The document discusses the concept of harmony from a Chinese perspective. It defines harmony as the resolution of conflicts between various groups and entities. The concept originated in ancient China during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty under the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism emphasized maintaining harmony in social relationships through concepts like propriety, righteousness and integrity. Chinese society traditionally valued collective interests over individual interests and practices like maintaining social networks, reciprocity, humility and saving face to preserve interpersonal harmony.

1. HARMONY
From
CHINESE
perspective

2. Agenda
Ø
Meaning
of
Harmony
Ø
Origin
of
Harmony
in
China
Ø
Lessons
from
Harmony
• In
Social
context
• In
Political
context
• In
Economic
context
Ø How
China
rediscovered
Harmony

3. Meaning
of
Harmony
• The
concept
of
harmony
in
Chinese
culture
comes
from
music.
• Harmony
relates
to
important
concepts
of
Confucianism
such
as
Ren
(Benevolence,
Humanness)
Yi
(Righteousness,
Justice)
Li
(Propriety,
Conduct,
Etiquette)
Zhi
(Knowledge)
Xin
(Integrity)

4. Contd…
Resolution
of
Conflicts
between
• Human
and
Nature
• Human
&
Human
• Members
of
a
Group
• Citizens
to
a
society
at
Large
• Rulers
&
the
ruled
• Clashes
amongst
the
religions
• Ideological
contests
• Dependence
&
Independence
development
between
national
blocks

5. Origin
of
Harmony
in
China
• During
the
Eastern
Zhou
Dynasty,
discussion
of
music
flourished
under
Confucius
and
the
school
of
thoughts
he
created,
Confucianism
• Factors
leading
to
Harmony
-­‐
Predominantly
agricultural
society
-­‐
Teachings
of
Confucius
and
other
scholars
-­‐
Willingness
of
Society
to
accept
new
idea
Famous
saying
from
Warring
State
Period
(479
BC
to
221
BC)
“Bai
Hua
Chi
Fan
Bai
Jia
Chi
ming”
Let
hundred
Flowers
Bloom
Let
hundred
Schools
Flourish

6. Lessons
from
Harmony
• Social
Context
–
Harmony
in
Chinese
Culture
关系与面子
Opening
poem
of
Shijing
Crying
the
Ospreys
Merrily
the
ospreys
cry
On
the
islet
in
the
stream
Graceful
gentle
and
bright
is
she
A
fit
mate
for
gentleman
for
him
Long
and
short
is
the
water
plant
Left
and
right
borne
by
the
current
Graceful
gentle
and
bright
Longing
for
her,
Awaken
or
in
his
dream
Waiting
for
her
reply
Long
he
thought,
long
night
awaken
Long
and
short
is
the
water
plant
Left
and
right
to
pluck
them
Graceful
gentle
and
bright
Wed
her
is
his
dream
Merrily
paying
tune
with
her
Long
and
short
is
the
water
plant
Left
and
right
to
gather
them
Graceful
gentle
and
bright
Marry
her
is
his
dream
Drums
and
bells
beating

7. 5
Confucian
Relationships
• Father
to
Son
• Elder
Brother
to
Younger
Brother
• Husband
to
Wife
• Elder
to
Junior
• Ruler
to
Subject

8. One
of
his
famous
sayings
from
Confucius
goes:
“In
carrying
our
rites,
it
is
harmony
that
is
prized.”
(礼之用,
和为贵。Lǐ
zhī
yòng,
hé
wéi
guì.
)
• Personal
network
关系(guānxì)
-­‐
In
China,
an
established
network
of
quality
contacts
can
help
accomplish
almost
anything,
and
thus
having
good
guanxi
is
a
very
powerful
asset.
• Human
sentiment
人情
(rénqíng
)
-­‐
The
rule
of
”renqing”
in
Chinese
society
as
fellows:
“If
you
have
received
a
drop
of
beneficence
from
other
people,
you
should
return
to
them
a
fountain
of
beneficence”.
A
Chinese
who
has
done
a
favor
for
you
automatically
feels
that
he
or
she
is
owned
a
favor
from
you
in
return.
• Face
面子
(miànzi)
-­‐
Face
is
the
concept
of
Mianzi
.
In
Chinese
culture,
losing
face,
saving
face
and
giving
face
is
very
important.
Surface
harmony
is
the
art
of
maintaining
composure
and
remaining
polite
and
courteous.
Surface
harmony
is
seen
to
be
of
higher
value
than
personal
emotion
and
thus
proper
etiquette
will
serve
to
safeguard
harmony
and
face.

9. • Humility
and
modesty
客气
(kèqi)
-­‐
Ke
means
guest
and
qi
means
behavior.
Keqi
is
the
concept
of
humility
and
modesty
that
is
illustrated
through
being
considerate,
polite
and
well
mannered.
Chinese
people
do
not
consider
it
polite
to
be
arrogant
and
boast
about
one’s
achievement
and
connections.
• Reciprocity
礼尚往来
(lǐ
shàng
wǎnglái)
-­‐
This
concept
can
be
defined
as
individuals
and
groups
exchanging
favors.
People
will
ask
for
favors
from
those
with
whom
they
have
guanxi.
• Collective
vs.
individual
interest
-­‐
Another
deep-­‐seated
social
belief
is
that
of
the
collective
interest
being
of
greater
importance
than
that
of
the
individual.
As
a
result,
individuals
should
sacrifice
their
own
interests
in
order
to
serve
the
needs
of
the
majority.

10. An
individualist
mentality
and
a
collectivist
mentality.
• Example
One-­‐If
you
show
a
person
from
West
an
image
of
a
fish
tank,
the
American
will
usually
describe
the
biggest
fish
in
the
tank
and
what
it
is
doing.
If
you
ask
a
Chinese
person
to
describe
a
fish
tank,
the
Chinese
will
usually
describe
the
context
in
which
the
fish
swim.
Take
Away
-­‐
Americans
usually
see
individuals;
Chinese
and
other
Asians
see
contexts.
• Example
Two
–
Show
Westerners
individual
pictures
of
a
chicken,
a
cow
and
hay
and
asked
the
subjects
to
pick
out
the
two
that
go
together,
the
Americans
would
usually
pick
out
the
chicken
and
the
cow.
They're
both
animals.
Most
Asian
people,
on
the
other
hand,
would
pick
out
the
cow
and
the
hay,
since
cows
depend
on
hay.
Take
Away
-­‐
Americans
are
more
likely
to
see
categories.
Asians
are
more
likely
to
see
relationships.

11. Message
from
China
through
Sports
-­‐
The
ceremony
drew
from
China's
long
history,
but
surely
the
most
striking
features
were
the
images
of
thousands
of
Chinese
moving
as
one
–
drumming
as
one,
dancing
as
one,
sprinting
on
precise
formations
without
ever
stumbling
or
colliding.
We've
seen
displays
of
mass
conformity
before,
but
this
was
collectivism
of
the
present
–
a
high-­‐tech
vision
of
the
harmonious
society
performed
in
the
context
of
China's
miraculous
growth.

12. An
old
Chinese
Proverb
• If
there
be
righteousness
in
the
heart,
there
will
be
beauty
in
the
character.
• If
there
is
beauty
in
the
character,
there
will
be
harmony
in
the
home.
• If
there
is
harmony
in
the
home,
there
will
be
order
in
each
nation.
• When
there
is
order
in
each
nation,
there
will
be
PEACE
IN
THE
WORLD!

13. Political
Context
–
Principles
governing
China’s
practice
of
harmony-­‐oriented
diplomacy
• Being both outward-looking and inward-looking, seeking mutual
adjustment and mutual adaptation with the world
• Seeking a multi-faceted win-win outcome.
• Putting aside ideological differences and focusing on substantive
cooperation in foreign relations.
• Establishing secure communities without the intention of sphere of
influence, power politics, or dominance

14. Economic
/
Technological
Context
–
• Open
Door
Policy
• The
principle
of
Equality
and
Mutual
Benefit
• Focus
on
Green
Technological
advancements

15. How
China
rediscovered
Harmony
Harmonious
Society
(hexie
Shehui)
Harmonious
World
(hexie
Shiji)

16. Thanks

17. • In
this
poem,
the
harmonious
relationship
of
a
couple
has
been
described.
• In
ancient
China,
harmony
is
the
core
of
philosophy.
Nature
and
human,
society
and
individual,
male
and
female,
all
should
be
in
harmony
according
to
the
natural
law.
Just
like
no
one
is
an
isolated
island,
everyone
is
associated
with
others.
Family
as
the
smallest
unit
of
society
represents
the
harmonious
relationship
between
husband
and
wife.
So
the
poem
is
not
for
entertainment
but
for
moral
lessons.
In
this
poem,
metaphors
are
osprey
and
water
plant.
Ospreys
in
Chinese
culture
is
a
kind
of
bird
loyal
to
love,
when
the
couple
lost
one,
the
other
will
keep
alone
to
the
rest
of
its
life.
• Here,
when
the
boy
wants
to
pay
court
to
his
beloved
girl,
he
compares
his
love
to
the
loyal
osprey,
and
the
water
plant
was
like
his
sentiment,
so
romantic
and
deep.
When
he
got
her
love,
he
will
cherish
it
forever.
It
put
on
the
beginning
of
Shijing
to
lay
stress
on
the
importance
of
harmonious
family
which
is
the
foundation
of
social
stability
and
development.