Rethinking Chinese Cultural Identity

Book excerpt: Grounded in history and guided by theory, this book proposes a new inclusive cultural label, Hualish, to remedy the limitations of the word “Chinese” and replace it as the culture label for the people of “greater China“ origin. The book first introduces the Culture Design Paradigm, a general culture design paradigm with three core components: vitality, structure, and foci. It then uses the Culture Design Paradigm to construct the new conceptual identity, Hualish. This is followed by detailed discussion of three practical paths that can lead to a desirable Hualish identity - the recipe path, the example path, and the normative path. Lastly, the book proposes Humanistic Hualish as a converging and gravitative Hualish culture.Built upon a rigorous academic foundation, the book provides practical guidance to individuals, families, associates, as well as organizations.