ABSTRACT

It is noted that the configurations of Chinese conceptualizations of communication are deeply rooted in the Chinese ideas both ancient and modern. The predominant Chinese ideas include Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism as well as Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, and Deng Xiaoping’s theories concerning market economy. The following sections elaborate such connections:

Impact of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism

After comparing the Greek civilization with the Chinese civilization, Nisbett, Peng, Choi, and Norenzayan (2001) concluded that “from the location of power in the individual, ordinary people in the then Greece and later Euro-American cultures” developed “a sense of personal agency,” “a sense of personal freedom,” “a sense of curiosity,” and “a tradition of debate” (p. 292). In contrast, the Chinese civilization boasts of a long history of centralized control of power. It has nurtured “a sense of reciprocal social obligation or collective agency,” “Confucian obligations between emperor and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and between friend and friend,” and “prescribed ethical conducts of considering individuals part of a closely-knit collectivity, sharing with the community as a whole, and valuing

in-group harmony” (p. 192). Many scholars (e.g., Bond & Hofstede, 1989; Chan, 2008; Chen, 2008; Fang & Faure, 2011; Hansen, 1985; Hsu, 1963; Jia, 2001) have explored the impact of traditional Chinese philosophies and religions on the style of Chinese communication. The three great teachings have been research topics of top priority in their studies.