Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-17020005
Hoi-yan Yau, H. Wong
This article provides an analysis of the cultural meaning of guanxi (關係) in Chinese societies, specifically in the context of a workplace situation in Taiwan. Guanxi is a concept based on Confucian ethics, which was originally a positive concept connoting human closeness, has transformed into a manipulative and instrumentally used variant called “guanxi-practice”(關係學). The article argues that an effective way to understand the cultural meaning of guanxi is to examine the Chinese kinship system, which shares similarities with interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture. The guiding principle of Chinese familial ethics, tong (同), refers to members sharing the same breath who are expected to offer emotional and financial support in times of need. The study analyses the exchange of guanxi-work among men in Taiwanese society to clarify the logic of guanxi operation. The study aims to contribute to the broader discussion on the cultural meaning of guanxi in Chinese societies, explaining why guanxi can empower and entitle participants to seek favors and benefit from one another.
{"title":"The Logic of Tong (Togetherness) or Why Guanxi Works in Chinese Societies?","authors":"Hoi-yan Yau, H. Wong","doi":"10.1163/24522015-17020005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-17020005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article provides an analysis of the cultural meaning of guanxi (關係) in Chinese societies, specifically in the context of a workplace situation in Taiwan. Guanxi is a concept based on Confucian ethics, which was originally a positive concept connoting human closeness, has transformed into a manipulative and instrumentally used variant called “guanxi-practice”(關係學). The article argues that an effective way to understand the cultural meaning of guanxi is to examine the Chinese kinship system, which shares similarities with interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture. The guiding principle of Chinese familial ethics, tong (同), refers to members sharing the same breath who are expected to offer emotional and financial support in times of need. The study analyses the exchange of guanxi-work among men in Taiwanese society to clarify the logic of guanxi operation. The study aims to contribute to the broader discussion on the cultural meaning of guanxi in Chinese societies, explaining why guanxi can empower and entitle participants to seek favors and benefit from one another.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"119 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140445239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-17020004
Miau Ing Tan, Kam Hing Lee, Kean Yew Lee
Do businesses owned or operated by the Chinese diaspora engage more with China than businesses owned by non-ethnic Chinese? To answer this question, ethnic Chinese owned companies listed on the Malaysian stock exchange were compared with non-Chinese owned/controlled on the extent of their business in China. Of some 800 listed companies as of December 2017, 547 or 68% are Malaysian Chinese companies. Of the latter, some 18.4%, conduct business in China compared to just 8.5% among the non-ethnic Chinese listed companies. This finding needs to be qualified first, by the fact that the companies’ presence in China may not represent a major portion of their business. As some firms do not separate their China- from other Asian businesses, the extent of China engagement is likely to be underestimated. Second, while economic motives were responsible for their presence in China, “cultural citizenship” and family business patriarchs being first or second generations could help explain their affinity to China.
{"title":"Does China Matter to the Chinese Overseas? A Case Study of Malaysian Chinese Businesses","authors":"Miau Ing Tan, Kam Hing Lee, Kean Yew Lee","doi":"10.1163/24522015-17020004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-17020004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Do businesses owned or operated by the Chinese diaspora engage more with China than businesses owned by non-ethnic Chinese? To answer this question, ethnic Chinese owned companies listed on the Malaysian stock exchange were compared with non-Chinese owned/controlled on the extent of their business in China. Of some 800 listed companies as of December 2017, 547 or 68% are Malaysian Chinese companies. Of the latter, some 18.4%, conduct business in China compared to just 8.5% among the non-ethnic Chinese listed companies. This finding needs to be qualified first, by the fact that the companies’ presence in China may not represent a major portion of their business. As some firms do not separate their China- from other Asian businesses, the extent of China engagement is likely to be underestimated. Second, while economic motives were responsible for their presence in China, “cultural citizenship” and family business patriarchs being first or second generations could help explain their affinity to China.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"8 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140445571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-17020003
David Neo, Sheau-Shi Ngo
The Wangkang Festival has been celebrated for nearly two centuries in Melaka, Malaysia. In 2005, it was recognized as part of the national heritage of Malaysia; and in 2020 garnered global recognition with unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage designation. The festival centers on apprehending evil spirits believed to cause epidemics and chaos, while invoking peace and prosperity. The tradition revolves around the worship of Ong Yah, also known as the “Five Sworn Brothers,” making it a vibrant cultural site to study Melaka’s local Chinese identity through Taoist folk religious practices. This article documents the 2020 festival in the midst of the covid pandemic, observes the notable absence and marginalization of women, explores gender constructions through the notion of wu (武) in Chinese masculinity, particularly through the ideal of yingxiong haohan (英雄好漢), and argues that the Chinese community carves out a Chinese public space, identity and presence in Malaysia within the Wangkang Festival context.
{"title":"Chinese Space, Identity, and Presence in Malaysia: Exploring the Yingxiong Haohan Ideal of Wu Masculinity in the Wangkang Festival of Melaka","authors":"David Neo, Sheau-Shi Ngo","doi":"10.1163/24522015-17020003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-17020003","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Wangkang Festival has been celebrated for nearly two centuries in Melaka, Malaysia. In 2005, it was recognized as part of the national heritage of Malaysia; and in 2020 garnered global recognition with unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage designation. The festival centers on apprehending evil spirits believed to cause epidemics and chaos, while invoking peace and prosperity. The tradition revolves around the worship of Ong Yah, also known as the “Five Sworn Brothers,” making it a vibrant cultural site to study Melaka’s local Chinese identity through Taoist folk religious practices. This article documents the 2020 festival in the midst of the covid pandemic, observes the notable absence and marginalization of women, explores gender constructions through the notion of wu (武) in Chinese masculinity, particularly through the ideal of yingxiong haohan (英雄好漢), and argues that the Chinese community carves out a Chinese public space, identity and presence in Malaysia within the Wangkang Festival context.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"12 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140442086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-17020002
K. C. Ho, Shanshan Qian, Siau Chi Joe Liaw, Kean Yew Lee
The Communist Party of Malaya (cpm) evolved under the impact of the Cold War. Considering that the cpm was a left-wing political party that had a significant impact on many areas of Malaysia, this study tries to identify and investigate the causes of the cpm’s inability to win the political fight from 1948 to 1989. Both domestic and internal party issues, along with the Cold War scenario, were a significant component that could not be neglected by the researchers.
{"title":"Cold War Elements: a Discussion on the Influence of the Cold War on the Communist Party of Malaya from 1948 to 1989","authors":"K. C. Ho, Shanshan Qian, Siau Chi Joe Liaw, Kean Yew Lee","doi":"10.1163/24522015-17020002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-17020002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Communist Party of Malaya (cpm) evolved under the impact of the Cold War. Considering that the cpm was a left-wing political party that had a significant impact on many areas of Malaysia, this study tries to identify and investigate the causes of the cpm’s inability to win the political fight from 1948 to 1989. Both domestic and internal party issues, along with the Cold War scenario, were a significant component that could not be neglected by the researchers.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140444378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-17020001
Sheau-Shi Ngo
{"title":"Introduction: Evolving “Chineseness”: from Politics and Economy to Cultural Heritage","authors":"Sheau-Shi Ngo","doi":"10.1163/24522015-17020001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-17020001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"229 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140443728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digging Deep: A Journey into Southeast Asia’s Past. Charles Higham. Bangkok: River Books, 2021. 256 pp., 226 photographs. Paperback ฿850, ISBN 97886164510586.","authors":"D. O’Reilly","doi":"10.1353/asi.2023.0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2023.0012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"61 1","pages":"-"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79136357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Four iron smelting related sites were discovered in Zouma Town, western Chongqing, China. Among these sites, two (Luduizi and Tieshazitu) were dated to the end of the Ming Dynasty in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries A.D. and the other two (Gaoluchang and Nianmigou) were dated to the Late Qing Dynasty in the nineteenth century. Large amounts of smelting-related materials were excavated from these sites. Ten metallographic samples collected from excavated slags, a furnace wall, and iron ore were prepared and analyzed. This article reports the first scientific analysis of smelting-related materials in the area. The results provide a preliminary understanding of iron production technology in Chongqing in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
{"title":"Iron Production Industry in Western Chongqing during the Late Ming Dynasty: A Perspective from Smelting Related Materials","authors":"Yuniu Li, Zhigang Sun, Tian Qiu, Jiujiang Bai, Wann-Sheng Huang","doi":"10.1353/asi.2023.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2023.0011","url":null,"abstract":"Four iron smelting related sites were discovered in Zouma Town, western Chongqing, China. Among these sites, two (Luduizi and Tieshazitu) were dated to the end of the Ming Dynasty in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries A.D. and the other two (Gaoluchang and Nianmigou) were dated to the Late Qing Dynasty in the nineteenth century. Large amounts of smelting-related materials were excavated from these sites. Ten metallographic samples collected from excavated slags, a furnace wall, and iron ore were prepared and analyzed. This article reports the first scientific analysis of smelting-related materials in the area. The results provide a preliminary understanding of iron production technology in Chongqing in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"1 1","pages":"-"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79217470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Origin of Cattle in China from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Chong Yu. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2020. 108 pp., 20 figures, 13 tables. Paperback £31, ISBN: 9781407316871.","authors":"N. Amano","doi":"10.1353/asi.2023.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2023.0013","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"22 1","pages":"-"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75533285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"IN MEMORIAM: Terry T. Marsh (25 July 1938 – 30 July 2021)","authors":"Cyler Conrad","doi":"10.1353/asi.2023.0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2023.0016","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"462 1","pages":"-"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76332838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Pleuger, Bastian Breitenfeld, Altanbayar Zoljargal, Albert J. Nelson, W. Honeychurch, Chunag Amartuvshin
Today’s image of people inhabiting the vast steppe landscapes of Mongolia is inseparably linked to mobile animal herding. Indeed, archaeologists have confirmed that human-animal communities comprised of human herders and domestic livestock roamed across Mongolia’s grassland environment and utilized semiarid to arid regions such as the Gobi steppe desert for thousands of years. However, it is much rarer to catch a glimpse of the time before the advent of pastoralism in this part of the world. During the Neolithic (ca. 6000 – 1800 B.C.), the Gobi was much less of a desert than it is today. Sparsely scattered archaeological sites testify to the presence of hunter-gatherer groups that successfully exploited rich wetland environments. As a result of the pedestrian survey carried out by the Dornod-Mongol-Survey in the greater region of Delgerkhaan Uul, we discovered in situ remains of a Neolithic habitation site. Excavations at the Margal site uncovered a stratified hearth and a lithic assemblage embedded in a habitation layer and accompanied by a few faunal bone fragments. Our finds correspond with the Oasis 2 stage (ca. 6000 – 3000 B.C.) of the scheme established by Janz and colleagues dividing the Mongolian Neolithic into phases based on habitation and subsistence patterns and technology. However, some typical Oasis 2 markers such as pottery and grinding tools are missing from the small assemblage uncovered from test excavations in 2017 and 2018. Margal likely belonged to a regional network of extended hunter-gatherer occupation relying on wild plant and faunal resources. The site represents the first of its kind in the region and has potential to shed light on hunter-gatherer subsistence and habitation decisions. In concert with adjacent archaeological surface scatters and contextualized in the supraregional network of hunter gather habitation, it will contribute to refining current models of lifeways and transformations in Mongolian prehistory.
{"title":"What’s in a Hearth?: Preliminary Findings from the Margal Hunter-gatherer Habitation in the Eastern Mongolian Gobi Desert","authors":"Sarah Pleuger, Bastian Breitenfeld, Altanbayar Zoljargal, Albert J. Nelson, W. Honeychurch, Chunag Amartuvshin","doi":"10.1353/asi.2023.0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2023.0009","url":null,"abstract":"Today’s image of people inhabiting the vast steppe landscapes of Mongolia is inseparably linked to mobile animal herding. Indeed, archaeologists have confirmed that human-animal communities comprised of human herders and domestic livestock roamed across Mongolia’s grassland environment and utilized semiarid to arid regions such as the Gobi steppe desert for thousands of years. However, it is much rarer to catch a glimpse of the time before the advent of pastoralism in this part of the world. During the Neolithic (ca. 6000 – 1800 B.C.), the Gobi was much less of a desert than it is today. Sparsely scattered archaeological sites testify to the presence of hunter-gatherer groups that successfully exploited rich wetland environments. As a result of the pedestrian survey carried out by the Dornod-Mongol-Survey in the greater region of Delgerkhaan Uul, we discovered in situ remains of a Neolithic habitation site. Excavations at the Margal site uncovered a stratified hearth and a lithic assemblage embedded in a habitation layer and accompanied by a few faunal bone fragments. Our finds correspond with the Oasis 2 stage (ca. 6000 – 3000 B.C.) of the scheme established by Janz and colleagues dividing the Mongolian Neolithic into phases based on habitation and subsistence patterns and technology. However, some typical Oasis 2 markers such as pottery and grinding tools are missing from the small assemblage uncovered from test excavations in 2017 and 2018. Margal likely belonged to a regional network of extended hunter-gatherer occupation relying on wild plant and faunal resources. The site represents the first of its kind in the region and has potential to shed light on hunter-gatherer subsistence and habitation decisions. In concert with adjacent archaeological surface scatters and contextualized in the supraregional network of hunter gather habitation, it will contribute to refining current models of lifeways and transformations in Mongolian prehistory.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":"1 1","pages":"-"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82388097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}