Chinese Studies Commons^™

When Herstory Goes Viral: Popular Resistance In The State-Platform Nexus In China, Qingyue Sun, Runze Ding

Interdisciplinary Studies

This article examines the rise of herstory content on Douyin to explore how feminist resistance takes shape within China’s platform environment. Drawing on digital ethnography, we develop the concept of popular resistance, a form of platform-mediated resistance whose popularity serves both as a condition of political traction and as a mechanism of containment. To clarify this duality, we identify two dimensions: (a) popularity on the platform, driven by trends, aestheticization, and commodification; and (b) popularity within orthodoxy, shaped by state-sanctioned values that render certain forms of feminist expression politically permissible. Popular resistance retains a critical, if slippery, edge. It gives …

An Exploration Of Third Spaces In China, Clare J. Hummer

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Exploring Third Spaces in China in a multimedia format.

“I Ignored Western Media And Went Down The Rabbithole No One Warns You About”: An Exoticization Genre On Youtube, Dixon D. Dayton

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Disney's American Mulan, Sofia Diascro

CAFE Symposium 2026

In America, we are taught that we should live for ourselves. We are told we have personal freedom to be an individual and do what we want. Ancient China prioritized collectivism, an idea deeply rooted in Confucianism. Collectivism is about hierarchy, family, duty, and obligation. Disney’s Mulan movies differ from the Chinese legend of Mulan by emphasizing American values of individuality and self-discovery.

From Progressive Politics To Media Censorship: Analyzing The Trajectory Of Lgbt Rights In Taiwan And China, Sabrina Malec

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of The Small Bronze Tripod Used For Pouring Heated Libations (A Pre-Confucian Libation Rite), Elizabeth Childs-Johnson

Art Faculty Publications

The rite of pouring out heated alcohol in honor of spirits begins during the Late Neolithic but matures as a formal institution known in writing and in cast bronze during the earliest phases of the historic Bronze Age, namely the Erlitou (ca. 1900-1600 BC) and Shang periods (ca. 1600-1046 BC). As will be analyzed, the libation rite known as ... [示 + 爵 = ...] (jue/guan) in Shang oracle bone divinations involved the use of the tripod jue爵 (bronze vessel). Although the rite [...] continues to appear in written inscriptions through most of the Western Zhou era, by the 9th-8th …

China's Economic Retaliation Against Norway After Liu Xiaobo's 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, Ian Murphy, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

This case study analyzes China's geoeconomic retaliation against Norway after the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo. China employed non-tariff barriers, diplomatic freezes, and restricted exchanges, severely impacting sectors like salmon exports. This occurred despite the Nobel Committee's independence from the Norwegian government. Although Norway's overall economic impact was mitigated by market adjustments, the six-year diplomatic freeze significantly influenced its human rights foreign policy. This case exemplifies China's strategic use of informal economic tools to punish and deter, showcasing the link between political sensitivities and economic leverage in international relations.

The Low Human Rights Advantage And The Failure Of Globalization: The Challenge Of China Inc., Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose

We develop a framework of the low human rights advantage – labor repression, state discretionary expropriation and total control – that reduces factor costs and enables coordinated resource mobilization. These mechanisms generate economic advantage only when combined with access to global markets, which provide demand, capital and technology. By leveraging this low human rights advantage, the Chinese state has transformed China into a giant corporation that combines the agility of a firm with the resources of a nation, thereby reshaping global competition. Economic integration without corresponding political integration is a major contributor to the failure of the current wave …

Integrating Chinese Tradition And Western Techniques In Jiang Zuxin’S Piano Works: A Study Of Temple Fair And Mountain Flower Collection, Qi Zhang

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This document focuses on Jiang Zuxin’s two piano suites, Temple Fair and Mountain Flower Collection, examining how traditional Chinese musical materials interact with Western compositional techniques. Through close analytical readings of selected excerpts, combined with considerations of performance practice and modal context, the research demonstrates that Jiang systematically employs pentatonic collections and their modal configurations (gong, shang, jue/zhi/yu), along with certain altered tones (such as biangong and qingjue), as foundational pitch material. He also draws on folk songs, dances, and theatrical elements from traditional Chinese culture. At the same time, he simulates the timbres and idiomatic playing techniques of …

The Integration Of Western Compositional Techniques And Traditional Chinese Folk Music In The Piano Works Of Jianzhong Wang, Yingqi Wang

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This document explores the method by which Jianzhong Wang (王建中) (1933–2016), a celebrated Chinese composer and pianist, integrates traditional Chinese folk melodies with Western compositional techniques in his solo piano works, including Western harmonic techniques and tonal language, contrapuntal and polyphonic textures, formal structure and thematic development, and the imitation of instruments and sounds. Introduced to Wang’s music during high school through the piece, “Embroidering the Golden Plaque” from Four Northern Shaanxi Folk Songs, the author reflects on the artistic challenges posed by Wang. Over years of study, an appreciation for Wang’s innovative fusion of Chinese folk elements and Western …

Pearl Buck’S Humanitarian Vision In War And Peace, David M. Crowe

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

"Eurasia, that vast continental region that encompasses Europe and Asia, was a tablet for many of Pearl S. Buck’s works and campaigns for human rights and international efforts to improve the human condition globally. Though she is principally known for her works on China, some scholars, while acknowledging that her novels were principally for an American female audience, gave little attention to her significant body of non-fictional works on a variety of subjects on America and East Asia. I made my first trip to China in the summer of 1985 via the Trans-Siberian Railroad and Mongolia to Beijing."

Pawns In The Power Struggle: Navigating Creative Labor Precarity Across Mcns, Platforms, And State Regulation In China, Qingyue Sun

Interdisciplinary Studies

This study examines how digital creators navigate the precarious Chinese digital creative industries (DCCIs), shaped by multi-channel networks (MCNs), platform logic, and intensifying state intervention. Drawing on interviews with 34 creators, I identified three challenges facing Chinese creators: (1) dual exploitation by volatile platforms and capricious MCN management; (2) erosion of creative autonomy under MCN gatekeeping and state oversight; (3) involuntarily being enlisted as propaganda artisans. Creators, especially those affiliated with MCNs, are increasingly positioned as state labor with governed creativity: cultural workers whose output is shaped, constrained, and redirected by the layered imperatives of state mandates, platform governance, and …

“Sisters, Are You Running Out Of Menstrual Supplies??”: Exploring #Sistersfightpandemicwithease And Tactical Hashtag Feminism In The Covid-19 Crisis, Qingyue Sun

Interdisciplinary Studies

This article examines the hashtag feminism movement#SistersFightPandemicWithEase (#SFPWE) on Weibo, analyzing how it navigated state censorship, online misogyny, and platform governance during the Wuhan lockdown in China. Through qualitative analysis, I argue that #SFPWE diverges from traditional hashtag feminism,instead operating as a form of pragmatic feminism in crisis. The movement embodies what I term tactical feminist activism—an issue-based advocacy that prioritizes pragmatic problem-solving over structural critique. Its tactical nature lies in its ability to appear politically non-threatening and temporarily valuable to authorities. However, findings indicate that #SFPWE ultimately reinforced state legitimacy rather than challenging the structural gender inequalities underlying the …

Intergenerational Family Dynamics Among Caregivers And Children’S Social-Emotional Development In China, Weiman Xu

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The early years of a child’s life are pivotal for social-emotional development. While extensive research has explored the role of family settings in fostering children's social-emotional development (Bornstein, 2005), the impact of grandparental involvement, particularly the caregiving dynamics between generations, remains less well understood. This study aims to fill this gap by examining two critical aspects of intergenerational dynamics among caregivers (i.e. parent-grandparent coparenting and parent-grandparent relationship quality) and their associations with children’s social-emotional development (i.e. social skills and problem behaviors). Two specific aims were delineated: 1) examine the unique contribution of parent-grandparent coparenting, especially the power and authority domain …

The Struggles For Equality And Democracy In Modern China: Which Was More Influential?, Angelina K. Lambros

Publications and Research

This paper analyzes the struggles for democracy and equality in modern China, from the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the Tiananmen Square movement. It considers which struggle was more influential, evaluating the recurring theme of a fight for democracy in China since the New Culture Movement, and a quest for social and economic equality that Mao and the Chinese Communist Party committed themselves to. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the struggle for democratic norms and institutions was always present among the Chinese people, but it did not succeed in pushing the government or the Party to adopt political reforms. …

Institutionalisation And Institutional Evolution: A Model Of Selecting Government Officials In Ancient China, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

The evolution of institutions in selecting government officials in ancient China reflected efficiency considerations and increased power concentration in the hands of the ruler. Selecting government officials in ancient China became more rule‐based over time, and standardisation and centralisation were some key features of this process. In this dynamic model, a higher volume of transactions, shown as the number of candidates needed to be evaluated, leads to institutionalisation, which has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost in processing each transaction. In the steady state, a ruler with a more encompassing interest chooses a higher level of institutionalisation. …

Impact Of Geography On Institutions In Agricultural And Nomadic Societies, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

How geography affects the choice of institutions is studied in a theoretical model. In this model, nations are located around a circle. Rulers compete through choosing tax rates, the level of military spending, and the degree of formality of institutions. Geographic condition is captured by population density. It is shown that societies with higher population densities choose lower tax rates, establish more formal institutions, and give government officials lower levels of autonomies than those with lower population densities do. A higher level of external threats induces a ruler to choose a higher level of autonomy for officials. The model is …

Principal Agency 50 Years After The Lau Decision: Building And Sustaining Bilingual Education Programs For Asian Languages, Kevin M. Wong, Zhongfeng Tian

Education Division Scholarship

This study examined how three champion principals of Asian language dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs—Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin—in California have navigated the oscillating language-in-education policies after the Lau decision. We explored principals' various roles through a lens of agency in a social justice leadership framework, specifically considering the opportunities and challenges for agentive leadership from three different phases: foregrounding and engaging, planning and implementing, and evaluating and sustaining. Findings demonstrate that the success of DLBE programs goes beyond the overarching language policies that supposedly enable bilingual education; rather it hinges on the bottom-up commitment, collaboration and resilience of principals, …

Promoting Emergent Literacy In Preschool Through Extended Discourse: Covert Translanguaging In A Mandarin Immersion Environment, Robin E. Harvey, Kevin M. Wong

Education Division Scholarship

Rich oral language practices, including the opportunity and ability to participate in cognitively and linguistically challenging extended discourse, are foundational to early literacy development. To meet children’s needs in their first exposure to the languages of schooling, educators may engage students in extended discourse multilingually. The current study focuses on student-centered translanguaging conversations to examine strategies that preschool teachers employ to support young children’s emerging bilingual and biliteracy development in a Mandarin immersion preschool serving primarily nonheritage learners of Mandarin in the United States. Findings indicate that, despite the school’s Mandarin-only policy, teachers engaged in covert translanguaging practices to extend …

Late-Ming Book Culture And The Fujian Christian Community: A Case Study Of Lixiu Yijian 勵修一鑑 (A Mirror To Encourage Self-Cultivation), Yunjing Xu

Faculty Journal Articles

This study demonstrates the importance of book culture in the building of a religious community and in the preservation and interpretation of local experiences, through the making of a book titled Lixiu yijian 勵修一鑑 (A mirror to encourage self-cultivation) around 1645. The main author, Li Jiugong 李久功, mobilized members of the Fujian Christian community to collaborate on this communal book project outside the Christian church. Both xylographic print culture and manuscript culture were involved in the process and in the final product of this project. Through genre affiliation, content categorization, and the addition of commentaries, Li and his associates transformed …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald: Inventing Yourself On The Hill, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period January 29 - March 3, 2024.

• Anderson, Alexandria. Letter from the Editor
• Costellow, Ali. Passions Provide Outlets for Self-Expression – Nathan Neal, Chase Winemiller, Gracie Silvia, Nico Silverthorn
• Reed, Bailey. Chinese Music Club Brings New Sound to the Hill
• Historic Building Makes for Unique Apartments – Columns, Bowling Green High School
• Parks, Adin. Inside the Bowling Green Warming Centers – Homeless
• Murray, Debra. Kentucky Museum Exhibits Curator Details Research on Women’s Culture – Tiffany Isselhardt
• Anderson, Alexandria. Who Owns WKU’s Dorms – Student Life Foundation, Hilltopper Hall
• Coppinger, Carrington. Forensics …

Ontological Complexity Of Interpolity Orders: The Encounter Between Chosŏn And Tibet In Qing, Inho Choi, Minju Kwon

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines the ontological complexity of interpolity orders with a focus on peripheral polities in the Qing order. Existing multiculturalist studies of the Qing order emphasized diverse cultural representations of a single imperial reality, lacking an understanding of multiple realities experienced by peripheral participants. Our analysis reveals the ontological complexity—rather than cultural diversity—of the Qing order, in which multiple ontological agents experienced different lived worlds, from the encounter between Chosŏn Korean envoys and the Tibetan Panchen Lama at Emperor Qianlong’s birthday ceremony. By analyzing the Chosŏn envoy member Pak Chiwŏn’s travelog and Tibetan records, we argue that the Chosŏn …

Cultural Erasure And Non-Violent Resistance In Tibet, Nikolina K. Klinkenberg

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

This lesson uses lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities to encourage students to empathize with the Tibetan people and to think critically about responses to the Chinese Communist Party’s oppressive policies. The lesson begins with an overview of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan history since the Chinese invasion, and religious policy in China. Next, students actively interpret instances of self-immolation and analyze non-violent strategies for resolving conflict, connecting these subjects to their learning about Tibetan Buddhism and their prior knowledge of non-violent resistance. The lesson concludes with a reflection in which students connect the lesson’s topics to circumstances in their own lives.

Weaving “National Spirit”: Jacquard-Woven Silk Images In The Nanjing Decade (1927–1937), Brielle Pizzala

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Industrial silk factories in Hangzhou and Shanghai represent active efforts to modernize and weave together the turbulent Republic of China (1912–1949). The Guomindang government, under Chiang Kai-Shek (1887–1975), acculturated modernity, as demonstrated by the silk industry, to unite China and secure the nation from trans-colonial threats, including economic security. Countless silk reelers, weavers, and businessmen in China, altered traditional sericulture with imported industry and ideologies in order to secure national autonomy. Imported steam reeling and jacquard loom factories became means to secure economic survival and national autonomy during this anxious and extremely political period. How did creating silk tapestries materialize …

Balancing Predictability With Flexibility In Contract Negotiation And Drafting, Tahirih V. Lee

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

(Re)Producing Orientalism: Industry Logic Of Chinese Mobile Game Re-Skins In The Global App Empire, Yizhou Xu

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Through the case study of the mobile title Game of Sultans, this article examines the proliferation of iterative and copycat games through the practice of reskins in the mobile game industry. Based on year-long autoethnographic fieldwork working in a Chinese mobile game company, I provide an on-the-ground perspective of how Orientalist representations in reskinned games are instrumentalized through the roles of “cultural brokers” and the work of localization for Western markets. By taking a theoretical and technological understanding of reskins, I argue that reskinned games, as a form of industrial mimicry, while an important aspect of standardized game production, …

The Personality Profile Of Nobel Laureate Pearl Buck, Sophia Geng, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a psychodiagnostic case study of Nobel laureate Pearl Buck, 1938 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.” Guided by the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon, psychodiagnostically relevant data about Buck were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC). Then, the personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality …

Bibliography For "Chinese Culture And Values Display", Isabella Piechota, Arianna Tillman, Kalea Brown

Library Displays and Bibliographies

A bibliography created to accompany a display about Chinese cultures and values in October 2023 at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University.

A Lifetime Of Stress: Analysis And Treatment Of An Inlaid Chinese Box, Katherine Mcfarlin

Art Conservation Master's Projects

Inlaid wooden objects are complex and intricate mixed media assemblages that can provide significant challenges to the conservator, as the properties of the individual materials can conflict and complicate treatment options. For example, traditional inlay materials such as ivory and mother-of-pearl are particularly susceptible to shifts in moisture and acidity, and the hygroscopic nature of historic proteinaceous adhesives can exacerbate dimensional changes in the surrounding wood. This paper describes the research and subsequent treatment to stabilize and restore a Qing dynasty wooden tabletop chest inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and various siliceous minerals. A combination of adhesive failure along multiple joints …

The Unintended Consequences Of China’S One-Child Policy, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published a book entitled The Population Bomb in which he argued that rapid population growth would overwhelm the world’s capacity to feed, house, and otherwise care for the coming millions of people. At that time, the world population was about 3.5 billion growing at an average annual rate of 2.06 percent (World Bank 2023). At that rate of growth, the world’s population would have been expected to double to 7.0 billion by 2001. In fact, population growth rates fell after the 1960s and world population reached only 6.2 billion in that year. Fears of a population …