Chinese Communication Studies: Contexts and Comparisons

Lu, Xing; Jia, Wenshan; Heisey, D. Ray. (eds). Chinese Communication Studies: Contexts and Comparisons. Westport: Ablex Publishing, 2002. 278 PP.

To understand this vibrant Chinese culture which is of paramount importance to the U.S. economically and politically, we must gather the wisdom of thoughtful scholars who have first hand knowledge of the culture and the ability to research and document. Such is the case in this new volume edited by Lu, Jia, and Heisey. It is refreshing to finally find a communication text about Chinese communication written from a Chinese perspective; this text also has the input of Western scholars who provide some dual perspective. For too long, we have framed East Asian communication through Western paradigms-an unrealistic exercise at best, and a clumsy distortion at worst. While writing about a culture beyond our experience is not quite futile, but not quite accurate; writing about our own culture is hardly accurate either. Communication is a perception by the receiver-rarely perceived by two people exactly the same way. So for the sender to have to judge the perception by the receiver is an inexact science. In other words, dialogue is necessary to gauge not only what we are trying to convey but how the listener understood it. We must hold a mirror up to see ourselves as others do.

The editors' objectives are threefold: to reach an understanding of contextual meanings embedded in Chinese culture and communication; to achieve an understanding of how various factors have contributed to the dynamics and intricacies of Chinese communication; and to achieve an intercultural understanding through an identification of the barriers and commonalities between Chinese and Western societies in various areas such as human rights issues, pedagogical approaches, and rhetorical styles. To cover these objectives, the editors have invited the perspectives of scholars from The PRC, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; these scholars are ethnic Chinese who have lived in China and received at least part of their formal education in Chinese universities, as well as non-Chinese who are long-time researchers on Chinese culture and communication.

The broad scope of chapters deal with political movements and modernization, media, family, and human rights, all set in the context of communication. As communication is ameta-discipline, informing and being informed by other social sciences, this integration of information creates a volume useful for any social scientist. The chapters dwell on issues at the core of Chinese culture and modernization.

To understand contextual meanings, there are several essays on Confucianism and its impact on modernization and vice-versa. Confucianism is explored in the context of revolution by Ling Chen, family by Omar Swartz, modernization by Rita Mei-Ching Ng, and Humanism and human rights by Mei-Ling Wang

Chapter 13, Minmin Wang's "Comparison of Chinese and American Views on World Opinion," should be required reading for the U.S. administration. The importance of understanding divergent constructions of world opinion, which the study covers, cannot be overemphasized.

While I perceive this volume to be a good foundation for teaching culture and communication, it should be noted that any book about China is out of date as it goes to press. Many of the concepts are rooted in tradition and will not be subject to change, but other concepts are changing as we write and should be supplemented by current media and journals. The other caveat is that the PRC and Taiwan are both treated as Chinese and while culturally that is the case, politically and linguistically there are differences. Additionally, Hong Kong is treated as a separate entity, overlooking the 1997 merger with the PRC.

Jessica Stowell University of Oklahoma

Copyright Association of Third World Studies, Inc. Spring 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved