[A]ny theorization in sociology and the humanities is subject to the control of the hidden theory (of Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping theory), understood as an all-inclusive system that is constantly expanding and developing. Consequently, all theorization has to begin from and end in that master framework of the hidden theory.
It can be seen that, in the case of China, what discourages people from speaking up is the official culture, not colonialism as Maria Tymoczko suggested:
[T]he situation is also in part a consequence of the intellectual and cultural habits resulting from centuries of European colonialism in which those who were physically and culturally dominated […] were not encouraged to speak up or write back. (Tymoczko, 2014, p. 105)
It should be noted that this official culture is not entirely a product of communist rule. As a Hong Kong educationalist remarked, in East Asian societies ‘individuals are under enormous social pressure to adapt themselves to the system’, because in the educational systems of these societies ‘there is still the traditional cultural press toward uniformity and conformity’ (Cheng, 1998, p. 18). To see speaking up or talking back as a virtue to be encouraged is in fact a view guided by values of Western origin.
Another closely related major difficulty faced by scholars in non-Western cultures such as that of China who wish to produce products acceptable to the international academic market is that, in polysystemic terms, large parts of the academic repertoire may not be accessible to them ‘due to lack of knowledge or competence’ (Even-Zohar, 2010, p. 18). The reason is that, the academic polysystem originating in the West, parts of its repertoire are alien to non-Western cultures or even in conflict with the values of the latter. Dictionary definitions of the English word ‘academic’ usually include ‘theoretical’ and ‘not practical or directly useful’ (such as The Random House Dictionary of the English Language), which indicates that ‘pure academic research’ is part of the Western tradition, but Eastern scholarship traditionally prioritizes application. That is why, in the field of translation studies, ‘pure translation theories’ such as polysystem theory and descriptive translation studies have been misunderstood and resisted by some Chinese scholars (see Chang, 2009, pp. 313–316), and the first (and only) pure translation theory of Chinese origin appeared only in the 1990s, in the form of ‘medio-translatology’ (Xie, 1999), which focuses on the study of translation in the context of literary exchange.
Many academic norms governing research attitudes and methods, such as neutrality, detachment, objectivity, rationality and substantiation, are also specific to Western scholarship to a certain extent, whereas in Chinese academic writings value judgements vis-à-vis the object of study, patriotism, etc. are allowed or preferred, or even required – especially, or at least, where matters such as politics and national interests are involved (see examples provided in Chang, 2010, in press).
Even approaches to knowledge (see Anderson, 1998, pp. 3–4) can be culture-specific. Take, for example, a legendary debate between two Chinese philosophers:
Kao Tzu said, ‘[…] Human nature does not show any preference for either good or bad just as water does not show any preference for either east or west.’
[Mencius said,] ‘[…] Human nature is good just as water seeks low ground. There is no man who is not good; there is no water that does not flow downwards.’ (Mencius, 1970, p. 160)
Mencius (孟子, 372–289 BC), generally acknowledged to be the second greatest philosopher of ancient China after Confucius (孔子, 551–479 BC), is regarded to have won the debate. Mencius, a collection of Mencius’ conversations including this debate, continues to be one of the key Confucianist texts influencing generation after generation of Chinese intellectuals, and Mencius’ theory and his canonized status have largely been unchallenged in the official culture of today’s Chinese-speaking communities, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong K...
