This ambitious book looks into the reasons for the exceptional durability of the Chinese empire, which lasted for more than two millennia (221 B.C.E. - 1911 C.E.). Yuri Pines identifies the roots of the empire's longevity in the activities of thinkers of the Warring States period (453-221 B.C.E.), who, in their search for solutions to an ongoing political crisis, developed ideals, values, and perceptions that would become essential for the future imperial polity. In marked distinction to similar empires (...) worldwide, the Chinese empire was envisioned and to a certain extent 'preplanned' long before it came into being. As a result, it was not only a military and administrative construct, but also an intellectual one. Pines makes the argument that it was precisely its ideological appeal that allowed the survival and regeneration of the empire after repeated periods of turmoil. "Envisioning Eternal Empire" presents a panoptic survey of philosophical and social conflicts in Warring States political culture. By examining the extant corpus of preimperial literature, including transmitted texts and manuscripts uncovered at archaeological sites, Pines locates the common ideas of competing thinkers that underlie their ideological controversies. This bold approach allows him to transcend the once fashionable perspective of competing 'schools of thought' and show that beneath the immense pluralism of Warring States thought one may identify common ideological choices that eventually shaped traditional Chinese political culture. The result is a refreshingly novel look at the foundational period in Chinese intellectual history. (shrink)

Westerners seem united in the belief that China has emerged as a major economic power and that this success will most likely continue indefinitely. But they are less certain about the future of China's political system. China's steps toward free market capitalism have led many outsiders to expect increased democratization and a more Western political system. The Chinese, however, have developed their own version of capitalism. Westerners view Chinese politics through the lens of their own ideologies, (...) preventing them from understanding Chinese goals and policies. In Contemporary Chinese Political Thought: Debates and Perspectives, Fred Dallmayr and Zhao Tingyang bring together leading Chinese intellectuals to debate the main political ideas shaping the rapidly changing nation. Investigating such topics as the popular "China Model", the resurgence of Chinese Confucianism and its applications to the modern world, and liberal socialism, the contributors move beyond usual analytical frameworks toward what Dallmayr and Zhao call "a dismantling of ideological straitjackets." Comprising a broad range of opinions and perspectives, Contemporary Chinese Political Thought is the most up-to-date examination in English of modern Chinese political attitudes and discourse. Features contributions from Ji Wenshun, Zhou Lian, Zhao Tingyang, Zhang Feng, Liu Shuxian, Chen Ming, He Baogang, Ni Peimin, Ci Jiwei, Cui Zhiyuan, Frank Fang, Wang Shaoguang, and Cheng Guangyun. (shrink)

“Ancient Chinese political thought” refers to the reflections and discussions about politics during the period before the First Emperor established the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. Although one could also infer some political thought of that period from the other archeological evidence, the main sources of such reflections and discussions are texts believed to date back to that period, some of which became the foundation of Chinese education that began in the Han dynasty and (...) lasted till the beginning of the 20th century. Although disrupted by the turbulent history of China’s encounter with modernity in the early 20th century, the study of ancient Chinese texts has become the center of what is known as “national studies ” in the People’s Republic of China today, with institutes devoted to it in many Chinese universities, supporting researchers from various disciplines. In the revival of Confucianism coupled with the rise of cultural nationalism in mainland China, many Chinese scholars have turned to ancient Chinese political thought for inspiration in their search for distinctively Chinese perspectives on politics, both local and global, and they advocate Chinese alternatives or models to address contemporary challenges. With limited space, the publications selected for this article make up only a small fraction of the works in English and even fewer in Mandarin that discuss ancient Chinese political thought. In addition to being studied as part of early Chinese civilization that has influenced Chinese society through subsequent centuries, political theorists and philosophers engage ancient Chinese political thought to address perennial or contemporary political problems, contributing significantly to the growth of comparative political theory and comparative political philosophy. (shrink)

This chapter explores Mencius’s political ideas, particularly his views of the ruler, the men-of-service (or intellectuals, shi 士), and the commoners. It highlights intrinsic tensions in Mencius’s thought, e.g. between his avowed commitment to the monarchic order (in which the intellectuals like himself should act as the ruler’s servitors) and his staunch belief that intellectuals are morally superior to the rulers and should act as their teachers. Another tension was between Mencius’s insistence on the commoners’ primary importance for (...) the polity and his equally strong opposition to their participation in political life. Tensions and frustrations aside, Mencius succeeded to position himself as the most devoted leader of the Warring States-period men-of-service. This ensured him the lasting role as a source of inspiration for the imperial literati. (shrink)

This anthology consists of a wealth of selections from pre-Confucian literature to Han Fei Tzu’s legalistic writings. Ample space is given to pre-Confucian classes to display the background of Confucius and Chinese philosophical thought. The selections are made from the point of view of a political philosopher. Major thinkers are well represented. Each selection is preceded by a brief general introduction. The editor succeeds well in presenting the spectrum and rich variety of classical Chinese philosophy. Explanatory (...) notes are on the whole quite helpful to students, so also is the bibliography for further readings. For the students of Chinese philosophy, however, this anthology is no substitute for W. T. Chan’s Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. For students of political thought this anthology could increase its value had the editor written a longer introduction dealing with the intimate connection of Chinese ethics and politics and the underlying conception of man in relation to the cosmos.—A.S.C. (shrink)

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Offers new perspectives on modern Chinese political thought.

_Origins of Chinese Political Philosophy_. explores the composition, language, thought, and early history of the _Shangshu_ (Classic of Documents), showing its texts as dynamic cultural products that expressed and shaped the political and intellectual discourses of different times and communities.

This issue presents the research on early Chinese texts by Cao Feng, a philosophy professor at Tsinghua University. He is an expert in early Chinese political philosophy and philosophy of language found in transmitted and excavated texts. His extensive education in Japan has left him well versed in Japanese sinology. Although a critical researcher in the field of early Chinese thought and a very prolific writer in both Chinese and Japanese, Cao Feng is little (...) known in the West. This issue introduces three papers selected in consultation with the author: a reflection on the study of excavated texts, the "Huang" component of so-called Huang-Lao thought, and views on language in the Laozi. (shrink)

This issue presents the research on early Chinese texts by Cao Feng, a philosophy professor at Tsinghua University. He is an expert in early Chinese political philosophy and philosophy of language found in transmitted and excavated texts. His extensive education in Japan has left him well versed in Japanese sinology. Although a critical researcher in the field of early Chinese thought and a very prolific writer in both Chinese and Japanese, Cao Feng is little (...) known in the West. This issue introduces three papers selected in consultation with the author: a reflection on the study of excavated texts, the "Huang" component of so-called Huang-Lao thought, and views on language in the Laozi. (shrink)

_Origins of Chinese Political Philosophy_. explores the composition, language, thought, and early history of the _Shangshu_ (Classic of Documents), showing its texts as dynamic cultural products that expressed and shaped the political and intellectual discourses of different times and communities.

This work contains a full, critical translation of Huai Nan Tzu, Book 9, Chu-shu, which is part of "an important compendium of knowledge and philosophical speculation... presented to the Chinese court of Wu Ti during the first century of the Former Han ". Preceding the translation is a dense philosophical analysis of the treatise, and of its place in a painstakingly reconstructed history of ideas, particular to the development of China up to that date. China had already gone through (...) nearly two millennia of history. (shrink)

This issue presents the research on early Chinese texts by Cao Feng, a philosophy professor at Tsinghua University. He is an expert in early Chinese political philosophy and philosophy of language found in transmitted and excavated texts. His extensive education in Japan has left him well versed in Japanese sinology. Although a critical researcher in the field of early Chinese thought and a very prolific writer in both Chinese and Japanese, Cao Feng is little (...) known in the West. This issue introduces three papers selected in consultation with the author: a reflection on the study of excavated texts, the "Huang" component of so-called Huang-Lao thought, and views on language in the Laozi. (shrink)

In the early twentieth century, China was on the brink of change. Different ideologies - those of radicalism, conservatism, liberalism, and social democracy - were much debated in political and intellectual circles. Whereas previous works have analyzed these trends in isolation, Edmund S. K. Fung shows how they related to one another and how intellectuals in China engaged according to their cultural and political persuasions. The author argues that it is this interrelatedness and interplay between different schools of (...) thought that are central to the understanding of Chinese modernity, for many of the debates that began in the Republican era still resonate in China today. The book charts the development of these ideologies and explores the work and influence of the intellectuals who were associated with them. In its challenge to previous scholarship and the breadth of its approach, the book makes a major contribution to the study of Chinese political philosophy and intellectual history. (shrink)

Resumen: El confucianismo y el legalismo no sólo son las dos escuelas ideológicas más influyentes de la China anterior a Qin, sino también las principales escuelas de pensamiento de la historia intelectual de la antigua China. Esto se debe a su respectiva naturaleza social y a sus valores políticos contrapuestos. En el confucianismo anterior a Qin, arraigado en la creencia en la bondad innata de la naturaleza humana, se hace mucho hincapié en la importancia de las tradiciones históricas. Promueve valores (...) como la benevolencia, la rectitud, el decoro y la sabiduría, y trata de redefinir el “rito” incorporando nuevos valores. Concede gran importancia al imperio de la virtud y aspira a alcanzar un estado de Armonía Universal. El Legalismo Pre-Qin, impulsado por la inherente inclinación humana hacia el interés propio y el beneficio personal, formula una filosofía de gobierno basada en el utilitarismo. Prioriza el presente y aboga por profundas transformaciones mediante la aplicación de una “ley” estricta para alcanzar la prosperidad nacional y la fuerza militar. Como resultado, la antigua China formó diferentes tradiciones del imperio de la virtud y la ley, sentando las bases de la naturaleza complementaria del confucianismo y el legalismo. Este artículo analiza los factores de diferenciación y el proceso de integración en la filosofía política confuciana y legalista, con el objetivo de aportar ideas para la construcción de los sistemas filosóficos políticos contemporáneos. (shrink)

This chapter examines modern Chinese political ideologies beginning in the late nineteenth century, as intellectuals began to articulate China’s place in a global order centred outside its own borders. It eschews a teleological view of China’s ideological development, in which the present communist regime is assumed to be the inevitable culmination of the past, in favour of detailing ongoing contestations about Chinese history, identity, and modernization. The chapter surveys early responses of the ‘self-strengthening’ school to nineteenth-century Western (...) imperialism, going on to discuss the deepening of Chinese commitments to Western learning and the totalistic critique of ‘traditional’ culture by thinkers associated with the May Fourth Movement. The continuity of these ideas is discussed in relation to key contemporary ideological developments on China and Taiwan, including: Chinese democratic thought and human rights; ideologies of revolution; Communism; contemporary liberal and New Left thought; and New Confucianism. (shrink)

Confucian political philosophy is enjoying a renaissance. In the last two decades a number of significant monographs in English have appeared, to say nothing of the Chinese studies that are virtually beyond count. If they have a common theme, it is that Confucian politics is an extension of its ethical thought. Confucian politics is not a mere application of techniques for producing order, as in Legalism, nor does it separate politics and personal morality, as in liberalism. Considering (...) a wide array of sources, in Classical Confucian Political Thought: A New Interpretation, Loubna El Amine notes how prevalent the view is that the goal of politics is moral transformation. It is precisely... (shrink)

The rise of China could be the most important political development of the twenty-first century. What will China look like in the future? What should it look like? And what will China's rise mean for the rest of world? This book, written by China's most influential foreign policy thinker, sets out a vision for the coming decades from China's point of view. In the West, Yan Xuetong is often regarded as a hawkish policy advisor and enemy of liberal internationalists. (...) But a very different picture emerges from this book, as Yan examines the lessons of ancient Chinese political thought for the future of China and the development of a "Beijing consensus" in international relations. Yan, it becomes clear, is neither a communist who believes that economic might is the key to national power, nor a neoconservative who believes that China should rely on military might to get its way. Rather, Yan argues, political leadership is the key to national power, and morality is an essential part of political leadership. Economic and military might are important components of national power, but they are secondary to political leaders who act in accordance with moral norms, and the same holds true in determining the hierarchy of the global order. Providing new insights into the thinking of one of China's leading foreign policy figures, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in China's rise or in international relations. (shrink)

Morality determines the stability of political order in three aspects: first, moral theory is the basis for justifying political order. In Chinese and Western political philosophy, scholars of different schools try to justify political order in different ways. In western political philosophy, the most important are social contract theory and utilitarianism. In Chinese political philosophy, the most typical is the Confucian theory of “benevolent government”. Secondly, whether the words and deeds of (...) class='Hi'>political leaders conform to the moral principles is a sign of the legitimacy of the relevant political order. It is for this reason that the Chinese political thought emphasized “rule of morality” at the beginning of its birth, especially the Confucian doctrine, which has become the official ideology in two thousand years, and developed the thought of “internal saints and external kings ” after repeated writings of several generations of Confucian scholars. Thirdly, the people within the political regime must have some civic virtues for them to maintain the political order. Of course, morality is not the whole of politics. Politics must be based on the monopoly of force to maintain stable order. Keywords: politics, morality, justification, citizenship. (shrink)

In Chinese history the periods known as Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and the Warring States (475-221 BC) were times of conflict and political instability caused by the increasing power of centralized and competing states. During this time of crisis many schools of thought appeared to offer different philosophical doctrines. This paper describes and studies ideas about the limitation of power defended by these different schools of ancient Chinese thought, and suggests some reasons why they (...) failed to prevent the emergence of an authoritarian imperial government in early China. (shrink)

This paper presents a review of the main trends of contemporary political philosophy in China. First, it provides a general picture of the presence of contemporary western political philosophy in China. It shows how the different political positions (New Left, liberalist, conservative) relate to the different stances adopted before Western authors, and focuses in particular on the reception of Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in China’s academic and cultural circles. Second, it provides an account of what might (...) be contemporary Chinese political philosophers’ unique contributions to political theory. It pays particular attention to two Chinese scholars, Gan Yang and Zhao Tingyang. While both of them specialize in western philosophy, they neither echo western political philosophy nor repeat traditional Chinese political thought, but, rather, commit themselves to a transformation of Chinese tradition thought, in order to figure out some original and debatable theories. By focusing on analyzing these philosophers’ ideas and influences, the author hopes to answer two distinct but interrelated questions: how and why are they are so fashionable or popular, and whose thought might retain some pertinence in the context and issues of Chinese political tradition and the existing political practices. (shrink)

The rise of China could be the most important political development of the twenty-first century. What will China look like in the future? What should it look like? And what will China's rise mean for the rest of world? This book, written by China's most influential foreign policy thinker, sets out a vision for the coming decades from China's point of view. In the West, Yan Xuetong is often regarded as a hawkish policy advisor and enemy of liberal internationalists. (...) But a very different picture emerges from this book, as Yan examines the lessons of ancient Chinese political thought for the future of China and the development of a "Beijing consensus" in international relations. Yan, it becomes clear, is neither a communist who believes that economic might is the key to national power, nor a neoconservative who believes that China should rely on military might to get its way. Rather, Yan argues, political leadership is the key to national power, and morality is an essential part of political leadership. Economic and military might are important components of national power, but they are secondary to political leaders who act in accordance with moral norms, and the same holds true in determining the hierarchy of the global order. Providing new insights into the thinking of one of China's leading foreign policy figures, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in China's rise or in international relations. (shrink)

This essay examines the role that the the ethical plays in early Confucian political philosophy. By focusing primarily on the political thought of Xunzi, I argue that there is a necessary relationship between ethical ideas and political ideas in texts such as the Analects, Mengzi, and Xunzi. In particular, I argue against a more ‘realist’ reading of the tradition which argues that for early Confucians political order was not only a goal independent of ethical goals (...) but also one in which morality had no role to play. In doing so, I show that interpreting the early Confucians constructing their political thought on top of the scaffolding of their ethical views allows us to make more sense of the broader array of ideas on the political realm appearing throughout these texts. (shrink)

In order to highlight the significance of the book I'm reviewing here, let me recount a recent academic experience: A conference on the Zhuangzi is hosted by a leading scholar in the field with the sponsorship of a major university in mainland China. Several prominent scholars present papers focusing on various different passages of the text. The addresses cover the mystical, the performative, the epistemological, the ethical and several other facets of Zhuangzian thought. Yet one topic is conspicuous by (...) its absence: the political. Not a single paper addresses this matter. Romain Graziani's book effectively rectifies this situation by perceptively showing how Zhuangzian thought ran counter to many of the political... (shrink)

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, EarlyView.

This book presents a panoramic and extensive exploration of Chinese political philosophy, examining key political problems of the past, and the thinkers who addressed them. As the reader will discover, China’s traditional political philosophy is one with distinctive national characteristics and ideals. Therefore, the book helps to clarify the evolution of Chinese political thought, while also investigating fundamental political issues throughout the country’s history. The book offers a unique resource for researchers and (...) graduate students in the fields of political science, philosophy, and history, as well as ordinary readers who are interested in China’s traditional and political culture. (shrink)

Some contemporary authors have witnessed the flourishing of the Sinophilia of the Early Enlightenment and the direct impact of Daoist and Chinese thought on the ideas of Spinoza, Leibniz, Voltaire, Quesnay and the philosophes and have proceeded to make overt connections between the Daoist notion of 'non-action' or Wu wei and Enlightenment doctrines of laissez-faire. In contrast to such approaches, I argue that these frequent conceptual comparisons have often been inappropriate where touchstone humanist notions devoid of the Dao (...) de Jing's fundamental spiritual and metaphysical commitments are brought forward as evidence of interconnection. (shrink)

Chris Fraser presents a rich and broad-ranging study of the culminating period of classical Chinese philosophy, the third century BC. He offers novel and informative perspectives on Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, and other movements in early Chinese thought while also delving into neglected texts such as the Guanzi, Lu's Annals, and the Zhuangzi 'outer' chapters, restoring them to their prominent place in the history of philosophy. Fraser organizes the history of Chinese thought topically, devoting separate (...) chapters to metaphysics and metaethics, political philosophy, ethics, moral psychology, epistemology, and philosophy of language and logic. Focused specifically on the last century of the Warring States era, arguably the most vibrant, diverse period of philosophical discourse in Chinese history, the discussion covers the shared concerns, rival doctrines, and competing criticisms presented in third-century BC sources. Fraser explicates the distinctive issues, conceptual frameworks, and background assumptions of classical Chinese thought. He aims to introduce the philosophical discourse of early China to a broad audience, including readers with no prior familiarity with the material. At the same time, the thematic treatment and incisive interpretations of individual texts will be of interest to students and specialists in the field. (shrink)

Editor's AbstractIn one of the very first reactions to Li Minghui’s criticism of Mainland New Confucianism (MNC), Zeng Yi emphasizes the ties between MNC and Han-dynasty “Classical Learning” (jingxue), as opposed to the basis of Mou Zongsan-style New Confucianism in Song-dynasty Neo-Confucian “Way learning” (Daoxue). He further connects the MNC approach with an institutional, “concrete continuation” of the Confucian tradition, as opposed to the abstract, philosophical approach of Mou Zongsan.This short essay, another of the immediate reactions to Li Minghui's criticism (...) of Mainland New Confucianism, focuses on the distinction between “old” (or traditional) and “new” Confucianism, and their differing relations to liberal democracy. Fang identifies a tension in Li Minghui's attitude toward the “old,” since Li seems to want to have a connection with the tradition but also not to be bound by it. (shrink)