“Get encouraged through failures. Failures are not fearful. We can always start over again”: Chinese children’s lived experiences of zi zun

ABSTRACT

Zi zun is an indigenous Chinese experience usually glossed in English as self-respect and self-esteem. Previous research connects zi zun with both the need to defend against those who would wrongfully slander the self for failures and the need to learn from past failures. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to co-construct narratives with Chinese children about their experiences of zi zun. Sixteen Chinese school-age children participated in semi-structured interviews. Five themes were identified: (1) dignity and respect, (2) humiliation as a cause of zi zun being hurt, (3) self-defense, (4) self-improvement as reactions to hurt zi zun, and (5) the sociability of those with strong zi zun. Results were interpreted within the perspective of Chinese cultural values, focusing on the ways zi zun is intertwined with both goals of interdependence and autonomy. This study provides implications for educating and caring for young native and immigrant Chinese children.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• Chinese culture
• interpretative phenomenological analysis
• IPA
• self-concept
• zi zun

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hui Zhang

Hui Zhang is a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Memphis where she teaches courses on child development. Her current research interests include the cultural context of children’s emotion regulation processes and interpersonal relationships. She received her master’s degree in developmental psychology from Central China Normal University.

Charles Matthew Stapleton

Charles Matthew Stapleton teaches courses on child development and abnormal psychology at the University of Memphis. His current research interests include children’s moral and social development, and the role of gender and culture in this development. He received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and a master’s with a focus on phenomenological philosophy, from the University of Memphis.

Yeh Hsueh

Yeh Hsueh teaches children’s development and is an associate professor at the University of Memphis. He has conducted multisite preschool research in Memphis, using the video-cued multifocal ethnography. He also has done ethnography in Chinese urban preschools. Currently, he is doing fieldwork in rural preschools in China.

Fang Sun

Fang Sun is a teacher and mental health specialist at Xishui No.1 High School in Central China. Her research interests are adolescent emotion regulation, parent-adolescent relationships, and the role of mindfulness in the well-being of youth. She received her master’s degree in developmental psychology from Central China Normal University.