Chinese culture is widely regarded as being dominated by Confucian thought, which is characterized as focusing on morality, relationalism and collectivism. Also, Chinese culture has been deemed to be very hierarchical and lacking in a sense of autonomy. However, there has been little attention paid to other diverse elements in Chinese culture and…

This Forum article addresses some of the issues raised in the article by Ying-Syuan Huang and Anila Asghar's paper entitled: "Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan." An attempt is made to highlight the need for a more nuanced approach in considering the Confucian…

In response to an essay by Prof Wu Zongjie that was published in the "Journal of Curriculum Studies" [43(5), (2011), 569-590], I argue that, despite dramatic changes that have taken place in the language of Chinese academic discourse and pedagogy, evidence derived from the fields of psychology and the history of Chinese educational…

This is a response to the commentaries on my essay, "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation". However, the response is reoriented to further interpretation of Chinese pedagogic discourse in the late-19th century, which is often blamed for hampering China's educational advance. Instead of considering Classical Confucian pedagogy as…

This paper is a personal reflection on a lifetime experience of bridging the values and ideas of two distinctive faith traditions: the Christian and the Confucian. The author has chosen to focus on the lives and beliefs of two great teachers: St. Paul in Europe of the first century CE and Confucius in China of the 5th century BCE First the context…

Scholars tend to explain or predict China English's rhetorical strategies on the basis of Chinese discourse and cultural preferences. This inference model, I argue, falls short in studying the Chinese variety of English because, first, it essentializes both China English and Chinese, treating their discursive strategies as two easily…

This article introduces and analyses recent developments in philosophy of education in mainland China and Taiwan. Though Confucianism has very rich insights into education, philosophy of education as a discipline came to China only around 100 years ago. It reached its first climax in the 1920s and 1930s, but then went into decline for nearly half…

Notes that an unusually large number of Chinese nursery rhymes provide realistic depictions of women's life experiences over the long history of China. Describes how they tell about women's fears and concerns as well as hopes and dreams and even sufferings. Divides those rhymes into three categories that represent three stages of a woman's life.…

Little has been written on the impact of Far East civilization's thought and influence on leisure in China today. A discussion of Chinese history, outlined in three stages, clarifies the development of Chinese philosophy over the past 5,000 years. Chinese civilization and culture rest upon a philosophical basis shaped primarily by the principles…

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) believed in the power of language to regulate society. Concerned about civil war and the moral and social decay of his time, he advocated a peaceful society with a mild and moderate form of law and order and with an emphasis on the well-being of individuals through compassion, kindness, and justice. This form of law…

Discusses two practices of the centuries-old Chinese Confucian academies that might benefit the American college teacher today: how Chinese academies have fostered student-teacher rapport and how they developed student motivation to learn. The origins and loss of these traditions are also examined. (MSE)