Table of Content

15 March 2015, Volume 32 Issue 2

Previous Issue    Next Issue

Articles

The Dual Construction of “Society” and “Corporation”——A Road Map for the Reform of Contemporary China’s Religious Policies and Management System

Li-Xiang-Beng

2015, 32(2):  1-24. 

Asbtract ( 754 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 The major management object in China’s religious management system is systematic management of ways of organized religious belief. The reform of China’s religious management system is undoubtedly to cut political intervention, shifting administrative management to social civil and public management, which should be regarded as the primary entry point. Therefore, the most practical and feasible reform program currently is the management of religious system according to the law, which is the only way to “social management” and “social government” of religious affairs. This should be the starting point for the reform of contemporary China’s religious policies and management system. Only when religious management modes and practicing ways of religious belief can take on socialized management modes without political intervention, can the legalization of religious management system become possible. This is the major crux of religious management. In view of this, to discuss China’s religious management problems, we have to sort out the ideological origins of policies, and meanwhile reason out the major contents of religious management system. We should stress the policy setting that belief difference does not mean political confrontation. Still more important, we should hold religious freedom and equality on the basis of rule of law.

From “Religious Freedom” to “Religious Engagement”: The New Turn of the Obama Administration′s International Religious Freedom Policy

ZHANG Feng-Mei-1, GUO Chang-Gang-2

2015, 32(2):  25-34. 

Asbtract ( 977 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 has aimed at “international religious freedom” and been an important part of American foreign policy since its very beginning. However, the reality goes against its original good wishes regrettably: instead of promoting religious freedom and reducing religious prosecution, more harmful varieties have increased, i.e., religious terrorism and transnational terrorism. The root cause of the failure of “religious freedom policy” is that the whole perspective to understand and treat “religious freedom” is American. The founding of “Office of FaithBased Community Initiatives” marks the turn of U.S. attention from “religious freedom” to the emphasis on contacts with overseas religious leaders and organizations in order to promote sustainable development, more effective humanitarian assistance, pluralism and human rights including religious freedom. The shift from “religious freedom” to “religious engagement”, speaking of the course of development of U.S. international religious freedom policy, is not simply a change of personnel, but also a strategic adjustment made by the Obama Administration over the controversial U.S. international religious freedom policy.

Fiction, Nonfiction and the Film of Presumptive Assertion: Analysis of Concepts

Noel Carrol

2015, 32(2):  35-55. 

Asbtract ( 860 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 The paper aims at analyzing the authenticity of documentary which has long been discussed but remained controversial. By defining fiction, nonfiction and film of presumptive assertion, the paper summarizes the range and methods of defining the authenticity of documentary. Concepts of presentation and representation are distinguished in the first place. They cannot be discerned by external features of texts such as style or media form. Even though presentation and representation can be discerned, they cannot be used to differentiate fiction and nonfiction. Just as the concept of documentary proposed by John Grieson, there is presentation in nonfiction and representation in fiction. The paper holds that only when the audience recognize the producer′s intension and make presumptive imagination, can fiction film be defined, and nonfiction can be defined vice verse. In view of this, documentary is film of presumptive assertions, producer′s intension and message resource index being an important basis of presumptive assertion.

The Urbanization and the Identity of the Urban Independent film in the New Period

YIM Choonsung, WANG Xiao-Meng

2015, 32(2):  56-65. 

Asbtract ( 1086 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 Since the midnineties of the 20th century, the four elements of china′s urban filmsart, politics, capital and marginality have negotiated and compromised with one another centering on domestic and international “market”, leading to the topography of artistic film, mainstream film, entertainment film and independent film. Independent film, which is focused in this article, acquires the features of authenticity and marginality. Authenticity enables producers to follow urban realistic and documentary techniques, while marginality pursues truth and privileges, striving for lowbudget fiscal assistance from nongovernmental or overseas organizations. Those capital and political powers once hostile to independent films started to offer economic assistance selectively after the later period of the nineties. Different from their predecessors, the producers of new independent films since 1990s have developed an “ambiguous and symbiotic relationship” with power organs, commercial fashions and international artistic film market. They become elastic, avoiding confrontation with state system and capital so as not to be devoured by them. Urban realism, documentary techniques and evideos record the new reality and people in the bottom of society by flexibly employing “nonprofessional actors” and “professional nonactors”.


Soul Consolation in the Materialistic Times——Research into Domestic Youth Films in Terms of Narrative Strategies and Value Outlook

LU Chun-Yan, WANG Tie-Li

2015, 32(2):  66-74. 

Asbtract ( 636 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 Youth films have currently become one of the hottest commercial film types in China′s film market. In the past few years, youth films surge in great number. Despite their difference in contents and styles, they share great similarities in narrative strategies and outlook on value. On the one hand, they sing highly of moral force, and resort to the emotional consolation through "healing" narrative mechanism and expressive style to comfort the youth whose souls are saturated with setbacks, troubles and confusions. On the other hand, these films affirm the materialistic life style and attitudes by exquisite visual and aural language to create magnificent, luxuriant metropolitan life images, demonstrating unconstrained materialistic desires for consumption in modern society. This has in a great degree impaired the intended emotional themes and caused avulsion and opposition in conveying value outlook.

Psychoanalysis: A Combination of Scientific Exploration and Humanistic Interpretation

JI An-Mao

2015, 32(2):  75-83. 

Asbtract ( 534 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

It is well established that a vital characteristic of psychoanalysis is that it is not only an important means to curing a string of psychological diseases and disorders, but also a synthesizing theory in interpreting human being′s motives and behavior. However, if we put psychoanalysis under the context of overall thought development in the 20th century, it is not hard to detect that psychoanalysis seems to be the combination of scientific importance on one hand—being an instrument of scientific exploration of mindand humanistic value on the other—offering a profound theory of interpretation. The theory of humanistic interpretation is closely related to symptomatic reading in literary criticism, which helps reveal the “unconsciousness” in texts.

What Linguistic Analytical Aesthetics Can Do?——Inspirations to Aesthetics Gained from Wittgenstein′s Later Thought

WANG Feng

2015, 32(2):  84-95. 

Asbtract ( 759 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

The linguistic analytical aesthetics based on Wittgenstein′s later thought is a method of aesthetics research worthy of excavation. It is a type of defensive aesthetics which holds suspicions of the general aesthetic statements originated from metaphysical aesthetics, and questions and negates latter′s general concepts through the method of linguistic analysis. Judging from the surface, it seems to dissolve aesthetics, but in effect it is not. The truth is that linguistic analysis aims at breaking general aesthetic statements, and does not lead to absolute deconstructionism. On the contrary, aesthetics gains rebirth on the basis of language use owing to linguistic analysis. Linguistic analytical aesthetics offers a new constructive direction for aesthetics and arts research, creating aesthetic grammar.


Contemporary Value of Schiller′s Thought of Aesthetic Education

GAO Ying-Gang

2015, 32(2):  96-102. 

Asbtract ( 998 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 Schiller′s theory of aesthetic education is extremely profound and farreaching. Over 200 years, his ideas of fostering perfect human nature, thus improving society and constructing ideal state system through "aesthetic education of man", have already become shared cultural legacy despite times and nationalities. In addressing all sorts of social problems arising during the process of China′s socialist modernization, it is of great theoretical significance for us to reexamine the profoundness of Schiller′s aesthetic education and fully cultivate its contemporary value so as to better construct socialist harmonious society with Chinese characteristics.

Resounding Kant′s Aesthetics——Zizek′s Theory on the Sublime Beauty

HAN Zhen-Jiang

2015, 32(2):  103-111. 

Asbtract ( 946 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

In the history of Western aesthetics, Kant has a unique position because he not only summarized Longinus′ and Burke′s theories on the sublime beauty, but also delved deeper into the fundamental relations between sublime and rationality. In contemporary aesthetics study, sublime seems to retreat from the historical stage, but Zizek′s passion for the sublime never retreat. He particularly values Kant′s and Hegel′s sublime theory, yet at the same time reviews and criticizes their theories in Lacan′s perspective.

Fresh Thinking on the Relationship between Interests and Value in the Transforming Society

CHEN Rui-Yang

2015, 32(2):  112-125. 

Asbtract ( 530 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 Marxist interests theory not only expounds that the pursuit of interests is the driving force of all social activities and interests relation is the core of all social relations, but also points out that interests relation is the logic starting point of ideological development, the basis of thought and the yardstick of value. At present, the loss of value regulation caused by interests conflicts in China′s transforming society is the biggest social risk and crisis demonstrated in the  following main features. Firstly, there is lack of ideological and institutional preparation for the trend of individualization and value pluralism. Secondly, there are still conceptual and ideological obstacles to the reform in the transforming society. Thirdly, there is lack of the principle of opportunity equality and procedural justice, which has become the root cause of social value crisis. Fourthly, newlyrising social groups appear as “subhealthy”, whose value inclination is severely unbalanced. Then, how to realize value consensus based on interests agreement so as to achieve the goal of common prosperity and harmonious society? The key lies in the following four aspects: first, transcending the mode of single value guidance and establishing the important position of interests guidance; second, emphasizing the value sequencing of reform and opening up; third, coordinating social interests appeal and value orientation; fourth, actively fostering civil awareness and vigorously developing social organizations.

On the Integration of Polysystem Theories and Its Contribution to the Development of the Studies of Translated Literature History

CHA Meng-Jian

2015, 32(2):  126-140. 

Asbtract ( 1014 )  

Related Articles | Metrics

 Itamar EvanZohar’s polysystem theory has helped stake out the territory of translation studies that seeks to take a substantive “cultural turn” and focus on the target culture. Polysystem Theory has opened up new avenues of translation research, such as “rewriting theory” and “manipulation theory” brought forward by André Lefevere, Theo Hermans and Susan Bassnett. This paper argues, with the strengths and limitations of the above theories in observation, the sole use of any single theory cannot help a researcher achieve a fullscale and indepth study of translated literature. Rather, a comprehensive “systems theories” that integrates all the above theories should be constructed to meet the requirements of the studies of translated literature history. It elaborates on the way polysystem theory can be integrated, and significance of the integrated systems theories to the development of the studies of translated literature history.