China Perspectives – serie

This monograph aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the legal protection of the private equity (PE) investors in China. In an academic sense, this research mainly focuses on the agency problems in the life cycle of PE investment under the business organization law system in China. Briefly speaking, the agency problems of PE investment derive from the two-level separation of ownership and control, one of which is the principal–agent relationship between the PE investors and the fund manager, and the other is the principal–agent relationship between the PE shareholders and the management of investee companies. It is the first research to provide an in-depth examination on the investor protection in the PE investment under the business organization law system in China.

The book intents to locate the process and effectiveness of cooperation in East Asia, to regard the construction of East Asian community as the ideal, the contradictions and difficulties in construction as the reality, and the actual development and achievement as the choice and effort between the two. The year of 1997 saw the Asian Financial Crisis which turned out to be a disaster, but also opened up an opportunity for East Asia to establish cooperation mechanism. Starting with the crisis, this book examines the origin and development of the East Asian cooperation movement. More importantly, it investigates the obstacles and resistance, and provides insights into the cooperation within East Asia in the context of unstable political environment. Specifically, it expounds on East Asian Free Trade Area, monetary cooperation, as well as the cooperation within Northeast Asian and Asia-Pacific regions.Instead of the East Asian Community, various functional mechanisms have come into being in the development of East Asian cooperation because of complicated historical and economic relations among the countries. This book examines the roles played by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Japan, U.S., and China in the cooperation respectively. More importantly, China’s strategic orientation in regional cooperation is studied in the last chapter. It observes that China, as a rising power, is re-establishing regional relations and order with the geographically neighbouring countries as the basis.

The book is a collection of the dialogues between Xu Jun, a well-known expert in French literary translation and eminent “Changjiang” scholar in translation studies in China, and some celebrated literary translators in contemporary China, some of whom are also literary scholars, linguists, poets, prose writers, and editors. It is a fundamental achievement of research on the literary translation in the 20th century in China, involving multiple literary types, such as novels, poetry, dramas, prose, and fairy tales; and multiple languages, such as English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Sanskrit. The dialogues are centered on fundamental issues in the theory and practice of literary translation, such as re-creation in literary translation, the relationship between form and content in literary translation, the subjectivity of literary translators, literary translation standards and principles, the gains and losses in literary translation, the principles and methods of literary criticism, and so on. Those translation experts’ experience and multiple strategies not only play an active role in guiding literary translators in practice but also benefit theoretical development in literary translation. Thus, the book will contribute to worldwide translation studies and get well recognized by translation studies students, teachers, and scholars in the world.

Public discourse constitutes the language environment of a town or a city, which forms part of the social environment of a country or a region. Based on extensive first-hand data collected from public places, mass media and the Internet, this monograph attempts critical pragmatic studies of public discourse in the contemporary Chinese context.By applying pragmatic theories and analytical instruments to the analysis of the data, including business names, advertisements, public signs and notices, and news, the book showcases such discursive practices as personalization and subjectivization and reveals such social problems as unhealthy social mentalities, “pragmatic traps”, suspect discrimination, and vulgarity. It exemplifies a way of combining the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and the pragmatic approach with a clear focus on the pragmatic issues.This book will not only be a necessary addition to the academic discipline of pragmatics in general, and critical pragmatics in particular, but also lay bare the problems existing in the use of public discourse and suggest several ways to improve such use. While it addresses the Chinese data only, the proposed analyses may contribute to international readers’ understanding of public discourse in contemporary China and serve as a reference for similar researches worldwide.

The “national drama” in China is a historical concept. Grown on longstanding Chinese culture and art, the traditional drama, mainly in the form of “opera”, has been integrated with “drama” of an international background. From the perspective of modern “drama and opera”, this book mainly studies the conditions and research of Chinese traditional drama in the 1920s and 1930s.Instead of analyzing from the viewpoint of literature appreciation or music theory, the author regards the drama as a comprehensive stage art. He attaches special importance to restoring historical scenes and therefore mainly introduces the drama journals and monographs published in that historical period, in order to help readers understand the original state of drama at that time through the records of the witnesses. In particular, this book delivers an insightful view about the evolution of the meaning of “national drama” and “drama”.The book will help scholars and readers understand the meaning and the whole story of the “national drama” concept, and will certainly facilitate the construction of the discipline of Drama and Opera.

Jia Zhangke is praised as “the most internationally prominent and celebrated figure of the Six-Generation of Chinese filmmakers”. This book provides an examination the content and forms of Jia’s featured films and analyzes their merits and faults. Jia’s films often narrate the lives of ordinary Chinese people against the backdrop of the political-economic changes. The author conducts an in-depth analysis of how this change have ferociously impinged upon the characters’ living conditions since China integrated itself with the world economy in the high tide of accelerated globalization since the 1970s. The author focuses on discussing the “politics of dignity” expressed by Jia’s allegorical renditions to explore the director’s political unconsciousness and cultural-political notions.This book maps ten of Jia Zhangke’s films onto three major themes: Jia’s filmmaking and China in the market society; truth claims and political unconscious; “post-socialist modernity” in the age of globalization. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese film studies, as well as other disciplines, such as political science, sociology, anthropology, etc.

"The Hidden Land" means that a large amount of land in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was "hidden" or unknown, since the land was managed by both the administrative and the military systems, and only the former was made public while the latter was being hidden due to confidentiality issues. This is one of the author’s creative findings as a result of his solid textual research and rigorous argumentation. Since the Ming state management system had a great impact on the land, the population, the taxes and corvée, the imperial examinations, the justice, the grass-roots organizations and the frontier ethnics during the 500 years from Ming to Qing (1636–1912), the views on the garrisons and guards (weisuo) in the military system are of great help to review the essential issues of the period, which were often misunderstood or neglected before. In addition, the author introduces the present situation, existing problems and basic historical materials in the Ming study which will be beneficial to the Ming researchers and enthusiasts.

Communication, like the atmosphere itself, is ubiquitous and essential for humans and with the development of new technologies, such as wireless internet, 3D printing and virtual reality, it has become almost impossible to live without it. In addition, means of communication have changed immeasurably.This book proposes a new research paradigm that incorporates new features and factors of communication and a new theoretical framework named “immersive communication”. Pointing out that communication today has moved beyond the bi-directional, mass communication of "the second media age" to ubiquitous, immersive communication in "the third media age", the author discusses the definition, characteristics, information structure, and models of immersive communication using various examples including Fitbit, Apple, 4G and other technologies, while envisioning future applications of the immersive communication model.Scholars and students of communication studies, especially those interested in the manifestations of the new media age, will all benefit from this book. It will also appeal to readers interested in new media and communication theories.

What is the social structure of Chinese society in the 21st century? How should China address the problem of migrant workers? How can China form a modern society? These key sociological issues are some of the topics this book covers.This book is a collection of the research articles and lectures that Dr. Lu Xueyi, the former Head of the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has published since the 1980s. The author discusses the social structure, social stratification, social construction, and development of contemporary Chinese society. Arguing that the gap between economic and social development has become the major social issue facing modern China, the author advocates paying close attention to the country’s social structure and the growth of the middle class.The book will be of interest to all scholars and students of Sociology and Chinese Studies.

What is the social structure of Chinese society in the 21st century? How should China address the problem of migrant workers? How can China form a modern society? These key sociological issues are some of the topics this book covers.This book is a collection of the research articles and lectures that Dr. Lu Xueyi, the former Head of the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has published since the 1980s. The author discusses the social structure, social stratification, social construction, and development of contemporary Chinese society. Arguing that the gap between economic and social development has become the major social issue facing modern China, the author advocates paying close attention to the country’s social structure and the growth of the middle class.The book will be of interest for all scholars and students of Sociology and Chinese Studies.

China has experienced radical societal change since the initiation of the reform and openness programme in 1978. These changes have brought about significant income discrepancy between regions, social classes and generations; rendering the fair distribution of income an ever more important socio-economic question.This book is a collection of eleven papers on the income distribution problem in Chinese society from 1978 to the early 21st century authored by Zhao Renwei, the former director of the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The author examines the imbalance in income distribution in Chinese society from a socio-economic perspective and uses a myriad of examples to support his arguments while drawing conclusions as to ways forward for policy makers.The book is an essential reference for students and scholars interested in social and economic reform in Chinese society. It will appeal additionally to policy makers concerned with the question of income distribution.

China has experienced radical economic and societal change since the initiation of the reform process in 1978. These changes have greatly affected various aspects of people’s livelihoods and inspired scholars to reconsider the relationship between planning and the market in China.This book is a collection of fourteen papers by Zhao Renwei, the former director of the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. First, the author discusses his views on the relationship between planning and the market in Chinese society before subsequently going on to examine the changes in economic systems of the intervening decades, using examples and economic models, and then drawing conclusions for policy.The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in China’s social and economic reform.

What is the social structure of Chinese society in the 21st century? How should China address the problem of migrant workers? How can China form a modern society? These key sociological issues are some of the topics this two-volume set covers.This set is a collection of the research articles and lectures that Dr. Lu Xueyi, the former Head of the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has published since the 1980s. The author discusses the social structure, social stratification, social construction and development of contemporary Chinese society. Arguing that the gap between economic and social development has become the major social issue facing modern China, the author advocates paying close attention to the country’s social structure and the growth of the middle-class.The set will be of interest for all scholars and students of Sociology and Chinese Studies.

China has been one of the first countries to develop its own aesthetic for dynamic images and to create animation films with distinctive characteristics. In recent years, however, and subject to the influence of Western and Japanese animation, the Chinese animation industry has experienced several new stages of development, prompting the question as to where animation in China is heading in the future.This book describes the history, present and future of China’s animation industry. The author divides the business’s 95-year history into six periods and analyses each of these from an historical, aesthetic, and artistic perspective. In addition, the book focuses on representative works; themes; directions; artistic styles; techniques; industrial development; government support policies; business models; the nurturing of education and talent; broadcasting systems and animation.Scholars and students who are interested in the history of Chinese animation will benefit from this book and it will appeal additionally to readers interested in Chinese film studies.

China has been one of the first countries to develop its own aesthetic for dynamic images and to create animation films with distinctive characteristics. In recent years, however, and subject to the influence of Western and Japanese animation, the Chinese animation industry has experienced several new stages of development, prompting the question as to where animation in China is heading in the future.This book describes the history, present and future of China’s animation industry. The author divides the business’s 95-year history into six periods and analyses each of these from an historical, aesthetic, and artistic perspective. In addition, the book focuses on representative works, themes, directions, artistic styles, techniques, industrial development, government support policies, business models, the nurturing of education and talent, broadcasting systems, and animation.Scholars and students who are interested in the history of Chinese animation will benefit from this book and it will appeal additionally to readers interested in Chinese film studies.

The industrialization of information resources has been a growing trend across the world in recent years, especially in China, where the information resource industry (IRI) has expanded exponentially for over more than a decade. While analysing the development conditions of China's IRI, this two-volume set clearly defines the implications and strategic value of the industry, summarizes basic IRI theories, and clarifies the history of its development and special regional characteristics within the Chinese context. Drawing on the statistics and measurement of various economic indicators of IRI, the authors propose four stages of development: a germination period; an initial development period; a subsequent rapid development period; and lastly, a steady development period. At the same time, the set draws upon various theoretical models such as the “Dynamic Resource Triangle” model, the “Information Resource Industrial Symbiosis” model, the value chain model and the explanation model of information consumption in order to shed light on IRI's elements and the optimization of its management. In addition, the authors present the Information Resource Industry Development Index (IRIDI) to evaluate IRI’s development in different provinces and cities across Mainland China and monitor its dynamics from the point of view of industrial value and the external environment.While the set lays a solid theoretical foundation for the growth of China’s IRI, it will also give international readers a clear picture of China's emerging industries in the current era.As an emerging strategic industry in China, the information resource industry (IRI) has had and will continue to have a growing impact on economic and social development. Focusing on the special characteristics of IRI policies in China, this set provides an in-depth discussion of the major directions, methods, and paths of development for IRI policies via a comprehensive analysis of the structural, organizational, promotional policies and policy instruments of China’s IRI.Concentrating on policy instruments, the set, for the first time, provides a systematic, all-rounded review of China’s IRI policies that have been released to date, and proposes a “China Information Resource Industry Policy Library” comprising six types of IRI policy documents: organizational, information, regulatory, incentives, market, and social. The whole contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the application of various IRI policies in China, and also supports the decision making behind and building of industrial policies.

China has been one of the first countries to develop its own aesthetic for dynamic images and to create animation films with distinctive characteristics. In recent years, however, and subject to the influence of Western and Japanese animation, the Chinese animation industry has experienced several new stages of development, prompting the question as to where animation in China is heading in the future.This two-volume set describes the history, present and future of China’s animation industry. The author divides the business’s 95-year history into six periods and analyses each of these from an historical, aesthetic, and artistic perspective. In addition, it focuses on representative works; themes; directions; artistic styles; techniques; industrial development; government support policies; business models; the nurturing of education and talent; broadcasting systems and animation.Scholars and students who are interested in the history of Chinese animation will benefit from this set and it will appeal additionally to readers interested in Chinese film studies.

As an emerging strategic industry in China, the information resource industry (IRI) has had and will continue to have a growing impact on economic and social development. Focusing on the special characteristics of IRI policies in China, this book provides an in-depth discussion of the major directions, methods, and paths of development for IRI policies via a comprehensive analysis of the structural, organizational, promotional policies and policy instruments of China’s IRI.Concentrating on policy instruments, this book, for the first time, provides a systematic, well-rounded review of China’s IRI policies that have been released to date, and proposes a “China Information Resource Industry Policy Library” comprising six types of IRI policy documents: organizational, information, regulatory, incentives, market, and social. The whole contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the  application of various IRI policies in China and also supports the building of industrial policies and the decision-making behind them.

Liveness is a pivotal issue for performance theorists and artists. As live art covers both embodiment and disembodiment, many scholars have emphasized the former and interpreted the latter as the opposite side of liveness. In this book, the author demonstrates that disembodiment is also an inextricable part of liveness and presence in performance from both practical and theoretical perspectives.By applying phenomenological theory to live performance, the author investigates the possible realisation of aesthetic dynamics in live art via re-engagement with the notions of embodiment, especially in the sense provided by philosophers such as Gabriel Marcel and Morris Merleau-Ponty. Creative practices from leading performance artists such as Franko B, Ron Athey, Manuel Vason and others, as well as experimental ensembles such as Goat Island, La Pocha Nostra, Forced Entertainment and the New Youth are discussed, offering a new perspective to re-frame human-human relationships such as the one between actor and spectator and collaborations in live genresIn addition, the author presents a new interpretation model for the human-material in live genres, helping to bridge the aesthetic gaps between performance art and experimental theatre and providing an ecological paradigm for performance art, experimental theatre and live art.

China has experienced radical economical and societal change since the reform process was initiated in 1978. These changes have brought about significant income discrepancy between regions, social classes, and generations and greatly impacted on various aspects of people’s livelihood. This set is a collection of twenty-five papers by Zhao Renwei, the former director of the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In the first volume, the author examines the imbalance in income distribution in the Chinese society from a socio-economic perspective and uses a myriad of examples to support his arguments. In the second volume, he discusses his views on the relationship between planning and the market in China and examines the changes in economic systems of the past decades using examples and economic models.The book will appeal to students and scholars who are interested in the social and economic reform in China.

“Frame analysis” has long been an active field in journalism and communication, but there are many chaotic, ambiguous definitions and duplicated studies.This book combines subjective philosophy with empirical research to fully explore what news framing is and how a media organization's news frame is constructed. Topics discussed include connotation and composition, facts and sources, functions and effects, construction and updates, competition and negotiation, presenting as a whole a clear and systematic epistemological framework and providing inspiration for news frame researchers, media practitioners and the public to understand the role of the news media.In addition, the book also examines and analyses empirical cases from different countries and regions, including particular emphasis on frame analysis in China, which can help foreign readers better understand Chinese media reports.

As carbon dioxide is the most important source of greenhouse gases today, its emission quantity has become a primary focus of governments, scholars, and the general public. From the perspective of the structure of Chinese industry, this two-volume set aims to answer two questions. First, what is the driving force of China’s CO2 emissions and how does this relate to the structure of industry? Second, what is the potential for abatement and the cost of CO2 across sectors and regions, and the impact for industry?The author calculates the CO2 inventory data at province and sectoral level based on the approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and then quantifies the CO2 abatement potential and marginal abatement cost using this production framework. Econometric models are used to examine the likely impact on industry of abatement potential and cost.The set hence provides a rich source of information for general readers to better understand the characteristics, patterns and drivers of China’s CO2 emissions. It also provides solid evidence for policy-makers to help mitigate CO2 emissions through industrial restructuring strategy.

In order to effectively address global warming, many countries have significantly reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are put into the atmosphere. From the perspective of industrial structure, this volume examines the emission reduction potentials and abatement costs in China. By making an empirical analysis of the emission reduction, the author proposes some practical strategies.The book comprehensively summarizes related theories and research of contaminant disposal modeling, and estimates the shadow price of interprovincial CO2 emissions, the emission reduction potential of different regions, and the marginal emission reduction cost based on the parametric model. It finally puts forward the strategy to adjust the industrial structure in China.The book hence provides solid evidence for policy-makers to help mitigate CO2 emissions through industrial restructuring strategy.

With the expansion of globalization, international trade has played an increasingly significant role, especially for developing countries. As the largest developing country, China has made a lot of efforts to integrate to the global market since its Open and Reform Policy in 1978 and has become the second largest economy in world. So what is the effect of China’s trade-oriented strategy for the country and the world? How did it improve the country’s economic development? These are some critical questions this book discusses.This book utilizes classic Western economic models to examine how China’s openness policies have affected the manufacturing upgrading and economic development of the country. A large amount of micro-level empirical evidence is added to support the conclusion. Scholars and students in economics and business will benefit from this book. Also, it will appeal to readers interested in policy making and Chinese studies.

Since China proposed its “Belt and Road Initiative” in 2013 to boost its influence on international affairs and “cultivate international contacts who are friendly toward China”, the number of foreign students in China has surge exponentially. Yet global political changes have added tensions and challenges to the education of international students. This book is one of the first works to discuss the educational experiences of international students in China. Using survey research and qualitative studies to study participants in degree-bearing and language programmes at regular universities and Sino-foreign universities located in different parts of the country, the book covers a variety of topics across education, including international students’ intercultural experience, teacher–student classroom interaction, learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language, academic adaptation and identity formation in higher educational contexts.This book is essential for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers of international student education in China. It can also benefit prospective international students considering pursuing higher education in China.

The 20th century was a dynamic period for the theatrical arts in China. Booming urban theatres, the interaction between commercial practice and theatre, dramas staged during the War of Resistance against Japan and a healthy dialogue between Western and Eastern theatres all contributed to the momentousness of this period. The four volumes of "A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century" display the developmental trajectories of Chinese theatre over those hundred years.This volume deals with the development of Chinese theatre from 1900 to 1949, covering the prosperity of Peking Opera, the advent of play and colorful local dramas. The author shows that the modernization of Chinese theatre was subject to both internal factors and influences from the outside world, while modernity and localization are two contradictory but complementary dimensions in any interpretation of Chinese theatre in the 20th century.Scholars and students in the history of the arts, especially the history of Chinese theatre, will find this book to be an essential guide.

China is historically famous for its high demographic dividend and its huge working population, and this has driven tremendous economic growth over the past few decades. However, that population has begun to shrink and the Lewis turning point whereby surplus rural population has been absorbed into manufacturing is also approaching, leading to great change in the Chinese labor market. Will this negatively affect China’s economic growth? Can the "Middle-Income Trap" be avoided? What reforms should be made on the labor supply side? This book tackles these key questions.This book is a collection of 14 papers presenting the author’s observations, analysis, and opinions of China’s long-term economic development from the demographic perspective, while analysing real economic problems from the past and including policy recommendations. It provides a critical reference for scholars and students interested in Chinese economic development and demographic perspectives on economic development.

In the four volumes of The Development Trajectory of Eastern Societies and the Theories and Practices of Socialism, the author re-examines Marx and Engels’ theories on the development trajectory of Eastern societies by integrating theoretical analysis of Marxist theories and a historical investigation of socialist revolution and socialist construction around the world.This second volume focuses on Marx and Engels’ historical materialism, explains the general laws of historical development, and brings this to bear within the context of Eastern societies. The author notes that Marx and Engels’ historical materialism and its derivative theories on Eastern societies are compatible and interconnected. In addition, he reveals how Marx and Engels’ theory of the “Asiatic mode of production” plays an important part in the development trajectory of Eastern societies, and is closely related to their theory of “five social forms.”This volume is a key reference for readers who study and are interested in Marxism, Marxist philosophy, and the history of philosophy.

In the four volumes of The Development Trajectory of Eastern Societies and the Theories and Practices of Socialism, the author re-examines the Marx and Engel’s theories on the development trajectory of Eastern societies by integrating theoretical analysis of Marxist theories and a historical investigation of socialist revolution and construction around the world.This volume discusses the desire of the Russian commune to “leap over the Caudine Forks of capitalism,” which means to avoid the torments of the capitalist system, according to Marx and Engels’ theories. The author argues that it is essential to use the logic intrinsic in Marx and Engels’ own works rather than those of subsequent disciples such as Lenin as well as other leaders in the Soviet Union or within China’s contemporary socialism. Readers who study Marxism, Marxist philosophy, philosophical history, and the history of philosophy will find this volume interesting.