Poverty, Shame and Ethics in Contemporary China

Abstract

Taking China as a critical case, this article questions recent literature that asserts that shame attached to poverty is both ubiquitous and always problematic. In China, the concepts of shame, loss of face, lian (integrity) and mian (reputation) once provided an ethical framework under which the existence of poverty both indicated ineffective governance and provided individuals in poverty with opportunities to demonstrate virtuous behaviour in coping with life’s hardships. Maoist rhetoric went further presenting poor peasants as national heroes albeit the outcome of Maoist policies was often to hurt the most disadvantaged most. Subsequent marketisation has transformed poverty into a manifestation of personal failing with poverty-related shame having the same likely negative consequences as found elsewhere.

Children's dimensions of poverty: Qualitative studies in urban China

“…(Binary opposition theory suggests that meaning is defined with respect to opposites [Derrida, 1992]). Children at Stone School associated poverty with being diligent, honest, intelligent, and virtuous, the very virtues that they were encouraged by parents and teachers to acquire; wealth was linked – possibly reflecting Mao‐era rhetoric – with laziness, dishonesty, stupidity and villainy (Yang & Walker, 2020). However, children also associated poverty with negative things: dirt, smelliness, squalor, things to be avoided.…”

Making Sense of Jiese: An Interview Study of Members from a Porn-Free Self-Help Forum in China

“…Besides anxieties, shame associated with masturbation was also emphasized in jieyou ’s stories. Shame, in Confucian culture, serves as a moral constraint to ensure individuals’ moral integrity and thus fosters a harmonious society (Yang & Walker, 2020 ). Many participants reported they kept silent about jiese , which was explained by P27, “you would jerk off in secret, but it’s impossible to do it in front of your friends, let alone mention it’s hard to quit it.” Instead of openly talking about jiese in real life, participants can only actively engage in such discussions via the Internet, as P3 said, “I will not go to promote this thing offline mainly because I want to save my face ( ai mian zi ).…”

Improving the Response Time of Online Letter Management Application Users: an Application of Social Representation Theory of Shame

“…Some forms of Shame are disrespectful and ashamed to act not according to the norms held by a community. The definition of the word Shame shows that Shame is closely related to ethics and morality [31]. Shame continues to develop according to age levels and social changes [32].…”