It is hypothesised that traditional Chinese culture had a characteristic prematurity with a dual structure of humanism and monarchy where, unlike the West, secularisation gained an early hold but was associated with autocracy. Ethics and politics were linked, so that obedience and maintaining a reputation discouraged innovation. The dual structure involved compensatory adjustment and absorption of varied cultural elements providing long-standing stability. But it was deeply resistant to modernisation and the periods of military Westernisation, social reform and introspection all ended in failure. Unlike Japanese culture, the Chinese could not adopt goal achievement values.
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