Journal of Information Resources Management ›› 2026, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (3): 65-77.doi: 10.13365/j.jirm.2026.03.065

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An Inquiry into the Conceptions of Intelligence, Information and Knowledge in the Context of Representative Axiological Systems of Traditional Chinese Culture

Ma Jie1,2  Gu Yingchi1 Dai Yunsong1 Hou Yiling1   

  1. 1.School of Business and Management, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012; 
    2.Information Resource Research Center, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012
  • Online:2026-05-26 Published:2026-06-16
  • About author:Ma Jie, Ph.D, professor, research interests including knowledge organization; Gu Yingchi (corresponding author), Ph.D. candidate, research interests including information resources management and knowledge organization,Email: Guycjlu@163.com;Dai Yunsong, undergraduate, research interests including information resources management and knowledge organization; Hou Yiling, master candidate, research interests including information resources management and knowledge organization.
  • Supported by:
    This paper is one of the outcomes of the Major Special Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research of the Ministry of Education, titled "Research on the Independent Knowledge System of China' s Information Resources Management Discipline from the Perspective of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture" (2025JZDZ099).

Abstract: The views of intelligence, information, and knowledge serve as the three core concepts within the discipline of Information Resources Management, consistently underpinning its development. Chinese traditional culture boasts a long and profound history, rich in intellectual heritage. Therefore, this study adopts a Chinese philosophical perspective, employing the representative value theories of Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism within Chinese traditional culture as analytical tools to systematically interpret and refine these three views. Through conceptual analysis, the core inquiries of the three views are distilled: the view of intelligence focuses on service orientation, mode of operation, and reliability; the view of information focuses on strategic assets, effectiveness realization, and systemic balance; the view of knowledge focuses on transcendental pathways, cognitive frameworks, and practical orientation. Subsequently, sixteen value dimensions, including people-oriented governance, benefitting the people, institutional framework, holistic perspective, objectivity, and integrity, are extracted from the philosophies of Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism, thereby achieving a coherent alignment between contemporary disciplinary inquiries and traditional intellectual resources. This alignment not only strengthens the cultural foundations of existing disciplinary concepts but also further refines their system of value dimensions. This study elucidates the inherent logic through which traditional Chinese values and resources empower disciplinary development, providing corresponding theoretical grounds and perspectives to facilitate the transition of information resource management research from " functional expansion" toward " value consciousness", thereby contributing to the construction of a disciplinary theoretical framework with distinct Chinese autonomy.

Key words: Intelligence view, Information view, Knowledge view, Traditional Chinese culture, Axiology

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