies a Chinese variant of moe culture and represents the commodification of the male body. The article presents critical analyses of two recent Chinese TV dramas within this romantic subgenre, Find Yourself and The Rational Life, and compares them to the South Korean drama Something in the Rain. Through this comparative study, the article aims to identify distinctive Chinese characteristics in the portrayal of pet man masculinity in these dramas. By engaging with feminist and governmentality theories, the study explores how gender dynamics in these dramas negotiate between neoliberal subjectivity and the resilience of patriarchal gender norms in postsocialist China.

Exploring a Typical Regional Model for Rural Industrial Revitalization: Using Shimen Township as a Case Study

Implementing the strategy of rural revitalization and embarking on the path of socialist rural revitalization with distinctive Chinese characteristics are essential steps in addressing existing gaps in agricultural and rural modernization. These steps aim to swiftly increase farmers’ incomes, enhance agricultural production capabilities, foster high-quality rural economic development, and rectify issues related to uneven development. Revitalizing rural areas and alleviating poverty among the majority of farmers represent major decisions made by the state regarding the “three rural issues.” This paper conducts an analysis and discussion centered on Shimen Township in She County within the context of the agricultural and rural development revitalization strategy. The objective is to identify prevailing challenges and propose relevant solutions.

Empowering the Future of Engineering Education Discipline with Chinese Characteristics: Motivation, Formation, and Promotion

Engineering education discipline encompasses a complex interplay of various factors, such as the rapid expansion of engineering disciplines, the enhancement of exceptional engineer training, and the advancement of educational excellence. This paper presents an overview of relevant research and practices in the construction of the engineering education discipline, including scientific investigations, disciplinary frameworks, research institutions, research teams, and research methodologies. Additionally, it highlights the key elements for the development and future promotion of the engineering education discipline. These elements are guided by a focused discipline development approach, driven by strengthened curriculum and teaching initiatives, empowered by the cultivation of outstanding research talents, facilitated by the establishment of a diverse teaching staff, and supported by high-level scientific research. Finally, this paper offers future prospects and reflections on the construction of engineering education discipline with distinctive Chinese characteristics.

A milestone in the history of Chinese modern landscape design: the Fangta Park in Shanghai

Fangta Park in Shanghai is a widely admired Chinese modern park and a representative work by Professor Feng Jizhong. A literature review is first used to explain the construction process of Fangta Park, its design philosophy, master plan, and detailed design, followed by an analysis of the park’s design. Previous studies have shown how Feng Jizhong ‘deconstructed’ Western architectural forms using traditional Chinese space concepts, thus generating novel Chinese architectural forms underpinned by Western construction concepts. He adapted rhetorical devices of Chinese traditional poetry and used them in the spatial arrangement and landscape design of Fangta Park, a modern landscape and architectural masterpiece with distinctive Chinese characteristics. Feng Jizhong promoted blending Chinese culture with modern landscape design and illustrated the process of ‘space-time transformation’ with ‘conative space’. Through the design of Fangta Park, he exhibited his individuality and profound scholarship, charting a unique course for modern landscape architecture in China.

Curriculum Ideological and Political Education: An Educational Philosophy with Distinct Chinese Characteristics

As an educational philosophy with distinct Chinese characteristics, curriculum ideological and political education has been widely promoted and applied in major universities in China in recent years. This article takes the teaching practice of ideological and political education in the Financial Management course as an example, illustrates the real scenes of content innovation in the teaching practice process, analyzes the innovative ideas of integrating the ideological and political concepts into professional courses in universities, and expounds the specific content of the reconstructed teaching system and evaluation reform of Financial Management teaching based on the ideological and political concepts, Finally, it summarizes the experience in the ideological and political practice of the financial management course and reflects on the problems encountered and the shortcomings therein, with a view to providing broader ideas and research paradigms for the continuous construction of the Financial Management course in the future.

Review, impact, and future of severe and extra-severe burn treatment in China

China began using the colored liquid from tea and tincture to treat burns as early as the sixth century B.C., and records of Chinese medicine for the rescue and treatment of burns date from the Jin Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Modern burn treatment medicine in China began in 1958 when national steel production began. Since then, burn patients have increased dramatically, independent burn departments have been established nationwide, and burn surgery has moved into technological development. With the combined efforts of several generations of burn medical workers in China, the clinical treatment of severe and extra-severe burns has steadily increased. Many fields, such as burn shock prevention and treatment, wound repair, and sepsis, have become world leaders in the 21st century, forming a treatment technology and theoretical system with distinctive Chinese characteristics. Burn medical professionals have conducted numerous clinical and fundamental experimental studies, founded the Burns Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, established academic journals, and successfully established China Burn Treatment Program. The advancement of science and technology has promoted the development of modern medicine, and 3D virtual reality technology, 3D printing technology, organoid culture, and tissue engineering skin have demonstrated potential advantages and excellent application prospects in the treatment of severe burns, providing new ideas and directions for the discipline’s development. In the new journey of development and reform, we should continue to strengthen the systematic construction of the discipline, enhance the innovative treatment capability, and create further triumph.

Proactive Fiscal Policy: The New Logic of China’s Practice

China’s proactive fiscal policy adheres to the development ideology centered around the people and differs from the traditional Western logic of macro-fiscal policy. It bears distinct Chinese characteristics and represents a significant macroeconomic governance policy innovation in China’s process of modernization. Despite the considerable differences between the perspectives of the Keynesian tradition and the non-Keynesian tradition, their policy objectives and methodological foundations are broadly similar, constituting the traditional Western logic of macro-fiscal policy. Currently, this logic is facing increasing practical challenges. In contrast, China’s proactive fiscal policy not only aims to restore supply-demand balance and potential growth levels but also emphasizes enhancing future potential growth rates, marking a transformation from the traditional Western logic to a new logic. It is essential to emphasize that under this new logic, forming a new fiscal policy paradigm requires a reevaluation of the nature and appropriate scale of fiscal deficits, the role and risk measurement standards of government debt, the space and effectiveness of reduction of taxes and administrative fees, demand management methods and priorities, as well as policy costs and efficiency, among other fundamental categories.

Self-Care Practice and Retention: Narratives of Social Workers in China

Despite the growing importance of self-care in the retention of social workers, its practice has been rarely studied. This study investigated the self-care strategies utilized by social workers to enhance retention in China. This study comprised individual in-depth interviews with 49 experienced social workers and three focus group discussions. Findings showed that five categories of personal self-care strategies and six categories of professional self-care strategies were identified. Emphases on self-care practice differed at three distinct career stages, frontline social workers, project officers or managers, and organizational managers. Self-care practice was revealed as indispensable for social workers’ retention in China, identifying distinct Chinese characteristics and highlighting the global nature of the ecological perspective of self-care. The study discusses the implications for social workers, educators, social services organizations, government, and the public.

Construction of a competency framework of dental hygienists: A Delphi study

AimTo explore the basic and core competencies of dental hygienists, construct a systematic and scientific competency framework for dental hygienists taking into account China’s national conditions and provide a theoretical basis for the future training in China and other countries that have not yet established the competencies of dental hygienists. BackgroundThe establishment of dental hygienists role is essential for the public to improve the dental health level. Currently, more than 50 countries around the world have established the role of dental hygienists and defined the core competencies needed by dental hygienists. However, studies on developing a standardized and unified consensus of competencies of dental hygienists are lacking in China. MethodsBased on the literature review and theoretical research, this study explored the theoretical basis and fundamental principle of constructing the competency framework for dental hygienists. Moreover, a correspondence questionnaire on dental hygienists’ competency framework was initially constructed to clarify the specific content of each competency. Finally, the Delphi method was adopted to establish the indicators of the dental hygienists’ competency framework according to the principle of expert selection and inclusion criteria. ResultsThe three rounds of Delphi consultation experts were from nursing, stomatology and management and other fields. Three rounds of Delphi results showed that the expert authority, enthusiasm and coordination coefficients were high. Thereafter, a competency framework of dental hygienists with 4 primary indicators, 15 secondary indicators and 50 tertiary indicators was constructed, which included theoretical knowledge, professional skills, professional abilities and occupational qualities. ConclusionLiterature and theoretical research methods along with Delphi expert consultation were used to construct the competency framework of dental hygienists based on the onion model. The competency framework of dental hygienists was scientific, reasonable and practical, which is consistent with the current health situation in China and has distinct Chinese characteristics. Some of our findings, offer ideas for other developing countries that have not yet set up the role of dental hygienists or are in an initial stage.