Representation of Junzi and Wen-Wu as Confucian Hero in Character Mei Changsu on TV Drama Langya Bang
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26740/jsm.v6n1.p157-187Keywords:
confucian, representation, junzi, wen-wu, television semioticsAbstract
The Chinese television historical drama has attracted world attention. Langya Bang is a successful television drama serial that is considered a social media phenomenon. This research was conducted to explore the heroic aspects of Mei Changsu based on the concept of heroism according to the Confucian teaching. This qualitative descriptive research used John Fiske’s television semiotics method that consisted of three levels: reality level, representation level and ideology level. The results show that at reality level analysis, looking from clothing, appearance, way of speaking, behavior, body movement, expression and environment codes, we can conclude that the protagonist Mei Changsu was represented as a warrior, a scholar and a prince, and can also be considered as a Junzi or a superhero figure with the concept of wen-wu who internalized the virtues in the Confucian teaching. At the representation level, the technical and conventional codes represent the five Confucian ethics are reflected through camera, lighting, music, and audio aspects and at ideology level we can conclude collectivism ideology and patriarchal leadership. Through a semiotic meaning study and the use of television code, we can understand that the television media Langya Bang is the medium to promote traditional Chinese culture and also indirect way to understand the Confucian teaching, in this case is about Confucian ideal of cultivating individual and responsible leader, who devoted to rules for the benefit of society. The representation of Confucianism in the storyline of Langya Bang is important in legalizing the unity of culture, that is Chinese culture.
References
Allison, Scott T., and George R. Goethals. 2011. Heroes : What They Do & Why We Need Them. Oxford.
Amir, Piliang Yasraf. 2010. Semiotika Dan Hipersemiotika. Bandung.
Arikunto, Suharsimi. 2006. Prosedur Penelitian Suatu Pendekatan Praktik. 9th ed. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
Bandsuch, Mark R. n.d. “电影中英雄人物的叙事分析 作为当代中国道德教育的一种有前景的方法.”
Becker, Selwyn W., and Alice H. Eagly. 2004. “The Heroism of Women and Men.” American Psychologist 59(3):163–78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.59.3.163.
Bell, Daniel A. 2008. China’s New Confucianism. Princeton University Press.
Chau-kiu, Cheung, and Andrew Chan Chi-fai. 2005. “Philosophical Foundations of Eminent Hong Kong Chinese CEOs’ Leadership.” Journal of Business Ethics (2005) 60: 47–62 47–62. doi: 10.1007/s10551-005-2366-7.
Cheng, PENG. 2018. “Construction of Meanings in Internet: Rethinking Chinese Internet Fictions, Tv Series, and Cultural Landscape via the Case of the List of Langya (Langya Bang, 瑯琊榜).” Journal of Foreign Languages, Cultures & Civilizations 6(2):1–9. doi: 10.15640/jflcc.v6n2a1.
Fang, Guo, and Li Xin. 2017. “An Analysis of Conversational Implicature in Nirvana in Fire.” Jornal of Arts & Humanities 06(07):39–47.
Fiske, John. 2004. Cultural and Communication Studies: Sebuah Pengantar Paling Komprehensif. Yogyakarta: Jalasutra.
Franco, Zeno E., Kathy Blau, and Philip G. Zimbardo. 2011. “Heroism: A Conceptual Analysis and Differentiation between Heroic Action and Altruism.” Review of General Psychology 15(2):99–113. doi: 10.1037/a0022672.
Giaimo, Benjamin Michael. 2020. “Confucius Americanus: The Junzi 君子 (The Confucian Superhero) Headlines a New American Slang Translation of The Analects.” International Communication of Chinese Culture 7(1):31–51. doi: 10.1007/s40636-020-00172-3.
Goldin, Paul R. 2008. “When Zhong Does Not Mean ‘Loyalty.’” Dao 7(2):165–74. doi: 10.1007/s11712-008-9064-y.
Harvey, Joan, George Erdos, and Lisa Turnbull. 2009. “How Do We Perceive Heroes?” Journal of Risk Research 12(3-4):313–27. doi: 10.1080/13669870802519430.
Kang, Myungkoo, and Sooah Kim. 2011. “Are Our Families Still Confucian? Representations of Family in East Asian Television Dramas.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 14(3):307–21. doi: 10.1177/1367877910391869.
Khairiah, Husin. 2014. Agama Konghucu.
Khiun, Liew Kai. 2011. “Post-Confucian East Asian Television Dramas: Staging Medical Politics inside the White Tower.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 14(3):251–64. doi: 10.1177/1367877910391865.
Kresse, Klass. 2018. “Junzi (君子), the Confucian Concept of the ‘Gentleman’, and Its Influence on South Korean Land-Use Planning: Care of the Self.” doi: 10.2307/j.ctv9zcjxq.14.
Lai, Jocelyn Yi Hsuan, and Liew Kai Khiun. 2020. “Introduction: Confucian Values and Television in East Asia.” Continuum 34(5):647–50. doi: 10.1080/10304312.2020.1812214.
Lam, Kit Chun Joanna. 2003. “Confucian Business Ethics and the Economy.” Journal of Business Ethics 43(1-2):153–62. doi: 10.1023/A:1022935820655.
Li, Luzhou, and Saskia Witteborn. 2012. “Confucianism in the Chinese Media: An Analysis of the Revolutionary History Television Drama In Those Passionate Days.” Chinese Journal of Communication 5(5):160–77. doi: 10.1080/17544750.2012.664439.
Liu, James H. 2014. “What Confucian Philosophy Means for Chinese and Asian Psychology Today: Indigenous Roots for a Psychology of Social Change.” Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology 8(2):35–42. doi: 10.1017/prp.2014.10.
Loui, K., and L. Edwards. 1994. “Chinese Masculinity: Theorising ‘Wen’ and ‘Wu.’” East Asian History (8):135–48.
Louie, Kam. 2008. “Hero: The Return of a Traditional Masculine Ideal in China.” Chinese Films in Focus II 137–43. doi: 10.1007/978-1-349-92280-2_18.
Louie, Kam. 2014. “Chinese Masculinity Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Westernizing, Easternizing and Globalizing Wen and Wu.” Norma 9(1):18–29. doi: 10.1080/18902138.2014.892283.
Luo, Xiaochun. 2017. “A Contrastive Analysis on the Theme of Revenge in the Count of Monte Cristo and Nirvana in Fire.” 142(Icelaic):438–42. doi: 10.2991/icelaic-17.2017.97.
Ma, Xiaofang. 2018. “Study on the Aesthetics of Han Chinese Clothing Culture in the Tv Play Nirvana in Fire.” 233(Iccessh):639–43. doi: 10.2991/iccessh-18.2018.143.
Mou, Kitio. 2020. “An Analysis of the Viewing Demand of Chinese Audience from the Narrative Strategy: Take the Well-Received Television Series in China from 2015 to 2018 as an Example.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Mental Health and Humanities Education (ICMHHE 2020) 433(Icmhhe):10–13. doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.200425.003.
Romar, Edward J. 2002. “Virtue Is Good Business: Confucianism as a Practical Business Ethic.” Journal of Business Ethics 38(1-2):119–31. doi: 10.1023/A:1015760710802.
Stokes, Jane. 2003. How to Do Media and Cultural Studies. Sage Publications Ltd.
Sugiyono. 2012. Metode Penelitian Pendidikan Pendekatan Kuantitatif, Kualitatif Dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Tai, L. I. M., Wei Eai, and Background Brief. 2020. Evolving Social and Political-Economic Impacts of Chinese Popular Cultural Development.
Thompson, Mike. 2010. “Signals of Virtue in Chinese Consumerism and Business.” Journal of International Business Ethics 3(2):71–79.
Thu, Jason Htet Lin. 2015. “Junzi or the Exemplary Man: An Introduction to the Confucian Gentleman.” 4.
Tjaturrini, Dyah, Tri Asiati, Nunung Supriadi, and Antika Wulandari. 2022. “Confucius-Value Learning through Visual Audios in a Cross-Culture Understanding Course.” in LIONG. Purwokerto: EAI.
Walker, Lawrence J., Jeremy A. Frimer, and William L. Dunlop. 2010. “Varieties of Moral Personality: Beyond the Banality of Heroism.” Journal of Personality 78(3):907–42. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00637.x.
Wansink, Brian, Collin R. Payne, and Koert van Ittersum. 2008. “Profiling the Heroic Leader: Empirical Lessons from Combat-Decorated Veterans of World War II.” Leadership Quarterly 19(5):547–55. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.010.
Zhu, Ying. 2008. Television in Post-Reform China:Serial Dramas, Confucian Leadership and the Global Television Market. Routledge . Routledge.
Zimbardo, Philip. 2007. The Lucifer Effect. New York: Random House.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

