On Identity: An Alternative View

“Identity” has become a magic word in the disciplines of social sciences and humanities, in which, due to the impact of globalization, scholars examine the concept from different perspectives, including personal, intergroup, cultural, critical, and postcolonial approaches. Unfortunately, the plethora of research seems to further obscure and enigmatize the meaning and nature of identity, and worse, advocates of the importance of establishing, authenticating, or negotiating one’s own identity seems to encourage people to tightly hold their own identity. Like a cocoon, this can weave a stronghold, preventing a person from penetrating into the identity of others. Facing this dilemma on the research of identity, this paper offers a critical overview of this line of study and proposes a different view on the nature of the self and identity from the Asian cultural perspective, specifically from the Taoist view. [China Media Research. 2009; 5(4):109-118

Bian (Change): A Perpetual Discourse of I Ching

What is the fundamental principle of the universe? The question has preoccupied the mind of Chinese elites for centuries. The answer can be found in the discourse on the concept of bian (change), which is the central theme of I Ching or the Book of Changes. This essay, based on the discourse of I Ching, aims to demystify the concept of bian from the following aspects: the attributes of change, the principle of change, the forces of change, the forms of change, and the outcome of change. Through the analyses, the author wishes to identify various change-oriented patterns of expressions that contribute to constructing the deeply ingrained change discourses in Chinese intellectual tradition

The Two Faces of Chinese Communication

Searching for paradigms to help examine and understand human communication behavior requires constant effort for communication theorists. Probing and identifying the part of the communication process is helpful in understanding the ways groups of people interact. But in doing so, theorists may overlook components of the process within a group that are pertinent to its diversity. This oversight occurs when explaining Chinese communication practices. Asante (1980) contends human communication can be divided into three cultural divisions-Afrocentric, Asiacentric, and Eurocentric--each with its own set of paradigms to guide students, scholars, and practitioners in the study of communication. However, most theories of communication tend to have a Eurocentric bias. Miike (2002, 2003, 2004) believes an Asiacentric emphasis would overcome that Eurocentric bias when studying Asian communication practices and offer a more accurate interpretation. Miike (2003) maintains the Asiacentric view incorporates three assumptions: ontologically, an Asiacentric paradigm dictates that the myriad of people are interrelated across time and space; epistemologically, the myriad of people can become meaningful only in relation to others; and axiologically, the myriad of people can survive only in a web of harmonious relationships. Chen and Starosta (2003) echoes Miike\u27s (2003) explication and add that methodologically, an Asiacentric view indicates that human communication is a transforming process revolving in an endless nonlinear cycle. They add further that telelogically Asiacentric communication tends to adopt the notion of the way things are, a course of action to which people must adjust their daily interaction . The Asiacentric approach provides a highly abstract picture of the Asian people and offers a convenient way to understand Asian communication practices, stressing the uniqueness of Asian communication as contrasted to the other divisions. Yet Asiacentrism tends to oversimplify and overgeneralize the communication behaviors of the Asian peoples who are so different culturally, socially, religiously, and economically (Chen & Starosta, 2003, p. 1 ). Asiacentrism neglects the internal diversity within Asia. This paper attempts to explore the internal diversity of Chinese culture so often overlooked in the process of research. Specifically, this paper examines the way Chinese communicate from the behavioral level and, in doing so, shows the real face of Chinese communication often absent in the paradigm used to guide the research

An Introduction to Key Concepts in Understanding the Chinese: Harmony as the Foundation of Chinese Communication

In addition to summarizing the content of the ten papers, this introduction paper focuses on the discussion of three issues that are related to the key concepts of Chinese communication examined in this special issue, namely, the trend of indigenous communication studies, harmony as the foundation of the paradigmatic assumptions of Chinese communication, and the pitfall of Chinese communication studies. In the conclusion, the author warns that when dealing with the localization of scholarship, scholars have to consider three directions for future research in this line of study, including culture changes over time, the potential problem of dichotomy, and the universalization of local concepts. [China Media Research. 2011; 7(4): 1-12

Theorizing Intercultural Adaptation from the Perspective of Boundary Game

The impact of globalization on human society strongly demands a constructive process of intercultural adaptation and a more systematic study of the concept. In order to tackle the problem of conceptual ambiguity in the existing literature, this analytical paper attempts to lay down the conceptual foundation by theorizing intercultural adaptation as a boundary game after a brief review of the previous literature. Intercultural adaptation as a boundary game is further supported by the argument that the boundary game of intercultural adaptation must be treated as totality. The author then advocates “boundary wisdom” as the key to the success of achieving the goal of intercultural adaptation. It is hoped that the analysis in this paper can provide a basic guideline for further research on the subject of intercultural adaptation and for further employing the idea of boundary game to theorize the study of intercultural communication. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(1): 1-10

The Impact of Feng Shui on Chinese Communication

Feng shui, the art of space arrangement, has made a great impact on Chinese society. It reflects and shapes most of the traditional Chinese cultural values. Because feng shui continues to play an important role in the contemporary Chinese world, it is important for scholars in different disciplines to systematically study feng shui in order to better understand the Chinese way of thinking and behavior. The goal of this article is threefold: (1) to delineate the meaning of feng shui, (2) to examine the philosophical and cultural bases of feng shui, and (3) to analyze its impact on the Chinese social interaction. It is concluded that, as a collection of Chinese ancient wisdom, feng shui not only contains much mysterious knowledge, but also possesses many ideas that can be explained and studied by using the contemporary research methodology, including empirical and interpretive investigations. [China Media Research. 2007; 3(4): 102-109

Media (Literacy) Education in the United States

Previous research on conversational sensitivity and listening styles has shown inconsistent results on the relationship between the two concepts. This study is designed to continue the line of research by further examining the relationship of the two concepts and between the dimensions. Two hundred and seventy students in the basic courses of Communication and Psychology participate in this study. The results indicate that significantly positive and negative relationships exist among the dimensions of the two concepts. Gender differences on the two concepts are also tested. Limitations and directions for future research are as well discussed

A Test of Intercultural Communication Competence

This study investigated the concept of intercultural communication competence. One hundred and forty nine foreign students and 129 Americans were asked to serve as participants in this study. The results of Pearson product-moment correlations indicated significant relationships among the seven elements of Intercultural Behavioral Assessment Indices (IBAI) developed by Ruben. Multiple stepwise regressions were also conducted to examine the predictors of the seven elements of IBAI. Finally, limitation and directions for future research are discussed