Chinese Studies Commons^™

The Confucius Institute At Umass Boston, Baifeng Sun

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

One of the 500 Confucius Institutes in 104 countries worldwide and the only one in Massachusetts. Facilitates rich cultural exchanges between the U.S. and China in collaboration with our educational counterparts in Beijing, China.

Imagined Communities: Changing Markets And The Implications For 21st Century Mali China Migration, Mamasa Camara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in engagement between China and Africa across all fronts of foreign relations especially in the realms of trade, finance and migration. As China continues to push into Africa in pursuit of economic resources and diplomatic relations, many Africans are migrating to China and specifically Guangzhou in search of economic opportunity backed by cheap labor markets and the prospects for “low end globalization.”As the contemporary African presence in China is a relatively new phenomenon, so are the discourses surrounding its presence, discourses often relegated to the spheres of economics, boasting China …

Ida Pfeiffer In China: Examining The Suppression Of Gender Roles In The Face Of European Colonial Superiority, Alec Down

Library Research Grants

No abstract provided.

Why Chinese Neo-Confucian Women Made A Fetish Of Small Feet, Aubrey L. Mcmahan

Grand Valley Journal of History

Abstract for “Why Chinese Neo-Confucian Women Made a Fetish of Small Feet”

This paper explores the source of the traditional practice of Chinese footbinding which first gained popularity at the end of the Tang dynasty and continued to flourish until the last half of the twentieth century.[1] Derived initially from court concubines whose feet were formed to represent an attractive “deer lady” from an Indian tale, footbinding became a wide-spread symbol among the Chinese of obedience, pecuniary reputability, and Confucianism, among other things.[2]^,[3] Drawing on the analyses of such scholars as Beverly Jackson, Valerie Steele …

Just Sing What You Want To Say: The Importance Of Linguistic Tone In Bai Songs, Lisa Andrews

Masters Theses

The Bai people, a minority group in the People's Republic of China numbering at least 1.6 million, live mostly in the Dali Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Yunnan. Historically, Bai from the central region would gather annually at the base of Shibaoshan Mountain to sing partner style love songs in search for a suitable marriage partner; today, this time is marked by a three-day festival officially titled "Shibaoshan." The annual song competition invites skilled singers to spontaneously compose melodies in response to their counterpart, crafting lyrics to flatter or tease their singing partner. The study quantifies the close relationship between Bai …

Manifestations Of Tibetan Buddhism In Pudacuo National Park And Its Effectiveness As An Environmental Education Tool, Ellen Martin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pudacuo National Park in Shangri-la, Yunnan is mainland China’s first national park and comprehensive conservation and eco-tourism attempt. The Nature Conservancy worked with Yunnan provincial government to establish park guidelines and advocate for certain conservation measures. One of the important guidelines that The Nature Conservancy included was local cultural preservation. A primary goal of this experiment in US-modeled national parks is to ensure the longevity of traditional values and beliefs in the parkland area. Pudacuo National Park is not only attempting to conserve the local Tibetan Buddhist tradition but also is attempting to capitalize on the uniqueness of the experience …

Some Thoughts On China's Sexual Revolution: Sexuality And Social Change In Contemporary China, Sun Zhongxin

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

The last two years saw several changes in the public discourse around sex and sexuality in China. So what are some of the most controversial sex-related topics to be raised in China recently?

Gender And Hiv Risk Behavior In China, Yelan Guo

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Gender differences in prevalence of HIV risk behaviors are well established. Gender differences in major causes leading to HN risk behaviors are much less researched in China. Using data from a large and population-based survey conducted in 2003, in southwestern China, this paper examined gender-specific correlates of HIV risky drug using and sexual behaviors in the general population. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted for males and females separately. The results suggest that men are more likely to inject drugs and share needles than women while women are more likely to exhibit RN risk sexual behaviors than men. Socio-economic …

Population Mobility High-Risk Environments And The Diffusion Of Hiv/Stds: A Community Based Study In Southwest China, Hongyun Fu

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Globally, population migration has been associated with the spread ofHIV/STDs in many countries. A similar trend has been observed in China from the very beginning of the HIV epidemic, but empirical research is very limited. Furthermore, the previous studies mainly focused on the micro impact of migration on individual migrant's risky behaviors. The impact of population mobility on the general population, especially on non-migrant residents, has been ignored. Using data collected from a specially designed community level survey, which was conducted in a province in the Southwest of China, this study examines the macro-level association between temporary migration and the …

Reconstructing The Chinese American Experience In Lowell, Massachusetts, 1870s–1970s, Shehong Chen

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This is a study of the Chinese American experience in Lowell, Massachusetts, over the century from the 1870s through the 1970s. I have selected this period for study because the 1870s witnessed the first appearance of Chinese laundries in Lowell, and the 1970s, the disappearance of Chinese laundries in Lowell. Notably, this study attempts to fill in two existing gaps in historical scholarship. First, the experiences of many of Lowell’s ethnic groups have been documented or studied, but the experience of the Chinese has been ignored. Secondly, the history of Chinese Americans in New England cities and towns has generally …

Kajian Imej Etnik Lain Dalam Cerpen-Cerpen Mahua (1970an-1990an), Kok Keong Ng

Student Works (2000-2009)

Sastera Mahua adalah sastera yang unik. Keunikan bukanlah sahaja terletak pada fungsinya sebagal penyampai dan cermin hasrat serta fikiran masyarakat, sebaliknya ia mempamerkan pelbagal cirl-clrl yang lstimewa berbandlng dengan sastera China. Salah satu faktor perlu dltegas, ialah tempat kelahirannya yang berlatarkan struktur masyarakat majmuk dengan bahasa, budaya serta agama sesama etnik berbeza, secara semula jadi telah menyediakan sumber-sumber penulisan yang subur bagi penulls Cina di Malaysia. Apabila suatu fenomena hendak dipapar ataupun perasaan hendak diluah, mahupun mesej hendak disampai oleh karyawan Cina, secara tidak langsung sudah pasti mereka tldak dapat lari dari realltl masyarakat Malaysia yang merangkuml semua perbezaan ahli …

Penyesuaian Imigran Dalam Masyarakat Majmuk : Satu Kajian Ke Atas Peradaban Orang Cina Dalam Era Kemerdekaan Malaya, Jin Yih Ching

Student Works (2000-2009)

This dissertation aims to study about the civilizational adaptation of the Chinese immigrants from China to Malaya during the era of independence in Malaya. After migrating to Malaya between the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Chinese as the " torch-bearers" or inheritors of Chinese civilization were put in direct encounter with the indigenous people in Malaya. Thus, in orders to survive, the Chinese had to adjust themselves so as to be able to adapt to the new environment and adopt local lifestyles in solving their everyday problems of livelihood. The resulting of civilizational adaptation of the Chinese …

Kegiatan Kongsi Gelap Di Sungai Ujong, Negeri Sembilan (1800-1900), Saw Yee Ang

Student Works (2000-2009)

This dissertation as suggested by its title, which translated become "The Chinese Secret Societies in Sungai Ujong, Negeri Sembilan (1800-1900)" is a discussion, mainly focusing on the development and activities of the Chinese secret societies in the area since it came into being until the early part of the 20th century. There are few issues in the development of the Chinese Secret Societies that will be given emphasis on, covering from the political aspect to both the economics and social aspects. One of them is the involvement of the Chinese secret societies in the feuds between the Malay chiefs in …

Perkembangan Sastera Cina Di Sarawak (1950-1962), Hee Wong

Student Works (2000-2009)

This research project concentrates on the development of the Sarawak Chinese Literature in the nineteen fifties and early sixties. In the early fifties, the Sarawak Chinese Literature was still in its infancy stage. The youths had yet come of age and were struggling and searching for their paths in literary writing. Hence, their works were short in quantity and inferior in quality. However, these works were strongly associated with the time and thought of the society of the period. They reflected the change in attitude towards national identity, the absorption and acceptance of the socialist dogmatism and the perseverance and …

The Causes And Consequences Of Migration: The Case Of Chinese Women, Janet L. Warren

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine the causes and consequences of migration. Specifically, it focuses on Chinese women. Using 1988 survey data collected from Chinese respondents in Hubei, a province located in central China, questions about migration status, reasons for migration and contraceptive use were utilized. Analyses reveal that Chinese females migrate for non-economic reasons. This study also revealed that migrants want fewer children than non-migrants, migrants use contraceptives more than non-migrants, and migrants use different methods of contraception than non-migrants. This research also suggests that age, education, and parity makes a difference in the respondents' want for …

The Effect Of Age Misreporting In China On The Calculation Of Mortality Rates At Very High Ages, Ansley J. Coale, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

When mortality rates by age are calculated from recorded deaths and enumerated populations, rates at higher ages are typically in error because of misstated ages. Mortality rates for China in 1981 have been calculated from the number of deaths in 1981 in each household recorded in the 1982 census, and from the census population back-projected one year. Because age was determined from date of birth, and because persons of the Chinese culture have very precise knowledge of date of birth, the mortality rates even at high ages should be unusually accurate. This expectation is fulfilled for most of China, but …

Occupational Patterns Of Three Generations Of Taishan Chinese : A Reconsideration Of Middleman Minority Theory, Wei Wei Lou

Dissertations and Theses

Middleman minority theory explains why certain minorities in America have made impressive socioeconomic achievements. It is found that their occupational patterns play an important role in their socioeconomic success. Middleman minorities usually concentrate in certain occupations and dominate these occupations. The term "middleman" indicates that such ethnic minorities are functioning as middleman between lower and upper class, customer and producer in the host society.

The three preconditions through which middleman minorities get into these occupations are cultural, contextual and situational variables.

The cultural variables concern mainly the homeland of the minorities, the value system of their native culture, and the …