The Journal of the Macau Ricci Institute

Changing China

Stephan Rothlin — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Changing China may seem at first sight a most absurd enterprise, given how its cultural patterns seem so deeply entrenched in the strongly hierarchical traditions characteristic of the “Middle Kingdom”. Nevertheless, this view ignores the fact that China and especially its wisdom and ethical traditions are in a constant process of change, as they often are revised to achieve social progress. As Zhou Shoujin documents, one of the most important of these events was the May Fourth New Culture Movement which started in 1919. This movement had a profound impact in China related to its belief that science and democracy, nicknamed “Mister Sai” (science) and “Madame De” (democracy), will eventually transform China’s cultural traditions. In the Republican era the question was whether the moral imperatives of the Confucian “Junzi”, the morally refined person, would simply be replaced by some Western approach to science and democracy or if there could be a synthesis between the ancient wisdom traditions, accommodating a democratic and scientific worldview. China’s traditional ethos based on the hierarchical structure of legitimate moral authority was thus enriched by an awakening of awareness of the pluralism of civilizations and a sincere desire for genuine dialogue among civilizations.

Wisdom and Education as Practical Ethics

Zhou, Shoujin — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

ABSTRACTThis article presents the approach of our investigation into the Chinese wisdom tradition and its role in developing a code of ethics in pivotal areas of social lives. The aim of our investigation is to contextualise Chinese wisdom and ethical traditions to inform those who are interested or engaged in a “dialogue” with China, regarding the dynamics and key strands of the tradition for their reference in dealing with this cross-cultural dialogue.

Key words: Chinese wisdom traditions, practical ethics, contextualisation

Dialogue With China

Cristina Jia Hui Lu Vendramini — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The intrinsic humanistic leadership attributes defended by Confucianism in its doctrine of the cultivated gentleman, also known as Junzi , and its virtues formulated within the 5 constants (Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin ), are deeply analyzed in this article, moreover, the distinctions in relation to non-Confucian leadership traits are also demonstrated through a comparative review, with the main ideas from Western views of leadership presented for that purpose. Humanism is introduced to support the derivation of Junzi morality. “What it is to be a humanistic leader? How does it differ from the non-Confucian leadership models?”. This paper performs a comprehensive literature review to explain different leadership concepts; furthermore, COVID data were collected, and the performances of four leaders of nations were assessed through online journals and news reading. Follow-up studies may be conducted to
investigate the leaders’ ongoing responses to the COVID pandemic, for the purpose of highlighting the positive aspects of Confucian and non-Confucian leadership aspects, particularly
emphasizing the traditional Junzi pedagogy.

Can a Woman be a Junzi?

Dacy Wu, Dennis P. McCann — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As Confucian teaching becomes more widely known in almost every corner of the world, accompanying the development of China’s economic and cultural influence through the Belt-and-Road (BRI) projects, the Junzi ideal is becoming more attractive as the preferred leadership style for new generations of businesspeople. However, the Junzi ideal tends to be stereotyped as a man acting within a supposedly male-dominant world. At the same time, Confucius has been criticized for his alleged sexism, assuming without much comment women’s subordination to men, as wives, mothers, and daughters, roles other than leaders. This case study starts with reports of women leaders’ early success responding to the Covid-19 crisis, compared to their male counterparts, which raise the question whether women’s leadership embodies the values enshrined in the Confucian ideal of the Junzi. Considering the evidence of both history and current experience, the case study is meant to explore the question whether the Junzi as conceived in Confucian teaching should be clarified, in order to demonstrate its openness to development for both women and men, and not just in China.

Key words: Covid-19 crisis and Chinese response, women in leadership, Junzi, challenging sexism in Confucian teaching.

Dialogue in China

Roderick O’Brien — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The essay explores the prospects for Dialogue with China, by surveying the history of the Red Cross Movement in China through the four periods of its modern history. The author adopts the four propositions for dialogue outlined by Xi Jinping, and then, in light of the Red Cross history, proposes two other propositions, to assist dialogues when challenges and difficulties are encountered along the way. This sketch of the Red Cross Movement in China demonstrates the importance of patience and reciprocity for sustaining any cross-cultural dialogue.

Holiness And Spiritual Transformation In Confucian Tradition

Edmond Eh — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the philosophical context, the term “holiness” can refer to spiritual excellence or wholeness. In classical Confucianism, “holiness” could be expressed using the virtue of cheng since it contains the meaning of integrity or wholeness. The process of spiritual transformation unfolds over three stages according to a traditional Christian understanding. Beginners go through the purgative stage, the proficient undergo the illuminative stage while the perfect pass through the unitive stage. Similarly, spiritual transformation is described in three stages in the Daxue (The Great Learning ). Beginners manifest the brightness of virtue in themselves, the proficient restore the brightness of virtue in others and the perfect attain utmost goodness. The Daxue also presents a detailed outline of eight steps required for spiritual transformation, namely, investigation of things, perfection of knowledge, formation of holy intentions, rectification of the mind, cultivation of the self, regulation of the household, good governance of the state and attainment of world peace. On this account, the purgative stage requires the first five steps while the illuminative stage requires the last three steps. The unitive stage involves a profound repetition of the entire eight steps.

Human Dignity, The Common Good, And Solidarity

Anton Jamnik — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The modern way of life promotes individualism and a quest for happiness restrained only by a certain measure of tolerance or justice. It is characterized by a limited and minimalist morality. Everyday life demands personal decision making, responsible choices, and critical judgement. Since men and women remain social beings, the question of how to establish more and more authentic interpersonal relations constantly arises. Nowadays one of the most fundamental challenges in philosophy is the question of ethics, viz. constructing a theory of morals that could guide men and women in their everyday activities. The tradition from which Catholic Social Teaching emerges considered all of life as a Divine creation. Humanity’s exercise of free will primarily consisted in discovering what God was expecting from us, the basis of our decision-making being the Divine indicative (Fergusson 2004, 23-47). Such an assumption seems to be slowly disappearing together with a gradual break with tradition in contrast with a growing emphasis on humanity as a rational, free, and autonomous being with equal rights (Jamnik 2018). Thus, when making ethical decisions, men and women today stand at a crossroads. In what follows I will try to outline the economic consequences of this crossroads moment, highlighting the meaning for business ethics of basic principles enshrined in Catholic Social Teaching. These are meant to stimulate dialogue with China, by offering a glimpse at a Western tradition not dominated by modern perspectives celebrating individualism and ethical relativism.

The Venerable Matteo Ricci

Thierry Meynard — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On December 17, 2022, the day of his 86th birthday, Pope Francis signed the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Ricci, making him Venerable. This gives me the occasion for sharing some insights I have gathered from his life. When I joined the Jesuits in France some thirty years ago, I was quite unfamiliar with the story of Matteo Ricci. Now, having lived in China for some twenty years, Ricci has become a real inspiration for me, as he is for many people here, four centuries after his death. I have come to appreciate how important Matteo Ricci still is for many Chinese people, far beyond the small Catholic community in China. Ricci represents a wonderfully positive encounter between China and the West, long before the traumatic experiences of colonisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries sullied the relationship. In presenting his life and work, I hope to explain how Ricci found the presence of God, the Chinese Christ, in the people of China.

Understanding the “I” Through the Chinese Language A Catholicism-Inspired Meditation on the Chinese Characters for “Self”

Anna Mahjar-Barducci — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The following analysis presents Catholicism-inspired meditation on the Chinese characters for self-examination. It is a Catholic viewpoint, which may assist 21st-century Christians and non-Christians in their spiritual struggles. The goal of this analysis is to show that Chinese characters can tell us that the spiritual struggle to improve (ἄσκησις, áskēsis, in Greek) is inherent to the human condition.
In that sense, we can see that Chinese tradition is not as foreign to Christian tradition as most may think.

Keywords: I, self, China, Catholicism, Chinese characters, Matteo Ricci, Personalism, Erasmus of Rotterdam, good, evil.

Africans in Macau and Guangzhou

Kaian Lam — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Historically, both Macau and Guangzhou were ports of encounter where some of the first Africans landed in China, but not necessarily as free individuals. Arab traders and Portuguese
seafarers of centuries past were responsible for the earliest transfer of black manpower to China’s southern regions. Because of this peculiar situation, we cannot talk of a proper cultural dialogue between Chinese and Africans. Since the early 2000’s, we have witnessed the formation of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation and, with special implications for Macau, the creation of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguesespeaking countries. For over thirty years (1991–2023), Africa has been the destination of China’s first overseas visit at the beginning of every year. China and African countries met ever-more frequently at ever-higher levels and registered record-breaking trade deals. Fast-forwarding to the present, we notice some worrying signs. Is the golden period of China-Africa engagement already behind us? We are interested in the cultural dialogue between China and Africa – in Macau and in Guangzhou – considering Covid and the difficult accommodations made to fight it.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Social Innovation in the Tourism Industry in Macau

Eric Chi Chong, MOU — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Innovation is crucial to society’s development; studying innovation will inspire organisations to move them forward. Can social innovation (SI) keep Macau’s Tourism sector moving, or can it benefit Macau society in the long run, once the pandemic quarantine policy is abandoned? This research will first review the definition of SI and understand SI’s basic features and their effect. Selected cases from the Tourism industry will be explored to explain the SI situation in Macau. Then, through qualitative interviews with the SI developers, I will describe their impact of this quarantine situation and evaluate their products’ contribution to SI in Macau. As a significant tourist destination in China and surrounding areas, focusing on the Tourism industry will highlight the communication situation and the effect of SI on the dialogue during the pandemic crisis. This article then discusses the influence of SI, focusing on SI cases in the Tourism industry from 2020 onwards, to examine whether such innovations can strengthen or weaken the social dialogue between China and Macau SAR.

Keywords: Social Innovation on Tourism, Augmented Reality products, Online Tour products. Innovation effect on Tourism
World