The Remaking of the Chinese Character and Identity in the 21st Century

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The Remaking of the Chinese Character and Identity in the 21st Century The Chinese Face Practices

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Wenshan Jia

ISBN: 1-56750-555-4

ISBN-13: 978-1-56750-555-9

DOI:

216 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 9/30/2001

List Price: $39.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Paperback

Also Available: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Series Title: Civic Discourse for the Third Millennium

Description: Wenshan Jia demonstrates that a true liberation of Chinese civic discourse can start with a focus on indigenous cultural practices, such as face practices--the understanding that every human face offers a distinct cultural grammar for acting, speaking, and feeling. Chinese character and identity, the author argues, are primarily functions of communication, and as such, these practices are of enormous consequence to the necessary reconstruction of Chinese identity in the changing socio-economic context of the 21st century. In this way, Jia finds a middle ground between the advocacy of complete Westernization and radical Chinese nationalism: as a pragmatic alternative, communication is key.

Never before has facework research been approached so systematically from the standpoint of its relationship to character and identity. Jia's work substantially advances the literature on Chinese communication and presents a unique perspective on its relationship to social transformation. This new paradigm of facework--including analytical methods such as Circular Questioning in addition to major case studies--challenges traditional views while pointing the way toward a new and valuable social-constructionist view.

Table of Contents:

Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Social Constructionism and Practical Theory as the Theoretical Perspective on Lian/Mian Research
A Social Reconstruction of Lian/Mian
Literature Review
Research Methodologies
Case Study I: Kneeling Down to Save Face
Case Study II: "I Don't Have Face to Meet My Mother"
A Social Construction Model of Lian/Mian Transformation
A Theoretical Discussion
Remake the Chinese Character
References

About the Author: WENSHAN JIA is Assistant Professor of Communication, State University of New York at New Paltz, and was Research Chair of The Association of Chinese Communication Studies./e His research concentrations are intercultural communication, Chinese communication and social change, and communication theory.

LCC Class: 306


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