Table of Content

15 July 2016, Volume 33 Issue 4

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Analysis of China’s Maintenance of Rights and Interests#br#  in East China Sea According to International Law

2016, 33(4):  1-20. 

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  Issues over East China Sea, especially sovereign disputes over Diaoyudao Islands are important and sensitive for Sino-Japanese relations. The two countries have opposing stands and disagreements and take measures to maintain their respective rights, interests and stands, which lead to an intensified severe situation concerning sea and air security in East China Sea. The key cause of the severe situation is Japan’s denial of the existence of disputes and the consensus of “setting aside disputes”. In view of this, the paper underscores the essential implications of international disputes, the background of “setting aside disputes” and the system that determines the sovereignty over Diaoyudao Islands according to international law. Given the important status of both China and Japan, the importance of their bilateral relations and their wishes to rehabilitate and develop their relations, both countries should, on the basis of the common understanding of the four principles for dealing with and improving Sino-Japanese relations, strengthen communication and dialogue, negotiate on sensitive issues according to facts and international law in order to practically control the sea and air security situation in East China Sea, and develop and enrich the contents of SinoJapanese strategic relations with mutual benefits. The steady development of SinoJapanese relations according to the principles and spirits of four SinoJapanese political instruments is a common aspiration of the international community including Chinese and Japanese governments and most people of the two countries.

The Legal Status of Lowtide Elevations: An Appraisal

2016, 33(4):  21-39. 

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 The modern concept of lowtide elevations was not established until the midtwentieth century. Although both Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone of 1958 and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS) contain specific provisions on the legal status of lowtide elevations, they fail to elaborate on three crucial issues related to lowtide elevations: What are the criteria for the determination of the natural status of lowtide elevations? Whether lowtide elevations can be appropriated by occupation? What is the impact of sea level rise on the status of lowtide elevations? In response to these issues, this paper will analyze not only the provisions concerning lowtide elevations in UNCLOS, but also relevant international law cases and State practice. In addition, it will present the author’s personal appraisal of those issues concerning lowtide elevations in the South China Sea Arbitration.

China’s Going Global: Reflection on “Empire” and “China Mode”Bart Dessein

2016, 33(4):  40-49. 

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 After the Industrial Revolution, the rise of European economy sparked young Chinese intellectuals to question the Confucian dogma which had shaped Chinese political, economic and social modes over thousands of years. People began to conceive a different political choice from the Confucian empire. A politic nationalism, i.e., a nationalstate movement built on the broken Confucius empire, began to thrive. People in the 19th century was deeply convinced that only European mode could help China regain its position in the world arena. It is a significant departure from Confucius tradition. Reviewing history, we can see that China’s international relations have been a continuous ebb and flow of Han cultural influence. The equaling of political leadership to Confucian “integrity” by which harmony and stability had been maintained was severely challenged at the end of 19th century. Currently, China mode distinguishes itself in that capital exists to a large extent on the local levels. This can explain why China mode appeals more and more developing countries, but problems still exist concerning its applicability to other countries.

Genre Films in the Perspective of Deleuze’s Film TheoryNIE Xinru

2016, 33(4):  50-58. 

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The movementimages in Gilles Deleuze’s film theory basically resembles the category of “genre film”. He elaborates on genre film in terms of noumenon, system and construction. Concerning noumenon, he puts forward an ontology of “sensorymotor apparatus” which integrates the internal and the external; Concerning system, he analyzes the formalist principles of genre classification; Concerning construction, he depicts the generation of desire fragments in genre films and the ways of constructing “impulses” which are enwrapped by civilization. Deleuze juxtaposes the attributes of industrial production and artistic nature in his film theory.

Elastic Definition, Interest Game and Fuzzy Boundary: Coproductions#br#  in the Perspective of ChinaForeign Film Coproduction Agreements

2016, 33(4):  59-67. 

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 Coproductions are not simply artistic or commercial behavior among film and television agencies or individuals, but also practices highly regulated and influenced by governmental policies. Since the reform and opening up, Chinese government has signed eleven film coproduction agreements with foreign governments. China Film Coproduction Corporation was also founded in 1979. By analyzing Chinaforeign film coproduction agreements and the operation of China Film Coproduction Corporation from the angle of cultural policies, we can find many problems in coproductions, including elastic definition of a coproduction, interest game behind coproduction agreements and fuzzy boundary in cultural policy management.

Narrative Theory of Mao Qiling’s Commentaries on #br# Romance of West Chamber

2016, 33(4):  68-82. 

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 Mao Qiling’s academic commentaries on Romance of West Chamber have been deemed among the best since Wang Jide’s and Ling Mengchu’s commentaries. His narrative theory juxtaposed with Jin Shengtan’s as the best two in the history of drama commentary in Qing Dynasty. Mao’s commentaries are spontaneous and candid on the spur of moment, yet systematic and theoretical if read holistically. For instances, the narrative perspective as “an onlooker” in term of narrative perspective, “twists and turns” in terms of narrative contents, “exquisite foreshadowing” in terms of narrative correlation and “rising and falling tones” in terms of narrative rhythm, all have shown Mao’s distinctive opinions. Mao’s narrative theory is in agreement with western modern narratology in that Mao’s narrative layers, perspectives, correlations and methods generally include such categories as narrators, narrative time, narrative methods in modern narratology. The study of Mao’s narrative theory in the perspective of his commentaries on Romance of West Chamber can help construct the internal correlation between ancient and modern narratology, enhancing the foundation of China’s narratology.

Narrative Configuration from the Perspective of Genres and MediaLI Sen

2016, 33(4):  83-97. 

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  The emergence and development of narrative forms is not self-regulated, but under the interactive influence of the dual factors: media and genres. From ancient to modern times, images have been gradually internalized as an indispensable means of narrative reconfiguration. As various experiments exhaust the possibilities of paper-based media narrative, they also make narrative forms divorced from the contents of stories, leading to forms outweighing stories. Nowadays, despite the fact that images have become the dominant form of narration, substantial changes have not taken place regarding narrative forms. However, the development of virtual and interactive technologies provide new opportunities for narration, foreseeing the return of the stories to the epic in the future.

Public Spirit as the Inner Value Engine of Governmental Executive #br# Power: From the Perspective of National Governance

2016, 33(4):  98-111. 

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 With the proposal of the objectives for the modernization of national governance, governmental executive ability is endowed with new connotation over the times. The interpretation of governmental executive ability cannot be confined to the level of instrumental rationality which leads to “concealment of value rationality by instrumental rationality”, but seek solution from the fundamental perspective of value rationality while eliminating the hegemony of instrumental rationality. The value rationality of governmental executive power involves subjects’ and objects’ voluntary initiatives, executive willingness, value appeal, intrinsic motivation, etc.. The governmental executive power is in the final analysis driven by spiritual strength. Public spirit as an invisible dominant force pervades many aspects such as subjects, objects, means, value orientation and executive goals, and has an bearing on governmental executive power through influence on subjects, objects, resources and environment. When public spirit is internalized by a variety of social subjects, governmental executive power will have shared value foundation, and the operation of national governance mechanism will be more harmonious and enduring. The public spirit in our country is still a scarce resource, hardly meeting the value requirements for elevating governmental executive power and promoting the modernization of national governance. So we must carry out a concrete and effective system design and make public spirit rooted in the heart of social subjects as a moral belief, life style and habitual conduct naturally acknowledged by the public.

Political Capital: Private Entrepreneurs as Deputies to County#br#  People’s CongressesWANG Longfei

2016, 33(4):  112-123. 

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 Given China's current political and economic system, the crucial resources needed for the development of private enterprises are in the hand of local governments. Meanwhile, private enterprises share common interests with local administrators. Private entrepreneurs have taken the advantage of the loopholes of China’s People's Congress system by operating multiple forms of connections to be elected as deputies to county people’s congresses so as to seek political capital in favor of enterprise development. These private entrepreneurs have divorced from the representation of voters. Their proposals and suggestions are not in their real interests and their performance of deputies in and out of sessions is a mere formality. They seek profits by establishing unofficial relationships with local administrators, instead of institutionalizing their interests in the light of county people’s congresses. As a result, the depth and stability of political participation is restricted for private entrepreneurs, especially for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, who have to seek temporary and specific interests by influencing administrators in power, for one thing. For another, due to lack of open arenas for interests competition, private entrepreneurs’ interests appeals are short of regulated interactions with other social strata, thus not conducive to social and political stability.

Tradition and Choice: An Analysis on the Discourse Motivation #br# of Landscape Painting in Early Qing DynastyPAN Yaochang

2016, 33(4):  124-131. 

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 The Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasty marks the beginning of modern China, during which landscape painting developed into two schools represented by “Four Kings” and “Four Monks” respectively. The former set ancients for examples, emphasizing “copying, reproduction and imitation”, advocating “following rules” and restoring ancient ways. What is their motivation? On the contrary, “Four Monks” abandoned rules and advocated “learning from the nature”. Did they really negate tradition and paint nature mechanically? The paper explores the causes of their differences in terms of styles and schools, social mores and living environment of the artists as well as the value orientation behind the later generations’ choice.

Disenchantment of Images#br# ——Walter Benjamin on Visual ImagesZHOU Jiwu

2016, 33(4):  132-140. 

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 The turning to visual culture has placed visual images into the core region of cultural studies. The enchantment of visual images is from aura, which is featured by impenetrability, sacredness, immediateness and authenticity. In Walter Benjamin’s thinking on visual images, the avant-garde art represented by such artists as Baudelaire, Proust and Kafka is the kind of art of disenchanted images, in other words, the art after the disappearance of aura. The disenchantment of images can be understood in two senses: firstly, it means the de-sacredation of art, that is to say, the shattering of the aura of sacredness and secularisation of the artefact; secondly, it means the de-aestheticization of art, that is to say, the breaking of the ideal of beauty and represent images in distorted and fragmented forms, bringing the“fragmented enigma of visual images”.In the post-aura era, by employing allegorical criticism, Benjamin attempted to link human liberation to nature’s recovery, combine secular inspiration with empirical salvation, so as to restore the connection between man and nature, brotherhood of people, and equality in the interpersonal communication.