JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY (HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES)

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	JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY 2025 Vol.55 Number 6
	2025, Vol.55 Num.6
	Online: 2025-07-08

	Article

Article

	5	Liu Ye, Xin Yueji, Wu Yiyun, Wang Qingxi

		Information Network Construction and Trans-regional Cooperative Innovation ^Hot!
		Strengthening the trans-regional flow of production factors and promoting the construction of a unified national large market is beneficial for smoothing the dual domestic and international circulation and taking advantage of China’s ultra-large market. However, administrative boundaries, especially provincial boundaries, often hinder trans-regional factors flow, resulting in a loss of regional production efficiency. The construction of an information network can effectively improve the accessibility of information, strengthen the links between trans-provincial market entities, becoming a solid foundation for breaking down border barriers and promoting the flow of factors across regions. This paper focuses on the technology factors based on the strategic goal of cultivating and expanding new quality productivity. It discusses the role of information network construction in alleviating the barriers of inter-provincial borders and promoting the trans-regional flow of technology factors.Based on the “eight vertical and eight horizontal” optical cable trunk transmission network and China’s patent cooperation data from 2001 to 2020, this paper uses the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) instrumental variable to examine the impact and mechanism of information network construction in simulating trans-regional cooperative innovation. The empirical results reveal that constructing an information network effectively alleviates the obstacles of inter-provincial boundaries to inter-city technical cooperation and promotes the free flow of technical elements in a broader range by breaking spatial distance and institutional barriers. The positive effects still exist after a series of robustness tests. Exploring the mechanisms, we find that information network construction is essential for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Specifically, information network construction can increase trans-province supplier partners and reduce direct search and communication costs. Enterprises can easily access subsidiaries across provinces through decreasing competition and transaction costs in the intermediate links of the cooperation process, thus promoting remote technical cooperation. The information network construction can also increase inter-regional commodity trade links and promote the specialized labor division and industrial chain cooperation, improving technical cooperation efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis shows that information network construction behaves well in cities with more muscular economic strength, better intellectual property protection, and a more substantial information base condition and network connection quality. Moreover, it is much easier for information network construction to break through the administrative boundary barriers between technology-adjacent cities and emerging industries.The empirical results provide a new research perspective for the supporting role of information infrastructure construction from the administrative boundaries and explore the micro-evidence for the mechanism of information network construction through cost reduction and efficiency improvement. This provides a theoretical basis for integrating factor markets and constructing a unified national large market, as well as a supplement to the existing literature that rarely discusses the effect of information network construction on reducing administrative border effects and promoting trans-regional innovation cooperation. Based on the research findings, this paper provides policy implications for promoting the construction of a national unified large market by strengthening investment information infrastructure, accelerating the construction of online platforms, and enhancing intellectual property protection.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 5-20 [Abstract] ( 4 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1043KB] ( 4 )

	21	Fan Linjie, He Juntao, Zhang Qian

		Research on the Empirical Measurement, Spatiotemporal Distribution, and Convergence of the Development Level of Digital New Quality Productive Forces in China ^Hot!
		The theory of new and high-quality productive forces is a profound summary of the laws of human social development, and also represents the evolution of Marxist productive forces theory in the context of China’s practice. Digital new and high-quality productive forces are an advanced form of production nurtured in the era of the digital economy. It is of great significance to explore the dynamic evolution, spatial differences, and convergence characteristics of new and high-quality productive forces in China’s cities from the spatio-temporal dimension for a better understanding. The existing research on digital new and high-quality productive forces mainly focuses on aspects such as connotation characteristics, generation logic, and effect. There are three aspects that urgently need to be enriched: first, a scientific and comprehensive indicator system has not been constructed to actually measure the development level of digital new and high-quality productive forces; second, few literatures explore the dynamic evolution and spatial difference characteristics of digital new and high-quality productive forces at the urban level from the spatio-temporal dimension, making it difficult to depict the full picture of the development of digital new and high-quality productive forces; third, there is insufficient exploration of the convergence characteristics of digital new and high-quality productive forces, making it difficult to understand the regional differences and sources of digital new and high-quality productive forces in China. To make up for the deficiencies of existing researches, this study focuses on the core proposition of the development of new and high-quality productive forces in China in the era of the digital economy. Based on the panel data of 286 prefecture-level cities across the country from 2011 to 2021, an evaluation system is constructed, which includes 17 indicators in four dimensions: digital laborers, digital objects of labor, digital means of labor, and production relations. By using the entropy weight TOPSIS method, Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and convergence model, this study systematically reveals the spatio-temporal evolution laws and regional difference mechanisms of digital new and high-quality productive forces.This study finds that，first, in terms of temporal evolution, the level of digital new and high-quality productive forces nationwide shows a significant upward trend. The eastern region has always maintained a leading position, forming a gradient pattern of “the east leading-the central region catching up-the west improving-the northeast recovering”. From the perspective of different dimensions, the dimension of means of production has the fastest growth rate, mainly due to the penetration of industrial robots and the leapfrog development of digital infrastructure; the growth rate of the dimension of production relations is relatively lagging, reflecting that there is a certain time lag effect in institutional innovation. Second, the spatial distribution shows a significant characteristic of “dense in the east and sparse in the west”. High-value areas are concentrated in the urban agglomerations of the Yangtze River Delta , the Pearl River Delta , and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, forming a spatial pattern of “two cores and one belt”. The Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition shows that the overall regional differences in the development level of digital new and high-quality productive forces are narrowing. The differences between regions are the main source of overall spatial differences, and the contribution rate of differences between regions is continuously increasing while the contribution rate of transvariation density is continuously decreasing. The spatial autocorrelation analysis shows that the global Moran’s I index is rising, presenting a significant spatial agglomeration pattern. Locally, there is a pattern of coexistence of “low-low agglomeration” and “low-high agglomeration”, and the urban agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta shows a significant positive spillover effect. Third, the convergence test finds that there are significant characteristics of σ convergence and conditional β convergence nationwide and in the four major regions. Among them, the western region has the fastest convergence speed, and fiscal support and financial development are the main driving factors; the northeast region presents a unique negative effect of industrial structure, reflecting that the digital transformation of traditional industrial bases faces structural constraints. The spatial Durbin model shows that the knowledge spillover effect is significant in the eastern region, while there is an obvious competition effect in the western region. Based on this, this study puts forward four policy suggestions: promoting the coordinated development of regional digital new and high-quality productive forces, constructing a regional collaborative linkage mechanism, strengthening the spatial benefits of the development of digital new and high-quality productive forces, and developing digital new and high-quality productive forces according to local conditions.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 21-40 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1994KB] ( 2 )

	41	Zhang Chuanrui, Huang Lue, Xu Cihua

		Multimodal Argumentation: The Perspective of Peirce’s Dicisign Theory ^Hot!
		With the rapid development of information technology and media, multimodal representations, such as images, colors, and sounds, have increasingly become the primary medium for human communication and then have emerged as a new focus in argumentation studies. While multimodal argumentation enlarges the research scope of traditional theory of argumentation study, its legitimacy remains a contentious issue: Can non-verbal representations constitute argumentation, and how should the reasonableness of such argumentation be evaluated?To address these questions, this paper systematically argues for the legitimacy of multimodal argumentation based on Peirce’s dicisign theory, grounded in its generalized view of propositions. It proposes a framework for evaluating the reasonableness of multimodal argumentation. Through a review about debates surrounding the legitimacy of multimodal argumentation, this study identifies the relationship between images used in argumentation and propositions as the crux of the controversy. Peirce’s dicisign theory, which explores proposition from a semiotic perspective, challenges the traditional view that propositions must be verbal-expressed. It posits that the essence of a proposition lies in its capacity to signify and reflect reality and objects, rather than the modality through which it is represented. This view paves the way for the possibility of multimodal propositions. According to dicisign theory, the subject term refers to the object of a proposition, while the predicate-term depicts the attributes of the object or the relations between objects. Essentially, a proposition is a semiotic structure composed of interrelated indexical and iconic signs. Based on this index-icon structure, a dicisign contains two levels of objects: the primary object and the secondary object. The primary object refers to the entity indicated by the indexical sign in the subject term, serving as the central content of the dicisign and the topic under discussion. The predicate term describes the characteristics of the primary object. The secondary object, in essence, represents the indexical relationship between the sign and its referent, manifested in the connection between the subject-term and the predicate-term. The construction of multimodal interpretant propositions is fundamentally a meta-argumentation process, whose reasonableness is influenced by multiple dimensions, including the relevance and consistency between the subject and predicate, as well as the alignment between the representation and reality. Accordingly, the study identifies three critical discussion questions for evaluating multimodal argumentation. Louis XIV’s portrait is used as an example that illustrates how to argue and critically examine the identity of the figure depicted in the painting.In the context of constructing multimodal argumentation, Peirce’s principle of co-presence is insufficient to meet the needs of multimodal argumentation. Building on this, the paper proposes three related principles: the extended co-occurrence principle, the dynamism principle, and the defeasibility principle, to systematically examine the reasonableness of multimodal interpretant propositions within specific contexts. The extended co-occurrence principle integrates both physical spatial co-occurrence and intersubjective co-occurrence in the cognitive domain of arguers. The dynamism principle emphasizes the fluidity and changing nature of signs as phenomena. The defeasibility principle focuses on the dialogic nature of argumentation, emphasizing the subjective characteristics of signs.The index-icon structure of multimodal interpretant propositions not only contributes to establishing the legitimacy of multimodal argumentation but also directs attention to rhetorical and effectiveness dimensions of argumentation. Moreover, it lays a foundation for future studies on the relationship between argumentation style, argumentation, and aesthetics.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 41-49 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1847KB] ( 3 )

	50	Bai Xiaohu, Peng Huanchong

		Logic of Economic Organizations: Exchange and Collaboration ^Hot!
		The research on economic organizations should not solely focus on their functions and attributes, i.e., the post facto outcomes that emerge once these organizations are established, but also emphasize the preconditions and causes that lead to the internal structural changes within the organization prior to its formation and evolution. This article conceptualizes economic organizations as social entities that facilitate the division of labor and concretize the benefits arising from it. It argues that the framework of division of labor provides a means to address the challenges faced by existing researches, which often struggles to explain the multifaceted nature of economic organizations.The essence of economic organizations lies in the diverse structures that emerge from the relationships among economic agents. The nature of these relationships is determined by the types of division of labor involved. Thus, only by elucidating the intrinsic connection between division of labor and economic organizations can many of the challenges currently faced in the field be effectively addressed. Ignoring the role of division of labor would cause economic organizations to forfeit their characteristic features of differentiation and integration, a stance that is inconsistent with the rich and varied history of economic development. The relationship between economic organizations and division of labor is not merely one of an independent variable and dependent variable (or vice versa), but rather one of entity and process. Economic organizations not only reflect the structure of division of labor, but their development also influences the relationships between individual agents, thereby fostering further specialization and division of labor.The logic of exchange and the logic of collaboration represent two fundamental modes through which economic organizations interact with the division of labor. Exchange logic characterizes a horizontal relationship among relatively equal individuals, where the core objective is to create an equitable decision-making environment for individual agents within the economic organization. In such an environment, individuals actively engage in exchanges and economic activities based on their self-interest. In contrast, collaboration logic describes a vertical relationship between the leader and the subordinate, wherein the role of the economic organization is primarily to direct and coordinate the division of labor. Under this logic, individuals collaborate within an authoritative framework to achieve predefined economic objectives. Traditional forms of economic organization, such as unilateral markets and hierarchical firms, represent typical embodiments of these two logics. In the classical era, Adam Smith, based on his meticulous observations of market exchanges, articulated the exchange logic of economic organizations. Building on Smith’s work, Karl Marx analyzed the internal cooperation mechanisms within capitalist production systems, thereby expounding the collaboration logic of economic organizations and clarifying the distinction and interplay between exchange logic and collaboration logic.The relationship between exchange logic and collaboration logic is one of reciprocal reinforcement. In traditional economic organizations, such as unilateral markets and hierarchical enterprises, this mutual reinforcement manifests indirectly, primarily reflected in the facilitation of their respective divisions of labor, rather than being aimed at directly promoting one another. In contemporary economic organizational forms, however, the relationship between exchange logic and collaboration logic not only indirectly supports the division of labor but also gives rise to external network externalities that aim to promote one another as a primary objective. In fact, platform organizations exemplify a new type of economic organization grounded in collaboration logic, with the goal of deepening the exchange logic within bilateral markets. As economic and social systems continue to evolve, economic organizations are manifesting increasingly unprecedented features and characteristics. Nevertheless, regardless of the form or function of these organizations, exchange logic and the collaboration logic remain central in providing a coherent explanatory framework for understanding economic organizations.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 50-62 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1144KB] ( 4 )

	63	Luo Jun, Zou Lehao

		Advances in Experimental Economics: A Review of Information Provision Experiment ^Hot!
		The information provision experiment is a research method designed to evaluate the impact of belief changes on individual decision-making by providing participants with specific information about their real-world environment to induce belief updates. This method originates from randomized intervention experiments and retains their credibility and innovation while being low-cost and highly applicable. In recent years, information provision experiments have developed rapidly and have gradually become an important empirical tool in economics.This article provides a comprehensive review of information provision experiments. First, it systematically summarizes the implementation steps of these experiments, which include sample selection and grouping, belief measurement, and information intervention. Proper sample grouping is the first critical step for conducting the experiment. Measuring beliefs before and after the experiment distinguishes information provision experiments from other experimental approaches. Its design directly impacts the validity and interpretability of the results. Moreover, during the information intervention phase, the content and presentation of the information significantly influence belief updating among participants. Researchers must deeply understand participants’ characteristics, environments, and key concerns. Second, the article highlights the advantages of information provision experiments. These experiments excel in credibility, scalability, and mechanism verification. Through random grouping and experimental design, they offer high internal validity and credibility in causal inference. By altering only participants’ perceptions of the external world, this approach is more cost-effective and has broader applicability than traditional randomized intervention experiments. Additionally, by measuring participants’ initial beliefs and tracking their belief-updating processes, researchers can better identify how information affects individuals and explain the mechanisms underlying variations in belief updates, thus providing strong support for mechanism verification. Third, the article introduces representative information provision experiments in various fields. Information provision experiments are experiencing rapid development, with a growing body of outstanding research demonstrating their broad applications across key economic domains such as labor and education economics, macroeconomics and finance, public and political economics, and development economics. Through an analysis of these studies’ methodologies and key findings, the article showcases the potential and research value of information provision experiments, aiming at inspiring domestic scholars.In China, the research on information provision experiments is still in its infancy but shows immense potential. The complex challenges posed by China’s social transformation offer ample opportunities for localized applications of information provision experiments. Chinese scholars should anchor their research in domestic contexts and tell the “China story”, such as addressing employment issues, economic expectations, and educational choices. They should also leverage the advantages of digital innovation to conduct large-scale online experiments and promote collaboration with government agencies. By systematically organizing and reviewing the information provision experiment literature, this article provides domestic scholars with a clear research framework, aiding the academic community in better understanding the implementation steps and practical value of this method. It is hoped that efforts in China will not only advance domestic social progress but also contribute Chinese insights to the global development of experimental economics.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 63-80 [Abstract] ( 2 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 787KB] ( 2 )

	81	Tang Zhibo

		Molding Poetic Fame: Revisions and Achievements of Shen Zhou’s Poems ^Hot!
		In the Draft Manuscript of Shitian Gao dating back to the Chenghua Era (1465-1487) of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou left a plethora of marks signifying his own revisions. Some of the poems therein underwent as many as three or four rounds of modification, vividly presenting a dynamic and evolving process of alteration. However, these revisions were not the outcome of painstaking and deliberate contemplation by the author. Instead, they were spontaneous, with alterations being made on the spur of the moment as ideas emerged, and amendments occurring at any given time. Even after the publication of the Draft Manuscript of Shitian Gao, the act of rewriting did not come to a halt. The Hongzhi block-printed edition of the Ming Dynasty contained further deletions and modifications in comparison with the Draft Manuscript, and the Zhengde block-printed edition of Shitian Shixuan still bore textual discrepancies when contrasted with the Hongzhi edition. All these were the result of Shen Zhou’s continuous and repeated refinement efforts. By comparing the Draft Manuscript, the Hongzhi edition, and the Zhengde edition, one can discern the traces of three distinct stages of revision within these three collections. Moreover, the Draft Manuscript does not represent the pristine original draft of the poems. There existed an even earlier iteration of the poetry collection, wherein Shen Zhou had already made certain adjustments prior to the act of transcription. The content of the revised drafts is of a superior quality compared with the originals. Some scholars, in an attempt to highlight the value of the Draft Manuscript, deliberately emphasize the precision of its textual variants and the literary merits of the initial drafts. In actuality, they fail to fully appreciate Shen Zhou’s fluid and dynamic process of poetic revision.Shen Zhou was the progenitor of the Wu School of Painting. Among the extant authentic paintings and the artworks documented in historical records, a significant number contain the artist’s inscribed poems on paintings. When we incorporate calligraphy and painting into the comparison and verification of the aforementioned three poetry collections, the process of Shen Zhou’s poetic revision becomes even more intricate and complex. When the calligraphy and paintings were created antecedently and the poetry collections were compiled subsequently, they were either directly incorporated into the Draft Manuscript or were founded on earlier revisions. However, when previous works were transcribed onto new paintings, the author often relied on memory, which gave rise to the confounding of original drafts and revised versions, thereby resulting in a multiplicity of textual variants. The author has identified three scenarios, which will be expounded upon separately. Although there exist numerous forgeries of Shen Zhou’s paintings, if they are replicas of authentic works, they pose minimal hindrance to the study of the textual variants in Shen Zhou’s poetry. The probability of forgers deliberately fabricating a large number of variant texts in his poetry is even more remote. In cases where the painting scrolls have been lost or no longer exist, the process of revision can still be investigated through the records documented in poetry collections or art inventories. By employing calligraphy and painting materials to illustrate Shen Zhou’s process of poetic revision, the comparison of textual variants can also be conducive to the authentication of his paintings. Expanding the sample materials and extrapolating certain patterns from the perspective of textual variants could substantially contribute to the scrutiny of the authenticity of Shen Zhou’s paintings.The textual variants in Shen Zhou’s poems are the results of the author’s meticulous and painstaking efforts, as well as his scrupulous consideration of each word and sentence. The modalities by which he revised his poems can be categorized into three types: the refinement of words, the refinement of sentences, and the refinement of meaning. In the context of word refinement, it involved either transforming common words into uncommon ones to eschew banality or substituting uncommon words with common ones to dispel ambiguity. The refinement of sentences primarily encompasses two aspects: the substitution of allusions and the adjustment of sentence structures. The refinement of meaning is chiefly manifested as the enrichment of content and the transformation of the theme. The effects of Shen Zhou’s poetic refinement can also be encapsulated as rectifying errors, elevating the commonplace to the refined, converting a plain and straightforward narration into a rhythmic and undulating one, and even augmenting the content or altering the central idea, rendering it superior to the initial draft. Nevertheless, there are also some instances of over-refinement. The copious resources of textual variants in the literature of the Ming and Qing Dynasties can reconstruct the dynamic process of poets’ revisions, probe into their creative mentalities, and examine the evolution of poetics, potentially emerging as a promising academic focal point.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 81-95 [Abstract] ( 4 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1457KB] ( 2 )

	96	Lu Haiyan, Wang Yunlu

		Meaning of “Jiagai (甲盖)” in “Yan (厌)” and Words Such as “Huiyan (会厌)” “Hanyan (颔厌)” and “Xinyangu (心厌骨)” in Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics ^Hot!
		The word “yanshang (厌上)” in Tao Hongjing’s Zhoushi Mingtongji (《周氏冥通记》) of the Southern Liang Dynasty is very confusing. Through investigation, it can be found that “yanshang” refers to “turtle belly shell above”. “Yanshang” has been accurately interpreted, but the issue of Chinese vocabulary history related to it has not been fully resolved. On this basis, the article further examines the origin and extended changes of the meaning of “jiagai (甲盖)” in “yan (厌)”, its complex word forms in literature, and the pragmatic characteristics reflected through word relationships. The following conclusions are drawn:Firstly, the meaning of “jiagai” in “yan” is a new meaning that emerged in Middle Chinese. This meaning first appeared in Yang Fu’s Jiaozhou Yiwu zhi during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was used from the Six Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty and further developed during the Song Dynasty. Before the Song Dynasty, “yan” was generally only used to refer to “the lid of the snail”. Although Tao Hongjing’s annotations mentioned the use of referring to turtle belly shell, it was not inherited. Starting from the Song Dynasty, the meaning of “yan” expanded to refer to “the underside of a crab”, “scab”, and “fish scale” that have similar appearance and function, and the frequency of use also increased. At the same time, the emerging differentiation of characters for “yan” began to emerge, and in the process of using characters, the meanings gradually corresponded with each other, moving towards precision.Secondly, the meaning and usage of “jiagai” in “yan” are mainly used in spoken language. Looking at the use cases of “yan” and related character shapes from ancient times to the present, it can be seen that there are not many related use cases, and they mainly appear in popular reading materials such as foreign object chronicles, Taoist books, medical books, and poetry. There are no use cases found in materials with strong writing and more elegant language. On the other hand, the diverse changes in word form of this meaning also indicate that people are not familiar with its written form.Thirdly, it is still preserved in modern Chinese southern dialects and minority languages in the south, and the scope of its meaning has been expanded. The Modern Chinese Dialect Dictionary records that this usage is present in thirteen southern cities including Jixi, Nanning, Guangzhou, and Dongguan, and continues to be used in Zhuang and Yao languages.At the same time, the article refers to the development path of the meaning of “jiagai” in “yan” and provides a new explanation for the derivation of meanings for words such as “huiyan (会厌)”, “hanyan (颔厌)”, and “xinyangu (心厌骨)” in traditional Chinese medicine classics. The term “huiyan” refers to the cartilage tissue at the junction of the larynx and pharynx, named after its resemblance to a lid above the throat. The name of “hanyan” is an acupuncture located at the top of the forehead, which is pulled by the jawbone and is named after the lid that covers the jawbone; “xinyangu” refers to the sternum xiphoid process, named after its location that has the function of shielding the heart.The main innovation of the article lies in an integration of ten different writing forms of “yan”, which breaks down the obstacles brought by differences in word usage to vocabulary research, connecting ancient and modern times, examining the history of literature and studying modern Chinese dialects, and the original source of vocabulary in modern Chinese.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 96-104 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 1751KB] ( 2 )

	105	Shen Yubin

		How Do Painting and Writing Access the Meaning of World? Merleau-Ponty’s Strategy of Generalizing Phenomenological Spirit ^Hot!
		How do painting and writing access the meaning of world? This is an important question in Merleau-Ponty’s strategy to generalize phenomenological spirit. Writing, as a system of signs, constitutes a crucial dimension of conceptual expression, while painting forms the essential element of non-conceptual expression. In the expression of the meaning of world by writers and painters through real time and the real world, time serves as a foundational element that integrates both writing and painting into the realm of art. Through art, humans can continually invoke the eternal, making it present. Merleau-Ponty deepens the essential relationship between the body perceiving and the world through his analysis of painting. In the phase of phenomenology of the corporeal (time), exemplified by Cézanne’s Doubt, Merleau-Ponty primarily constructs the perceptual world around the (bodily) perceptual spatio-temporality structure, with his analysis of painting also focusing on the body perceiving. In the phase of phenomenology of the natural (time), represented by Eye and Mind, he further generalizes the body perceiving around the (natural) topological spatio-temporality structure, even using the concept of flesh to describe the subject-object relational structure after the generalization of perception. In this sense, the perceived world evolves into the flesh of world. Based on this, Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological spirit opens up a new possibility for grasping the real world through the art of painting.Meanwhile, literature is also an art form; through signs, it persistently touches the boundaries of time. Merleau-Ponty argues that Marcel Proust’s literary works have touched upon certain deep ontological relations or structural schemas. The descriptive time in literature and the conceptual time in philosophy constitute different types of intuition and essence in the phenomenological sense. Under the revelation of real time in literary expression, the writer Proust and the philosopher Merleau-Ponty achieve a theoretical alignment in their orientation toward the meaning of world through the phenomenological spirit. In this sense, the work of both writers and painters is inherently part of the activity of revealing that eternal. The ultimate direction of the literarization and artisticization of (Continental) philosophy in the post-phenomenological era may well be this eternal, which Deleuze defines as primordial time and absolute time.The reason painting and writing can be regarded as art lies in their expressive properties, which, in Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of language, are transformed into a multi-layered fusion of meaning and truth through the present operation of temporality. The signification of thought can often be abstractly grasped and conveyed through written signs, but its meaning remains rooted in the original present field from which it arises. This means that painting and writing, as forms of linguistic expression, depend on a certain temporal thickness of existence. Fundamentally, Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of language is built upon his philosophy of perception, and both language and perception further share the spatio-temporal elements inherent in the present dimension within the phenomenological horizon of time. Whether it is the perceptual acts of the body or the functions of speech, both reside within the flesh of time. Therefore, real time constitutes a kind of foundation for the real world, the lifeworld, and even the meaning of world. Within the dual domains of phenomenology of language and phenomenology of art, it can be understood as the interweaving of the present and the eternal. This profoundly echoes the sublimation of the perceived world into the flesh of world triggered by Merleau-Ponty’s strategy of generalizing the phenomenological spirit in the transformation from the bodily perceptual spatio-temporality structure to the natural topological spatio-temporality structure.In summary, Merleau-Ponty breaks the traditional binding of formalization and conceptualization to thought and truth, liberating meaning from its conventional linear fate. If painting and writing are placed within the expressive function of generalizing phenomenological spirit, then the painter’s pursuit of the real world and the writer’s description of the real time can both be understood as meaning-generating activities focused on the present lifeworld.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 105-117 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 864KB] ( 2 )

	118	Wu Yiyue

		Conceptual Analysis and Legal Application of E-commerce Contracts and Electronic Contracts ^Hot!
		Article 512 of the Civil Code introduces the concept of the “electronic contracts” for the first time, but its wording is extremely similar to Article 51 of the E-Commerce Law, leading to frequent confusion between electronic contracts and e-commerce contracts. This conceptual confusion has resulted in difficulties in legal application in judicial practice, which is particularly evident in new transaction models such as online shopping.Clarifying these two concepts requires an understanding of their respective historical development and connotations. Since its inception, e-commerce has undergone several stages of development, and its content has expanded accordingly. In the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, international legal instruments such as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures, and the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, as well as national legislation like the U.S. Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the EU Electronic Signatures Directive, and China’s Electronic Signature Law, primarily focused on the application of electronic communications in commercial activities. These laws aimed at addressing the legal validity of expressions of intent made via data messages. However, with the rise of Internet-based platforms, e-commerce has evolved into an entirely new mode of transaction, resulting in the digitalization of the entire business model. The promulgation of China’s E-Commerce Law reflects this transformation, with its central focus shifting to the comprehensive regulation of the conduct of e-commerce operators and platform operators.In the digital era, an e-commerce contract should include two key elements: first, the existence of e-commerce activities, meaning that operators conduct sales or service activities through the Internet or other information networks; and second, the contract must be in electronic form, which includes contracts concluded through automated information systems as well as those established via email, WeChat, or other electronic communication methods. In contrast, an “electronic contract” under the Civil Code only concerns the form of contract conclusion, namely, “concluded via the Internet or other information networks”. This is essentially the same as a contract “concluded in the form of a data message”, and, from a systematic interpretation perspective, constitutes a special form of written contract. An e-commerce contract, in addition to the requirement of electronic form, must satisfy the core criterion of “the existence of e-commerce activities”, that is, there must be sales or service provision activities carried out by an operator via the Internet or other information networks. There is also a clear distinction in their scope of application: electronic contracts apply to any contract concluded via the Internet, without restriction as to the parties’ identities, business attributes, or specific types of cases; e-commerce contracts, however, exist only within e-commerce activities—at least one party must be an operator, and areas such as financial products, services, and online content services are specifically excluded.By placing the rules originally intended only for e-commerce scenarios into the general provisions of the contract section, Article 512 of the Civil Code causes its application to extend beyond the original legislative intent, creating conflicts with rules such as those governing delivery sales. In scenarios like online shopping, contradictions arise between the traditional rules for delivery sales, the special provisions of the E-Commerce Law, and the Civil Code’s rules for electronic contracts, leading to confusion in legal application. To resolve this issue, Article 512 of the Civil Code should be restrictively interpreted so that its scope is limited to e-commerce contracts rather than all electronic contracts. Only in this way can the increasingly prevalent e-commerce activities such as online shopping be correctly governed by law, thereby properly managing the relationship between the Civil Code’s delivery rules and the relevant clauses of the E-Commerce Law, and ensuring the coherence of legal interpretation and the correctness of judicial application.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 118-130 [Abstract] ( 3 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 706KB] ( 2 )

	131	Zhou You

		Practical Obstacles and Solutions of Online Platform Accounts for Capital Contribution ^Hot!
		According to the general principles of the Company Law, non-monetary assets that can be used for capital contribution should meet the two conditions of “transferable in accordance with law” and “can be valued in currency”. Although the regulation of shareholders’ capital contribution in the new Company Law has generally tended to respect the autonomy of the parties, in the context of the digital economy, it is not uncommon to see cases of using new non-monetary assets such as online platform accounts as capital contributions, which has a great impact on the rules and concepts of mandatory assessment based on the ownership of rights. Many cases that have emerged so far reflect that judicial decisions focus on the issue of whether the right to use an online platform account can be used for capital contribution. The reason why users do not contribute with the ownership of the platform account is mainly limited by the special rules set by the online platform, that is, the user usually does not enjoy the ownership of the platform account. However, even if only the right to use a specific property is transferred, it is not appropriate to directly deny the validity of its capital contribution, but to consider determining it as the contribution of other corresponding property rights. In fact, the object of the online platform account’s capital contribution is neither the ownership of the account nor the right to use it, but the content generated, stored or published on the account. This mainly includes copyright rights, data or online virtual property, etc.Furthermore, the objects of capital contribution made by online platform accounts are relatively special, and there are differences in certainty, so it is not necessary and possible to require a general assessment of them. Shareholders can agree on the object and value of non-monetary property contributions according to the company’s business needs, and there is no need for compulsory appraisal unless there is a situation that damages the interests of the company and its creditors. In addition, although the appraisal price is usually a more objective reflection of the value of the capital contribution than the negotiated price, it is not uncommon for different appraisal reports of the same capital contribution to differ greatly in practice. If there is a failure of autonomy between the parties, or if it involves issues such as the protection of the company’s creditors. The law should respect the negotiation between the parties. In judicial practice, even when an assessment is required, it is still necessary for the judge to weigh his interests in light of the specific facts of the case and with reference to the assessment results. In the era of digital economy, many non-monetary property contributions have different degrees of separation of interests under rights and different entities share different interests, and the new Company Law broadens the types of shareholders’ non-monetary property contributions, the right to choose and set prices, and at the same time strengthens the capital adequacy responsibilities of shareholders and directors. These rule innovations are in line with the trend of diversification of shareholders’ capital contributions, and help to achieve a balance between the interests of shareholders’ freedom of capital contribution and the protection of corporate creditors.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 131-146 [Abstract] ( 5 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 980KB] ( 10 )

	147	Yu Haitao

		The Concept of the Rule of Law: From Essentially Contested to Fiction ^Hot!
		The rule of law is the most prominent legalized political ideal in the world today, but there is no consensus on what it means. The process of pointing out the importance of the rule of law has been completed from the perspective of practical needs in China and the goal of building a country governed by the rule of law has been established, while the definition of the rule of law is still stuck in the debates of various views on the rule of law. Judging from the leaders’ understanding of the rule of law in the early days of the reform and opening up, our country determined the goal of the thickest form of the rule of law from the beginning, but then the consensus on the rule of law disappeared into debates of form and essence, universalism and nationalism, separation and integrity.Faced with the situation that everyone has different opinions about the concept of the rule of law, some people have proposed to define it as an essentially controversial concept. This theory has certain explanatory power, affirms the competitive situation of the concept of the rule of law, advises those who flaunt the rule of law not to try to monopolize the concept of the rule of law, and is of great value in promoting the prosperity of theory. However, the theory does not seem to be as correct as it is taken for granted. Firstly, this definition avoids the consensus on the rule of law. There is no realistic “paradigm”for the rule of law, but there is a certain consensus on the connotation of “the rule of the law”. If this is regarded as a paradigm like Jeremy Waldron did, then this “paradigm” is not open; moreover, in disputes over the rule of law, this connotation is not always maintained and developed, but on the contrary, it always faces the risk of being disintegrated. Secondly, this definition is prone to relativism. This definition abandons the normative power of the connotation of the rule of law and reduces it to an empty shell that can hold anything. And it may provide theoretical weapons to theorists deconstructing the rule of law and enable them to embark on the path of disputing, opposing and abandoning the rule of law with peace of mind, thus it has a bad rhetorical effect on the current practice of the rule of law. Thirdly, this definition cannot respond to the query of “the impossibility of the rule of law”. The myth or lie theory of the rule of law demonstrates the proposition of “the impossibility of the rule of law” from both the premise and reasoning of the law. This definition not only fails to respond effectively, but also, according to David Gawthorne, stems from this dilemma of the rule of law.As far as China’s current stage of the rule of law is concerned, it is necessary to clarify and return to the original connotation of the rule of law, that is, “the rule of the law”. Criticism that “the rule of law” is a myth or lie cannot be established. The rule of law is an ideal or a fiction. The fiction theory of the rule of law well responds to the dilemma of “the impossibility of the rule of law”. Not all fictional assertions against facts are myths or lies. The myth or lie theory of the rule of law grasps the fictional nature of the rule of law and refutes it without correctly understanding the fictional nature of the rule of law. Fiction is both fictional and factual. Hans Vaihinger’s philosophy of fiction and Yuval Harari’s theory of cognitive revolution tell us that it is a fictional fact, an expedient invention and creation, and a basis for human cooperation and progress. Such inventions and creations make all civilized life possible. The fiction theory of the rule of law defends the position of the rule of law through both theoretical responses and practical needs.
		2025 Vol. 55 (6): 147-160 [Abstract] ( 2 ) [HTML 1KB] [PDF 757KB] ( 2 )

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