Modern Western Research Articles

An Encounter between Christian Medical Missions and Chinese Medicine in Modern History: The Case of Benjamin Hobson

This article discusses how and why Christian medical missionaries established their foothold in Chinese society through the medical career of Benjamin Hobson, who was active in China from the late 1830s to the 1850s. Apart from his evangelical work among the Chinese, one of his key contributions was the new medical vocabularies he created to communicate medical knowledge. In addition to literary considerations, Hobson had his strategies for sharing modern medical knowledge. Moreover, he was prepared to debate with the Chinese over the validity of the pulse theory. The debate did not happen, however. His intention to establish the case for the superior position of Western medicine was not contested. His medical texts, at best, became the necessary underpinning for introducing modern Western medicine to China. When Western medical college projects took place in China at the turn of the century, biomedicine took over as the key paradigm, with Hobson’s medical texts being of limited use.

Contemporary Oil Painting Art and Art Market in Real Life

Since the reform and opening up in the 1980s, in the context of cultural exchange between China and the West, Chinese culture, art, and ideological concepts have undergone tremendous changes. Under the influence of Western painting, the development of oil painting art has further explored and studied modernist painting. At the same time, under the influence of Western modernist painting art, Chinese oil painting art has also shown a phenomenon of a hundred flowers blooming, such as the diversification of artistic styles and the diversification of painting language types, thereby creating the birth of various new painting schools. In the context of globalized art and culture, contemporary Chinese oil painting has also begun to go global. However, the development of contemporary Chinese oil painting is still criticized by the art of easel painting and photorealistic painting. Faced with the booming art market and the diversification of evaluation standards, how to understand the current situation and trends of contemporary oil painting art development is a question worthy of our in-depth research and reflection.

Introduction

Introduction

Tela’ah Kajian Aksiologi dalam Persepektif Islam dan Sains Modern

Axiology, as a branch of philosophy, means the knowledge that philosophically explores the 'values' inherent in something. This implies a critical, rational, and speculative examination. Axiology provides benefits in order to anticipate negative developments in human life. Broadly speaking, axiology is divided into two fields, namely ethics and aesthetics. The discussion of these two fields has different starting points between Islamic scholarship and modern Western science. In the construction of Islamic scholarship, knowledge operates within the framework of the Islamic paradigm, where knowledge directly derives from the Qur'an as a revelation text. In the Western historical context, the emergence of the Enlightenment period in the 17th century, which transformed into modernity, became a dividing line between science and religion in the West. This event is interpreted as a rebellion of humanity against God (Christianity), with modernity being the offspring of this rebellious spirit born from the Renaissance. Using a literary approach, this article explores insights by conducting a comparative analysis between the two perspectives. The result indicates that the starting point for ethics as a branch of philosophy is reason, not religion, while Islamic ethics is grounded in the Qur'an and hadith.

How do Islamic movements in the 19th and 20th centuries in Egypt help define Islamic modernity?

This research article explores the concept of multiple “modernities” as a counter to Western modernity, with a specific focus on the modernization of Islam. The paper provides a historical context to the modernization of Islam by examining 18th, 19th, and 20th-century Islamic reforms and their impact on the religion while staying true to its core principles. It also examines the influence of globalization on Islamic nations, using Egypt as an example. The article challenges the Western-centric narrative of modernity by emphasizing that modernity is not confined to Europe and can emerge under different conditions in diverse regions. The study highlights the Tajdid movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Salafat movement as examples of Islamic modernization efforts. The research demonstrates how these movements aimed to reform Islam while addressing global political, social, and economic changes. The article concludes that Islamic modernity is a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon that combines traditional Islamic teachings with contemporary contexts.

Angels and blue brains: aesthetics of knowledge in science and religion

This paper deals with the sensory and culturally situated dimension of knowing, which I refer to as “aesthetics of knowledge”, and focuses on knowing and knowledge in two fields of the modern and contemporary cultural sphere: science and religion. Since its emergence during the 19th century, science has been sharing many elements of the aesthetics of knowledge with modern Western religion. These are shaped by common heritage from the Romantic period and, while often dismissed as superficial borrowings, they contribute to construct scientific meaning. Based on existing literature, this paper endeavours to show how a focus on shared aesthetics of knowledge in science and religion can provide new insights in science, media and art studies by complementing other approaches.

POLITICAL CRITICISM OF SECULARISM AS THE MAIN LINE OF WESTERN MODERNITY IN THE JOURNALISM OF A.I. SOLZHENITSYN

This article raises questions related to the political interpretation of A.I. Solzhenitsyn. It is demonstrated that Solzhenitsyn’s work in this aspect can be described as a political and philosophical legitimation of the project of “conservative modernity”. The main plot dominant in Solzhenitsyn’s reflections is the political and philosophical criticism of Western secularism and its political consequences. Secularism is described by Solzhenitsyn as a “perversion” of the Christian idea, in this respect Bolshevism and Western liberalism are equated with each other, embodying the radical features of the Western modernist project. The main question that worries Solzhenitsyn: how is modernity possible, in which the basic Christian principles and rules are preserved and developed? The solution to this issue is connected with the political implementation of this project - the construction of a conservative version of democracy, in which the observance of human rights and the construction of a rule of law state is based on Christian, not secular values.

“The A.M. Kovalev’s Conception of ‘Just Society’ in the Context of Current Political and Philosophical Discussions”

In modern political and theoretical discourse, the concept of a ‘ just society’ is usually perceived as a normative idea that expresses the notion of what society “should be”. Nowadays, social justice as a political slogan is becoming an increasingly universal requirement made by social movements, political parties and groups regarding the ways of social organization and its functions. Regardless of the different interpretations, it is inseparable from other related concepts, such as ‘equality’, ‘ freedom’ and many others. It also represents the projection of various concepts of justice on social relations in individual countries, regions, and, finally, throughout the world (‘global justice’ on the scale of all mankind). Comparative analysis of the A.M. Kovalev’s concept of a just society and the main trends in the interpretation of this idea in modern Western socio-political theory indicate that the methodology developed by an outstanding Russian scientist can rightfully be considered one of the most promising. Its distinguishing feature is the creative interpretation of a set of ideas about a just society, dating back to the early works of Marx. It is combined with the analysis of the ideas of the Western European Enlightenment, the philosophy of Kant, Hegel and Fichte, the evolution of the social philosophy of the Frankfurt School and other equally influential areas of modern political theory (R. Aron and others). An analysis of modern political theories shows that the dyad “ justice / state” constitutes the ontological core of the political and philosophical discourse, in the structure of which the ideas of Marxism play an important role. In the A.M. Kovalev’s theory of a just society, the various assessments of the heuristic potential of Marxism acquire additional incentives, opening the way to new creative discussions. The article is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of A.M. Kovalev.

THE NATURE OF HUMANISM AND ITS MODERN CRISIS

The essence of the humanistic worldview and the main stages of the evolution of the humanistic thought are analyzed. The emphasis is on the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance, as they constitute the essence of the humanistic worldview. These ideas influenced the subsequent development of philosophical thought — Modern times, Enlightenment and modernity. The authors of the article adhere to the classical approach in understanding the essence of humanism, interpreting humanism as a doctrine that arose in the Renaissance, and subsequently applied to new conditions. In modern philosophy, there has been a desire to correct some ideas of humanism taking into account the realities of modernity, but without changing the fundamental principles of humanism. The article also shows a trend taking place in modern Western philosophy, namely the emasculation of humanistic ideas. In this regard, the features and specifics of the crisis of humanism in the modern era are analyzed. The relevance of this study is due to the fact that it shows the essence and evolution of the ideas of humanism, which is important in the context of modern multidirectional anthropological discourses. The relevance is also explained by the study of the main points of the crisis of humanism taking place in modern Western philosophy. In this regard, the article provides a reasoned criticism of the anti-humanistic ideas of Western philosophers. The aim of the study is to compare the fundamental ideas of humanism and its ideological foundations with anti-humanistic and anti-anthropocentric positions widely represented in modern Western philosophy. In the course of the research, such methods as the method of historical and philosophical analysis and the comparative method were used. The novelty of the research consists in identifying a peculiar tendency of dehumanization, that is, the antihumanistic orientation of a number of concepts of Western philosophy (F. Nietzsche, M. Heidegger, M. Foucault, J. Baudrillard, J. Deleuze).

Shooting and Fishing Prohibitions in the Water Bodies of Ajmer–Pushkar During Colonial Period: The Case of Marginalised Communities

Popular perception views the colonial regime as totally unconcerned about the notions of propriety and sentiments associated with the native population. Such a view does not bar us from studying colonial governance and the public works that it undertook under normal governance. The case study of fishing prohibitions imposed on the lakes of Ajmer–Pushkar highlights not only the regard that the colonial government had towards the religious sentiments of the masses but also the influence of modern Western ideas of environment conservation. Parallel to this runs the narrative of communal tension that erupts due to the prioritisation of religious sentiments of the majority community by the British State. The poor, whose sustenance is dependent on fishing, find ways to breach the colonial prohibitions, thereby challenging the regime’s authority. Similarly, the representatives of the vegetarian merchant class use their influence to compel the British administrators to take the steps they favoured. No consensus or conclusion is reached due to the complex nature of the whole affair, but the reading of the correspondence that emergence to and from the Chief Commissioner’s Office of Ajmer–Merwara on the subject may give us an insight into the various factors that influenced the functioning of the colonial administration and the diverse kinds of reaction that these elicited from the native population.

Introduction to Part 1 of the Themed Issue, ‘Racism and Colonialism in Hegel's Philosophy’: Rationale and Topics

It is increasingly realized today that Western modernity has not only promoted progressive ideals such as scientific thought, human rights and democratic political systems. Its history is also marked by a much darker side, one of brutal conquest, biological and cultural destruction, enslavement and exploitation of non-European peoples in the context of European colonialism. This dark side of Western modernity was legitimized by pro-colonial ideologies of property, war, civilization, progress and race. Such ideologies emerged in areas like jurisprudence and philosophy since the 16th century, often building on views from classical antiquity (Pagden 1995). They shaped academic paradigms such as ‘scientific racism’, colonial anthropology and Orientalism in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in many ways continue to influence contemporary societies and their academic practices.

“Nada puede dar una idea de ella sino es la vista”

Early on and after it reached its political independence, the elites in charge of the Republic of Chile made various attempts to create a museum for the country, which finally became a reality in 1841 under the title “Museo Nacional” (National Museum). This article examines the movements in the very notion of museum that circulated both among those elites and among those who undertook the task of bringing the project to fruition, identifying different shifts in its use and meaning. In a genealogical journey through the history of the Museo Nacional de Chile during the nineteenth century, this article posits that its definition was plastic in nature, which allowed it to be used for different purposes. During the first half of the century, this plasticity enabled the hierarchization of its properties, relegating the exhibition of collections to a secondary role. During the second half of the century, however, Rudolph Philippi, its director, would lead a modernization process that would attempt to inscribe the institution under his charge in the canons of the modern Western museum. In this process, the visual consumption of collections would become intrinsic to the notion of the museum. Its “optical” nature and the importance of the visual in the ways of experiencing it would demonstrate, as I postulate here, a relationship between the museum, observational practices, and national identity. As Philippi affirmed, nothing but sight could give a person an idea of the collection of “Chilean nature.”

Ayat dan Hadits Tentang Tujuan Pendidikan Islam

From the great attention that Islam gives to education, it can be understood that this religion has special goals and reasons related to this issue. Therefore, in this article we will explain the aim of the Islamic religion in encouraging its followers to pay attention to education. This approach will include quotations from verses that discuss the aims of education, with explanations that are not limited to just one book of commentary, but involve several books of commentary. In addition, several hadiths that are relevant to educational goals will be presented, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the goals of education in Islam. In the analysis, various opinions from Muslim scholars will be taken as a comparison and to increase insight in understanding the goals of Islamic education. Likewise, various views from modern Western educational figures will be used as a comparison in the study of educational goals from the perspective of the Al-Quran and Hadith.

Arising from the Underground

The constant drive towards “progress,” a requirement for Western modernity, has left an ever-growing catastrophe in its wake. When we realize that capitalist development will not solve our problems, we face a new promise—that of darkness, ancestors, and ruins. Here, we make connections between speculative histories, witchcraft, and the underground. We go beneath, into the roots of hidden forests, into the swamps, the night. We are a multiplicity, a coven, an ever-expanding network as wide as the dead. Gathered around the witch, we draw together multiple subjects to find camaraderie in the margins of colonization. We enter the web that binds us: signs emerge as guideposts, turning to ciphers and sigils, prophecies of incredible beings—plant allies, future guardians, survivors, and algorithms that revolt. Horizon. Revolution. Sprout. Dawn.

Against abstract universalisms in fashion theory: For a dialogical process of interpretation and translation

Criticism on the Eurocentric character of the concept of fashion has been raised already for almost four decades within fashion studies. Yet, the growing entanglement with globalization studies and postcolonial and decolonial theories has accelerated an epistemological turn within fashion studies. The epistemological turn not only fostered new research on the empirical level, it also challenged the theoretical framework of the discipline. Even the concept of fashion itself, entrenched as it is in modernization theories, has gradually come under attack. The concept of fashion has been held accountable for defining only ‘modern’ western fashion as its research object, while side-lining, even erasing, other ‘traditional’ sartorial systems. In order to redress the Eurocentric character of fashion theory and the exclusionary effects it engenders, fashion has been redefined as a ‘universalism’. Although this view became quite mainstream, in its turn it also became gradually criticized. It has been rightly argued that redefining fashion as a universalism is only another way of re-inscribing fashion scholarship in the hegemonic western ‘modern/colonial’ way of knowledge production. Studying sartorial practices positioned outside the western capitalist fashion system through the lens of fashion obscures an understanding of their own specific characteristics. In this article, I will turn more specifically towards the question of which methodologies we can mobilize if we, scholars versed in western modern knowledges and modern knowledge production, are committed to a multiplicity of sartorial worlds in as well as outside ‘the West’. The article proposes a hermeneutic–dialogical method of interpretation and translation as an epistemological as well as an ethical tool towards a more adequate understanding of ‘other’ ways of wearing, making, feeling, thinking of and living through clothes. Finally, this article offers a tentative analysis that shows what this dialogical approach might entail.

Introduction of Western Medicines into China and Improvement on Decoctions during Modern China

Abstract During the late Qing dynasty (1840 A.D.-1912 A.D.), a large quantity of Western medicines entered China, which continuously impacted the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) market and revealed the shortcomings of Chinese medicines. Some personages in the TCM community followed the trend of learning from the West, and attempted to reform TCM, with the improvement on decoction becoming an important aspect of this effort. Through debates and trials, the improvement on decoction underwent three stages of conceptual evolution: “taking Chinese medicines as the foundation and referring to the dosage forms of Western medicines”, “introducing Western techniques to serve the preparation of decoctions” and “integrating the theories of TCM and Western medicine to improve decoctions”. The study highlights the effective complementarity between modern TCM and Western medicine in the field of pharmacy, and provides valuable experience and support for the reevaluation of the value of TCM in contemporary society.

“Decolonizationˮ and “Deimperializationˮ: Modern Western Policy Towards Fragmentation of Russia

Introduction. Multinational Russia at various stages of its existence faces the playing out of the national question by opposing geopolitical centers. The discourse of “decolonization” and “deimperialization” of Russia has acquired a new level of relevance in the international arena after February 24, 2022. The purpose of the article is to identify and investigate the features of the destructive form of ethno-political mobilization in the regions of the Russian Federation through the construction and promotion of the discourse of “decolonization” and “deimperialization” of Russia by Western states. Materials and Methods. The materials used in the study include U.S. legal documents, resolutions of the European Parliament, publications and speeches of representatives of the Western political elite and scientific and expert community, materials of the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, content of various organizations, foreign mass media and media foreign agents. The methodological basis of the study is represented by systemic, geopolitical and instrumentalist approaches, as well as such methods as monitoring, discourse analysis and content analysis. Results. The narrative of “deimperialization” and “decolonization” of Russia in the publications of the Western scientific and expert community and media materials is studied, and the political technologies of Western states oriented at the actualization of ethnic nationalism and, as a consequence, separatist tendencies in the regions of the Russian Federation are revealed. Western projects of practical policy oriented at actualization of national contradictions in the Russian Federation are implemented mainly through the following initiatives: holding events dedicated to “decolonization” and “deimperialization” of Russia; using representatives of Western-oriented national elites to actualize separatist tendencies in the regions of the Russian Federation; adopting declarations on “liberation” of the peoples of Russia from “colonial” dependence; popularization of information about the need for “decolonization”; and the use of the “decolonization” of Russia. Discussion and Conclusion. “Decolonization” and “deimperialization” of Russia are focused on the implementation of a destructive form of ethno-political mobilization and fragmentation of the Russian Federation along national lines of settlement. The authors identify five technologies for the formation of ethnic nationalism in the regions of the Russian Federation, which are used by Western states in the process of modern confrontation with Russia. The results of the study will be useful for public authorities at both regional and federal levels to develop a set of measures aimed at countering the playing of the “national card” on the territory of Russia by competing geopolitical centers.

Conceptualizing ‘Chinese surrealism’ through translation: a case study of the China independent fine arts association’s cultural identity and its translation of surrealism in 1930s

ABSTRACT This paper examines the questions of cultural identity in the surrealist related translation practices led by the China Independent Fine Arts Association (CIFAA) around 1935. It was the first time in the history of modern Chinese art that a group of artists translated ‘surrealism’ together and that an art association independently translated a modern Western art genre into China. Accordingly, the CIFAA’s work evidences that translation has played a vital role in the modernization of Chinese art. In this translation movement, the young artists-as-translators expressed their pioneering art concepts through translation, expressing their desire to be both ‘reformers’ of Chinese art and ‘mediators’ of Chinese and Western modern art. As reformers, the artists attempted to innovate Chinese art by introducing surrealism, while as mediators they sought to reconcile the contradiction between their desire for innovation and the mainstream left-wing Chinese expectations of realistic art by adding ‘realism’ to the Chinese semantic meaning of ‘surrealism’. This paper thus argues that the CIFAA’s translation of surrealism reflects a complex relationship between translation and the artists’ cultural identity, which ultimately conceptualizing an unprecedented ‘Chinese surrealism’ that is very different from the original Western surrealism.

‘A smoked salmon salad and a glass of Bordeaux.’ Cultivating social distinction and negotiating femininity through the consumption of Western food in post-reform China

ABSTRACT Consumption of Western food and wine has been on the rise in the Chinese middle-class since Deng Xiao Ping’s 1980s reforms and is particularly prevalent among the young urban generation who grew up in post-Maoist China. Ethnographic observations at events organized by the Food & Beverage Unit of French Consulate in Shanghai and 10 semi-structured interviews with Chinese young female professionals belonging to the French business circles and French gastronomy professionals were undertaken. Food photographs on the social media WeChat were also examined in a cyber-ethnography. Drawing on Farrer’s concept of culinary Occidentalism and on the role of food in post-socialist states, this paper explores how temporary migrations as international students and culinary tourism in France shape a cosmopolitan capital which young Chinese female professionals use to help their peers domesticate the complex world of Western gastronomy in Shanghai. I argue that through their appreciation of French gastronomy, they perform social distinction and negotiate a post-socialist, transnationally connected urban femininity. Their search for refined, healthy and “authentic” Western and French food and wine consumption, frequently displayed on social media, is embedded in a complex realm of glamorized representations of Western modernity and French romanticism.

X საუკუნის რაჭის კანკელების მცენარეული ორნამენტების უცხოური ანალოგიების დადგენის მცდელობა

Figurative-ornamental relief samples of artistic processing of Racha stone of the 10th century are united in three individual workshops of different chronological stages on the basis of artistic-stylistic similarity. In the decoration of these monuments, including stone iconostases, it is worth noting the diverse ornamental repertoire built on plant-geometric motifs. Of the above mentioned, several characteristic motifs of plant ornament of Racha stone iconostases of the 10th century are presented. They are discussed in the context of comparison with parallel materials of other modern Georgian monuments. On the basis of comparative analysis of the monuments of Italy, Croatia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Egypt in stone, wood material and stucco of the 8th-9th centuries, the issue of the existence of foreign analogies of decorative motifs used in Georgian examples is confirmed. Which, in a broad historical-cultural context, should indicate the links of Georgian art of the 10th century with modern Eastern and Western civilizations and, accordingly, the mutual influence of artistic trends characteristic of the era.