Abstract
This chapter provides evidence of how the Chinese language, hanzi, as the foundation of Chinese culture, has profoundly impacted on the group of Chinese background teachers who participated in the research project reported in this book. Through analysing these teachers’ explanations of the meaning of hanzi, an in-depth understanding of the importance of hanzi is gained, especially regarding how hanzi forms the root of Chinese culture and how it has sustained, renewed and transmitted Chinese cultural elements over time. This chapter also explores how hanzi reflects the way Chinese people understand and live in the world, and how hanzi records a collective view of Chinese aesthetics, morality, values, customs and experiential and intellectual knowledge. The argument made is that hanzi has powerfully structured key Chinese cultural attributes in its written form and has been inherited by hanzi users over generations. This is despite experiencing changes and reforms since its origin.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Volunteer teachers refer to the participants in the ROSETE program, a research-oriented, school-engaged, teacher education program where Chinese background teachers enrolled in a Master of Philosophy degree at an Australian university where they taught Chinese language in local schools, and at the same time researched their teaching (see Chap. 1).
References
Bloom, P. (2013). Natural language and natural selection. In S. Pinker (Ed.), Language, cognition, and human nature: Selected articles (pp. 110–159). New York: Oxford University Press.
Burik, S. (2014). Derrida and comparative philosophy. Comparative and Continental Philosophy, 6(2), 125–142.
Chao, M., & Kung, F. (2015). An essentialism perspective on intercultural processes. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 18(2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12089.
Chen, Z. (2016). Contextualizing generic pedagogical knowledge through tension-focused reflection: A self-study [online]. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(6), 87–106. http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=300287409022748;res=IELAPA.
Derrida, J. (1976). Of grammatology (G. C. Spivak, Trans.). Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Derrida, J. (2001). Writing and difference (A. Bass, Trans.). London/New York: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1973). The order of things: An archaeology of the human sciences. New York: Vintage.
Grillo, R. D. (2003). Cultural essentialism and cultural anxiety. Anthropological Theory, 3(2), 157–173. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1177/1463499603003002002.
Gu, M. (2012). Sinologism: An alternative to orientalism and postcolonialism. London/New York: Routledge.
Gu, M. (2014). Sinologism in language philosophy: A critique of the controversy over Chinese. Language, Philosophy East and West, 64(3), 692–717. https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.2014.0041.
Gu, M. (2015). Out of phone-centrism: Philosophical reflections on the nature of Chinese language and writing. Fudan Journal, (Social Sciences Edition), 3, 80–89.
Guan, K. (2018). Inheritance of the Chinese culture: To simplify the traditional Chinese character and consolidate the root and soul of civilization. Hanzi Culture, 22, 1–3.
Han, J. (2017). Post-lingual Chinese Language Learning – Hanzi Pedagogy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hegel, G. W. F. (1976). Science of logic (A. V. Miller, Trans.). New York.
Hendricks, G. P. (2014). A Derridarean critique of Logocentrism as opposed to Textcentrism in John 1v1. Koers – Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 79(1), Art. #50. https://doi.org/10.4102/koers.v79i1.50.
Hsu, H., Pang, C., & Haagdorens, W. (2012). Writing as cultural practice: Case study of a Chinese heritage school in Belgium. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1592–1596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.868.
Huang, D. (2011). The key to opening Chinese civilization – The illustration and exploration of Hanzi. Beijing: Beijing Normal University. 黄德宽, 2010, 开启中华文明的管钥 – 汉字的释读与探索,北京师范大学出版社。
Jullien, F. (2014). On the universal: The uniform, the common and dialogue between cultures (M. Richardson & K. Fijalkowski, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
Kong, R. (1996). The exploration of the value of Hanzi in the cultural studies. Ancient Chinese Language Research, 4, 14.
Lan, H. (2018). On the aesthetic phenomena of Chinese calligraphy based on the perspective of idealism. Journal of Huaqiao University, 6, 125–136.
Li, X. (2006). A critical review of ‘new shuowenjiezi in teaching Chinese characters to foreigners’. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2, 31–34.
Liu, J. (1988). Language paradox poetics: A Chinese perspective. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Liu, J., & Peng, D. (2005). The logic in Hanzi invention. Journal of Inner Mongolian Social Science, 26(5), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-5281.2005.05.020.
National Bureau of Statistics. (2006). Report of one-percent national sample census in 2005. National Bureau of Statistics. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/200603/t20060316_30326.html
Nelson, E. (2011). The Yijing and philosophy: From Leibniz to Derrida. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 38(3), 377–396. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1111/j.1540-6253.2011.01661.x.
Peng, K., & Nisbett, R. (1999). Culture, dialectics, and reasoning about contradiction. American Psychologist, 54(9), 741–754.
Premaratne, D. (2014). Globalisation, language planning and language rights: The recent script policy measures adopted by Japan and the People’s Republic of China. Current Issues in Language Planning, 16(4), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2014.979677.
Secombe, M., & Smolicz, J. (2015). Globalisation, cultural diversity and multiculturalism: Australia. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Second international handbook on globalisation, education and policy research (pp. 503–517). Dordrecht: Springer.
Smith, A. (2015, August 6). Sydney University weighs compulsory English courses for foreign students. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/education/sydney-university-weighs-compulsory-english-courses-for-foreign-students-20150806-git3cr.html
Spencer-Rodgers, J., Williams, M., & Peng, K. (2010). Cultural differences in expectations of change and tolerance for contradiction: A decade of empirical research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(3), 296–312.
Tang, Y. (2015). Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity and Chinese culture. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uwsau/reader.action?docID=1973935
Wang, L. (1999). Scientific principles in analysing Hanzi formation and Hanzi culture studies. Journal of Henan University, 26(3), 76–80.
Wu, J. (1969). Chinese language and Chinese thought. Philosophy East and West, 19(4), 423–434.
Zhang, X. (1985). The “Tao” and the “Logos”: Notes on Derrida’s critique of logocentrism. Critical Inquiry, 11(3), 38–398. https://doi.org/10.1086/448294.
Zhao, W. (2017). Re-invigorating the being of language in educational studies: Unpacking Confucius’ ‘wind-pedagogy’ in Yijing as an exemplar. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 50(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1354286.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Han, J. (2020). Hanzi the Foundation of Chinese Culture. In: Theorising Culture. Palgrave Studies in Teaching and Learning Chinese. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23880-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23880-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23879-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-23880-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)