Abstract

Adopting in-depth interview research methods, this study was an insider's attempt to explore the meaning of Chinese students' American experience from a Confucianist perspective. ;Confucianism maintains that all human beings are endowed with humanistic, or ren, qualities, and have the potential to fulfill the ultimate meaning of life in ordinary experiences. This study attempted to explore the ren qualities in these Chinese students who were engaged in an unusual experience, and to determine how their ren qualities were experienced, expressed, and affected during their American experience. ;Fifteen Chinese students were interviewed and nine themes were discovered based on the results. From a Confucianist perspective, the following findings are particularly significant. ;First, like all humans these students possessed ren qualities in their most fundamental form: genuine love and affection for family members, particularly parents. These feelings became deeper and more profound while they were in America, and had remarkable impact on most aspects of their American experience. ;Second, in their American experience these students felt the need to further develop their ren qualities thus to become better persons. In spite of the worries and concerns in their pursuit of a more comfortable life, deep inside they were constantly reminded of higher self-conduct standards. They demonstrated desires for being loving and genuine toward other people and being fully dedicated to their academic pursuits. ;Finally, there was also in them a longing for being genuinely connected with larger beings. They could find some degree of such connection in their academic pursuits, but most of them had to give up their academic careers to do things that would guarantee survival in this country. They would like to have American friends to whom they could open their hearts, but due to their background they only learned its difficulty. Yet, they discovered new meanings in their connection with their families, their culture, and their people. Such connections played a significant role in defining and enlarging the meaning of their American experience and that of their lives as human beings