Author ｜
Yunqin Peng
Abstract ｜
China has undergone significant historical transformations since the late Qing Dynasty, ushering in a seminal transitional period in modern Chinese intellectual history. During this period, numerous novel words and concepts entered China, introducing Western knowledge and colliding with traditional Chinese culture. Through processes of translation and reinterpretation, these new concepts became vital intellectual tools for modern Chinese intellectuals to address important issues in China. This paper adopts the perspective of glocalization and focuses on the concept of “personality,” aiming to clarify its cross-cultural journey from the West to East Asia. I will structure this “travelogue” around two aspects: first, the knowledge dissemination process involved in translating “personality” into renge 人格; second, the localization of the concept of “personality” in modern China, with particular emphasis on the relevant translingual and socio-political practices.
keywords ｜
personality, citizen, individualism, nationalism, glocalization