This paper will be devoted to the discussion of the concept of goal in human understanding. The scientific discussion of it can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was called teleology. This triggered a lot of questions: as theories prostrating the universe as uniformed emerged, these types of teleological ideas were attracted by natural philosophers studying determinism: things do not exist to serve a purpose, they exist only because, under the influence of other things in the world, they have to be there. The sun is not there to provide brightness to the world, it was there long before the exitance of the world. Nevertheless, the unsettling problem is that human beings do, a lot of times, think in a goal-directed way, so how to reconcile the fact that no teleological language can explain natural phenomena with the fact that teleological thinking exists in human understanding becomes the million dollar question. Still, there could be a solution, not as straightforward as the problem, but sufficient to demonstrate how goals can emerge from a goalless nature. With the conatus theory as the basis, this paper is going to review how it can be the building block of the nowadays negative feedback loop model and such a model is also a variation of Hume theory of association and passion.

This dissertation examines the motor racing sport of Formula One, the highest level of international racing for single-seater formula racing cars and whether the lack of meritocracy and the existence of anomie in Formula One is creating a culture industry where capitalism is permeating culture and replicating set formats which result in the standardization of culture. The project draws on analyses of secondary resources and accounts of drivers, team principals, and sports journalists, as well as an in-depth exploration of the ideas of meritocracy, anomie, and the culture industry through academic writings. This analyzes how F1 became a culture industry through the push of lack of meritocracy and the existence of anomie.

This work discusses Maimonides’s and Lao Tzu’s understanding of God/Tao. Maimonides is a leading figure in Jewish philosophy that takes a rather different analytical approach to the Torah from his predecessors. Instead of directly taking Torah and related religious books as guidance, Maimonides believes the right way to interpret Torah is to treat the stories in Torah as metaphors and use wisdom given by God to dig out the meaning behind the metaphor. Differently, Lao Tzu does not belong to any religion, while Lao Tzu found his only philosophy of how to live a better life by avoiding possible harm. After Lao Tzu’s analysis of the change of the matter and the observation of the relationships between matters… Lao Tzu has written his famous work – Tao Te Qing. In this book, he tries to teach people the philosophy of Tao to make them live better. By comparing Maimonides and Lao Tzu, I find that there are many similarities between Lao Tzu and Maimonides’s understanding of the transcendent being despite their rather different backgrounds. This essay will focus on three areas: their theories on the creation of the creatures and the inexpressible feature of God/ Tao, and the emotionless nature of God/ Tao.

In this work, this essay discusses how the exotic gems from the Silk Road influenced the society in different ways In the Tang Dynasty. These effects can be positive or negative. Moreover, these effects may be direct or indirect. This article included the influence of exotic gems from social life, government departments and ideological events in the Tang Dynasty through three main sections. A large number of real historical records and poems are added as strong evidence. Of course, it also refers to the analytical materials of previous seniors, in order to learn from them and fill in Buddhist records to make my argument more convincing. Finally, draw the conclusion. The purpose of this article is to enable readers to judge the influence of exotic gems more clearly and comprehensively, not only through official historical materials, but also through Buddhist records.

The Sogdian traders were arguably the most important traders along the Silk Road from the 4th century to the 8th century. Their sphere of influence expands across Eurasia, and their trading partners include China and the Roman Empire. This paper will argue that there are some distinct reasons behind their success as merchants who built a massive political-economic system along the Silk Road. In this paper, the research will base on the famous Sogdian Ancient Letters, other archeological findings, and secondary literature by historians like Di Cosmo and De la Vaissière and investigate the causes of Sogdian merchants’ success in building a transcontinental commerce system. Furthermore, this paper will specifically explain how Sogdian merchants rose to prominence in cities such as Dunhuang and Turpan and gained commercial success in China, one of its greatest trading partners.

The Marian reformation was a monumental event in the history of the late Roman Republic. It fundamentally changed the military system in the Roman Republic and facilitated the decline of the Republic in the first century BC. This paper will discuss the causes and process of the Marian reforms and examine the means by which the Marian reforms contributed to Rome’s transition from an aristocratic republic to a military autocracy. It will argue that although the Marian reforms initially intended to improve Rome’s military prowess—by enhancing the army’s efficiency and preparing it for wars against its enemies—the reforms had long-lasting effects on the loyalty, motivations, and social status of soldiers. The reforms made it possible for Roman commanders to use their army for personal political ambitions and led to the emergence of private warlords who led Rome into repeated civil wars.

The question of whether the perceived world is a mere illusion has been a key area of interest to both essentialism and existentialism. Plato, the essentialist, argues that there is an objective reality transcendent to that which we perceive. Lacan, similarly, proposed that there exists a totality of reality in the human psyche, open to neo-natal children who have not yet entered the external world through language. In this paper, I argue that Lacan had taken a different route to Plato via his portrayal of the Real, that is, the original state of the world before it is rendered inaccessible by the ego’s entrance into the perceived reality, or the Mirror World. Elusive of being formulated by the signs of the perceived reality, or the Imaginary-Symbolic order, it is but a nothingness without concrete being. What exists is what is accepted as a part of the linguistic and epistemological conventions of the external world, and the perceived reality a mere Mirror Reflection of the psychic and social symbols and is thus illusory. The Ego, likewise, is argued to be contingent and imaginary, born out of its misidentification with one’s mirror image that one sees in the external world.

With the development of society and internet, more and more people from different age group tends to pursue fashion trend, and the publishing of clunky sneaker totally satisfies people’s demands and becoming one of the most popular, famous fashion item. For the fashion industry, this represents not only the aesthetic standards of the times, but also the immense influence of the internet, while insinuating the pros and cons of brand values and the many issues that extend from this. This paper takes Clunky Sneaker as the research object, and explores the development history of Clunky Sneaker and the reasons for its revival, including its aesthetic characteristics. Through the results of the research, it’s find that the reasons for the revival of Clunky Sneaker include its fashion and media promotion, and its aesthetic has unique characteristics and needs to continue to innovate. Also, the author have discovered the relationship between aesthetic standard of The Times and clunky sneaker, also the underlying value which haven’t been directly shown by the helm of the fashion industry. To be more objective, there are also some extended thoughts on the prevalence of fake goods and the psychology of flaunting wealth.

Vintage clothing is still popular today, and exploring its development history, as well as the fashion elements and buying channels can provide a certain value for those who still love Vintage. In this paper, through the literature reading method, this thesis examines why vintage clothing is still popular in three sections: historical perspective, popular elements, and purchasing channels. The first paragraph provides a short introduction to vintage, a definition of vintage, the market for vintage and a short analysis of consumer psychology. By introducing the social significance of clothing in different periods of time, the paper will show the charm of vintage fashion to the public. The third part will analyze and explain the popular elements of Chinese and Western vintage culture and introduce the purchase channels of today's vintage clothing and a slight analysis of consumer psychology. Through the research results, it is find that the popular elements of vintage clothing includes clothing style and decorative style. The purchase channels of vintage clothing includes in-store and online shopping such as second-hand deals and more. This study hopes to provide some contributions to scholars who study this field in the future.

With the continuous development of KPOP culture, the influence of fans has gradually been valued by everyone. Since many KPOP fans are students or young people, the change in the values of fans and the public due to KPOP culture has become one of the hot topics in today's society. This paper takes KPOP culture and its influence on fans as the research object, examines the reasons and ways that the public include fans are affected under the influence of KPOP culture, and why KPOP culture is so successful. At the end of the article, it proposes how to correctly guide fans' values, and through the research, the result finds that KPOP culture has a positive impact on fans, which has increased one's interests and hobbies, made many new friends, and diversified the public's aesthetic. The negative effect is that some fans are addicted to chasing stars and ignore their real life. The international success of KPOP culture is due to the following reasons: first, the government's support; Second, the unique characteristics of KPOP culture; Three, KPOP music is different. The revelation that the development of KPOP culture brings to the world is that it can promote its own local culture in multiple ways. The measures to influence fans' correct star-chasing are as follows: first, take a correct view of fan culture; Second, guide fans through the Internet. Through the research, the author hopes to make relevant contributions to future scholars.

With the development of fashion trends, ripped jeans have become more and more popular among the general public. However, the journey to becoming a popular consumer of ripped jeans is not an easy one, as it involves a number of ups and downs. Through the evolution of fashion, the use of ripped jeans as a symbol of punk culture has changed over time. It is evident from this study that ripped jeans have been used as a symbol of rebellion throughout history by working-class people, hippies, punk groups, and adolescents of today. Especially in punk culture, ripped jeans embody the spirit of disruption, aggression, and authenticity. Overall, ripped jeans have developed into an upward spiral, with more and more people embracing this style. Eventually, the public begins to recognize the special properties of ripped jeans, and finally accepts their uniqueness in pop culture. It is concluded that while rock and roll pants are considered to be an exclusive part of culture, the average person perceives them as clothing that enhances the appearance of glamour. Specifically, it is a symbol of fashion, a popular fashion item, which is contrary to its original meaning of revolt and rebellion. Due to this trend, ripped jeans have lost much of their rebellious appeal.

To find out how horses, to an extent, led to the formation and development of the Silk Road in Eurasian history during the Han to Song dynasty, how and when horses became pervasive will be discussed. Veterinary materials, xiangma, and methods of horse treatments would be compared between east and west to show the existence of early horse culture—such comparison resulted in a common and established horse culture among Erusian countries during Song.

This research project centers on the discussion about the question of how the Third generation Zainichi Korean rappers internalize, reproduce and represent their Korean ethnic heritage through the form of Hip Hop. Three Zainichi rappers, including Chanmina, Kohh, and Moment Joon, are carefully selected for the case study with the expectation that they each embody a distinctive focus on their self-identity construction. The central proposition of this paper is to highlight the cruciality of approaching the ontological construction of young Zainichi Koreans concerning individual choices and then to regard the formation and representation of individual identities as an ongoing process rather than a fixed, monolithic entity.

This paper argues that the historical and cultural factors of a country affect national cognition and are one of the major causes of misperception of other countries, which then increases the odds of conflicts between states. The argument is made by analyzing the misperception of the China threat theory, the Sino-US involvement in the Korean War, and Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

With the enhancement of hard power, China now needs to promote international cultural communication, when movie makes up an important part of it. This article will try to provide new ideas for exporting Chinese culture in the new era by exploring reasons for the successful spread of the movie The Wandering Earth overseas. There are two main reasons for the success of The Wandering Earth abroad. Firstly, the movie sticks to China’s original traditional values. Secondly, the movie correctly applies the empathy strategy. Two suggestions for Chinese cultural exports can therefore be drawn: the first is to establish cultural confidence and dare to export China’s own fruit of thoughts in international cultural transmission; the second is to soften political tone through negotiated decoding and emphasize the role of secondary transmission.

Wang Guowei’s Gu Ya theory is considered one of the most influential aesthetic theories in modern China but has not been taken seriously in western scholarship. In this theory, Wang Guowei tries to oppose Kant's theory of genius by claiming that everyone should be able to create beauty. Wang Guowei focuses heavily on the Chinese literati instead of the whole population to which Kant refers. I found the Gu Ya theory implausible for either the Chinese literati or the peasants because the two points that Wang Guowei provides, “the first form” and the “markedness,” would be considered inadequate to prove his arguments. Besides that, one reason the Gu Ya theory fails to achieve its goal is the ignorance of the “veneration of antiquity,” which is significant in Chinese aesthetic appreciation. We must find solutions to either solve or refine the Gu Ya theory in order to accelerate the development of Chinese aesthetics. I firstly criticized and corrected the ambiguity of Wang Guowei’s “the first form” and the misunderstanding of the concepts of “marked” and “unmarked” in Chinese literature. Then, I established the “veneration of antiquity” as my aesthetic theory that fits the Chinese literati. In the end, I posted a thought about Wang Guowei’s idea of “wu ren 吾人” in his Gu Ya theory because he does not clarify and fails to build a connection with Kant’s theory.

This essay discusses the relationship between Zoroastrianism and kingship through the primary source of Shahnameh, the epic of the Persian Kings, written by Abolqasem Ferdowsi. Shahnameh is a crystal of Iranian culture, it is a complete religious doctrine following the guidance of Zoroastrianism, it teaches the practice of threefold paths to Asha with the idea of spreading goodness into the society. They include personal religion, social life, and individual morality. Furthermore, the study connects the religious concept of the threefold paths to Asha and khvarenah, a mysterious concept in Iran myth that symbolize the bless from heaven and God, to the actual examples of the engagement of kingship.[ Zhibin, H, Zhibin, X. (2019) The Trajectory of Zoroastrianism in Iran. Journal of World Religion and Culture, 6: 58-64.] The paper introduces and corresponds the example of Jamshid, a Shah in the mysterious age of the Iranian empire, to the practice of Zoroastrianism. Finally, the paper concludes that in the Sassanid dynasty of Iran empire, the king in the world was decided by the heaven.[ Boyce, M. (2000) Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Routledge, London.] The heaven blesses and protects those who were destined to be the king in all aspects. This is the myth of the divine right of kingship propagated by the rulers to maintain their power and status. However, although the kingship is shrouded in mystery, humans on earth eventually decide the kindship.[ Kantorowicz, E. (2016) The King’s Two Bodies. Princeton University Press, Princeton.]

In this paper, through a comparative study of some fragments about Hsiung-nu in Shih Chi and Han Histories, we can conclude that Ban Gu rewrote Shih Chi by changing words, moving sentences, and deleting them to reflect his thoughts and the purpose of writing history. The analysis of these changes in this paper focuses on the details. From the details of Ban Gu's rewriting of Shih Chi, we can find that Sima Qian had a view on ethnic equality, while Ban Gu had a derogatory view of Hsiung-nu.

Occasionally, coin finds provide insight into daily life and business activities in markets and settlements, as well as some other purposes, including diplomacy, burial, tribute, etc. It is worth noting here that those coins minted from precious metals like gold and silver occupied the vast majority of purposes as described above. The history of the Silk Road began circa the 2nd century B.C. when the Han emperor Wudi of China expanded the territory into the Xinjiang region and inner Asian mountain corridor, considerably enhancing the interactions with the nomadic groups in Central Asia in aspects including commerce, military, and politics. Moreover, India, in another hand, also was part of this nexus and occupied a key position as far as the sea route was concerned, and its correlation with ports of the Roman Empire in the red sea region. In this paper, the role of currencies for local commerce and cross-regional trade will be examined by comparing the circulation of currencies and their application in different regions along the Silk Road.

The conquest of China was not merely a historical coincidence but an incident resulting from all possible aspects and factors historians can or cannot think of. Through analysing the role played by the early Manchus' mixed economy, this paper has drawn some links between the Manchu protohistory and their rise to power. This insight emphasized the significance of viewing the Manchu conquest by considering the dynamic interplay between local and world history. However, it is still necessary and relevant to study the local history carefully and in isolation so that these intricate links and valuable details can be gleaned to fit into a larger picture of the all-encompassing global history.