Sixth Century BCE to Seventeenth Century

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Sixth Century BCE to Seventeenth Century Page 74

by Ying-shih Yü


  growing and ever-

  deepening infl uences of the ideas originating in the Axial Age, especially Confu-

  cian and Daoist ideas, on all aspects of Chinese life down through the centuries, it

  may not be too much an exaggeration to suggest that Dao and history constitute

  the inside and the outside of Chinese civilization.

  a p p e ndi x 379

  Taking the Chinese cultural tradition to be essentially one of indigenous ori-

  gin and in de pen dent growth, I have tried over the de cades to study Chinese

  history along two main lines. First, Chinese culture must be understood in its

  own terms, but at the same time, also in a comparative perspective. By “com-

  parative perspective,” I refer to both Indian Buddhism in the early imperial

  period and Western culture since the sixteenth century. Needless to say, Chi-

  na’s second encounter with the West in the nineteenth century was a historical

  event of world- shaking magnitude. Since the beginning of the twentieth century,

  the Chinese mind has been largely preoccupied with the problematique of China-

  versus- the- West. To interpret the Chinese past solely in its own terms without a

  comparative perspective would surely run the risk of falling into the age- old trap

  of simple- minded Sinocentrism.

  Second, in my study of Chinese intellectual, social, and cultural history,

  from classical antiquity to the twentieth century, my focus has always been

  placed on periods of change when one historical stage moved to the next.

  Compared to other civilizations, China’s is particularly marked by its long his-

  torical continuity before, during, and since the Axial Age. But continuity and

  change went hand- in- hand in Chinese history. Therefore, the purpose I have

  set myself is twofold: fi rst, to identify the major intellectual, social, and culture

  changes in the Chinese past and, second, to discern if at all pos si ble the unique

  pattern of Chinese historical changes. More often than not, such broad and

  profound changes in Chinese history transcended the rise and fall of dynasties.

  Thus, the notion of “dynastic cycle,” long held in traditional China but also

  briefl y in vogue in the West, is highly misleading. In the early years of the twen-

  tieth century, Chinese historians, following the example of their Japa nese col-

  leagues, began to reconstruct and reinterpret the Chinese past according to the

  historical model of the West. Since then it has been generally assumed that

  China must have under gone similar stages of historical development as shown

  in Eu ro pean history. In the fi rst half of the twentieth century, Chinese histori-

  ans adopted the earlier Eu ro pean schemes of periodization by dividing Chinese

  history into ancient, medieval, and modern periods, which has been replaced

  since 1949 by the Marxist- Stalinist fi ve- stage formulation. The latter remains

  the orthodoxy in China up to this day, at least in theory if not always in actual

  practice. This procrustean approach, what ever merits it may other wise have,

  cannot possibly do full justice to Chinese culture as an indigenous tradition.

  Only by focusing on the unique course and shape of Chinese historical changes,

  I am convinced, can we hope to see more clearly how that great cultural tradi-

  tion moved from stage to stage, driven mainly, if not entirely, by its internal

  dynamics.

  Now let me turn to the question of how, as two diff er ent systems of values,

  does Chinese culture stand vis- à- vis Western culture in historical perspective?

  My earliest exposure to this question occurred in the late 1940s when the prob-

  lematique of China- versus- the- West, mentioned earlier, dominated the Chinese

  380 a p p e ndi x

  intellectual world. It has not been out of my consciousness ever since. Living in

  the United States for half a century, the question has acquired a truly existential

  meaning for my life as I move between the two cultures from moment to

  moment. With some initial psychological readjustments, I have long been able

  to enjoy the American way of life while still retaining my Chinese cultural iden-

  tity. However, the best guide with regard to whether Chinese culture is compat-

  ible with the core values of the West can only be provided by Chinese history.

  China fi rst encountered the modern West at the end of the sixteenth century

  when the Jesuits came to East Asia to do their missionary work. The culturally

  sensitive Matteo Ricci, who arrived in China in 1583, was very quick to discover

  that the Chinese religious atmosphere at that time was highly tolerant; Confu-

  cianism, Buddhism, and Daoism were generally regarded as one and the same

  thing. As a matter of fact, under the infl uence of Wang Yangming (1472–1529),

  late Ming Confucians fi rmly believed that each of the three religions in China

  captured a vision of the same Dao (Way). It was this spirit of religious tolerance

  that accounted for Ricci’s extraordinary success in his conversion of many lead-

  ing members of the Confucian elite, notably Xu Guangqi (1562–1633), Li Zhizao

  (1565–1630), and Yang Tingyun (1557–1627)— the “three pillars of evangeliza-

  tion.” The Confucian faith in the sameness of human mind and the universal

  accessibility of Dao to every human person anywhere led some Chinese con-

  verts to promote a synthesis of Chris tian ity with Confucianism. The Chinese

  Dao was now further expanded to include Chris tian ity. This early relationship

  between China and the West at the religious level can by no means be described

  as a confl ictual one.

  In the late nineteenth century, it was also the open- minded Confucians who

  enthusiastically embraced values and ideas dominant in the modern West, such

  as democracy, liberty, equality, rule of law, autonomy of the individual person,

  and, above all, human rights. When some of them visited Eu rope or Amer i ca

  for the fi rst time and stayed there long enough to make fi rsthand observations,

  they were all deeply impressed, fi rst of all, by the ideals and institutions of

  Western constitutional democracy. Wang Tao (1828–1897), who assisted James

  Legge in his En glish translation of Confucian classics, returned to Hong Kong

  from Eng land in 1870 praising her po liti cal and legal systems to the sky. He

  was prob ably the fi rst Confucian scholar to use the term “democracy” in Chi-

  nese ( minzhu). Wang exerted a considerable infl uence on Confucian po liti cal

  thinking in the late Qing. At the turn of the century, there were two rival Con-

  fucian schools in China known as the New Text and Old Text, respectively.

  Both advocated democracy, though each in its own way. The former was in favor

  of constitutional monarchy, while the latter pushed for republicanism. Perhaps

  inspired by Wang Tao, who compared the British po liti cal and judicial systems

  favorably to China’s Golden Age as described in Confucian classics, both Con-

  fucian schools began a systematic search for the origins and evolution of demo-

  a p p e ndi x 381

  cratic ideas in early Confucian texts. In so doing, it is clear that they took the

  compatibility between Chinese culture and Western culture as two systems of

  values for granted.

  Last but not least,
I wish to say a word about “ human rights.” Like “democ-

  racy,” “ human rights” as a term is linguistically specifi c to the West and non ex-

  is tent in traditional Confucian discourse. However, if we agree that the concept

  of “ human rights” as defi ned in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of

  1948 is predicated on the double recognition of a common humanity and human

  dignity, then we are also justifi ed to speak of a Confucian idea of “ human rights”

  without the Western terminology. Recognition of a common humanity and re-

  spect for human dignity are both clearly articulated in the Analects of Confu-

  cius, the Mencius, and other early texts. It is remarkable that by the fi rst century c.e.

  at the latest, the Confucian notion of human dignity was openly referred to in

  imperial decrees as suffi

  cient grounds for the prohibition of the sale or killing of

  slaves. Both imperial decrees, dated 9 and 35 c.e., respectively, cited the same

  famous Confucian dictum: “Of all living things produced by Heaven and Earth,

  the human person is the noblest.” Slavery as an institution was never accepted

  by Confucianism as legitimate. It was this Confucian humanism that predis-

  posed late Qing Confucians to be so readily appreciative of the Western theory

  and practice of human rights.

  If history is any guide, then there seems to be a great deal of overlapping

  consensus in basic values between Chinese culture and Western culture. After

  all, recognition of common humanity and human dignity is what the Chinese

  Dao has been about. I am more convinced than ever that once Chinese culture

  returns to the main fl ow of Dao, the problematique of China- versus- the- West

  will also come to an end.

  Prince ton University, December 1, 2006

  (This talk was delivered on December 5, 2006, and published by the Library

  of Congress at http:// www . loc . gov / today / pr / 2006 / 06 - A07 . html)

  A C C E P TA N C E S P E E C H O N T H E O C C A S I O N

  O F R E C E I V I N G T H E TA N G P R I Z E

  F O R S I N O L O G Y

  To be awarded the inaugural Tang Prize in Sinology is the greatest honor I have

  received in my life. Needless to say, I feel grateful and elated even though deep

  in my heart, I must confess, lurks an indelible sense of undeservedness.

  Sinology, my own fi eld of research, writing, and teaching, calls for a com-

  ment. To begin with, I must pay tribute to the Tang Prize Foundation for its

  farsightedness in recognizing Sinology as one of its four prize categories. In my

  382 a p p e ndi x

  considered opinion, Sinology as a scholarly endeavor of ever- growing world im-

  portance is more in need of encouragement and support now than ever before.

  It is truly remarkable that the Tang Prize comes right in the nick of time.

  In recent de cades, Sinology as a fi eld of study has been undergoing a gradual

  but very signifi cant transformation. China has come to be viewed more and

  more as a civilization of indigenous origin and in de pen dent growth very much

  comparable to other long- lasting ancient civilizations such as India, Persia,

  Israel, and Greece. Unlike in the past, we begin to move away from the practice

  of reconstructing and interpreting the Chinese past according to the historical

  model of the West. Instead, Sinologists, in ever- growing numbers, tend to be

  interested in understanding the growth of Chinese civilization on its own

  terms. It is generally assumed that only by focusing on the unique course and

  shape of Chinese historical changes can we hope to see more clearly how that

  great cultural tradition moved from stage to stage, driven primarily by its internal

  dynamics. However, this must not be mistaken as advocacy of isolationism. On

  the contrary, the importance of a comparative perspective in Sinological studies

  is more emphasized today than ever before. The reason is not far to seek. The

  uniqueness of Chinese civilization and its developmental pattern cannot be

  fi rmly and fully established without comparisons with other civilizations, espe-

  cially the Western one. On the other hand, to study Chinese history in total

  isolation would inevitably fall into the age- old trap of Sinocentrism.

  As a result, Sinology today has become thoroughly globalized. Unlike in the

  fi rst half of the twentieth century, we rarely, if ever, speak of Sinology along

  national lines such as Chinese, Japa nese, French, or American. Sinology is one

  anywhere on the globe. At this very juncture, my memory naturally goes to my

  late mentor Yang Lien- sheng, who introduced me to world Sinology at Harvard

  in the late 1950s. In his 1967 introduction to Yang’s path- breaking Excursions in

  Sinology [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969], Paul Demiéville,

  the dean of Sinology in Eu rope, characterizes the latter’s scholarship as “interna-

  tional, truly tianxia (

  ).” This clearly suggests that globalization of Sinology

  was already well underway at the time, and my mentor Yang was positively

  identifi ed by Demiéville as one of its earliest prac ti tion ers.

  In this age of rapid globalization of ours, this new development in Sinology

  urgently needs to be carried further on an ever- growing scale. It is therefore my

  earnest hope that the Tang Prize may serve to attract more young talents with

  vibrant minds that will bring fresh perspectives to the Sinological world.

  This talk was delivered at the Academia Sinica in Taipei on September

  18, 2014.

  inde x

  afterlife, xv, 66–77, 78n15, 83n77, 85–90.

  archaeological evidence: bamboo cooking

  See also soul; specifi c elements of

  slips, 94, 107; feast scenes, 95, 98–102,

  agricultural work, 106–110, 169, 170, 212,

  126–127, 132n7; Han food and foodstuff s,

  223, 230, 235, 236, 237, 249

  91–95, 104, 107, 109, 112; inscriptions of

  alchemy, 29, 55n135

  Han underworld, 74, 75, 77n2; jade

  alcoholic beverages, 103–104. See also

  shrouds, 71; kitchen mural paintings,

  wine and wine vessels

  95–98, 115; sacrifi cial food evidence in,

  Analects ( Lunyu, Confucius): concepts

  67–68; silk paintings, 60–61, 69,

  within, 8–9, 12, 190, 204, 231, 381;

  70, 78n13, 85–89, 230; TLV mirrors,

  criticism of, 174–175, 187–188, 192,

  85–86, 89; wooden documents, 70, 71,

  333–335. See also Confucius

  86–87. See also specifi c site locations

  anarchist thought vs. kingship authority,

  Arendt, Hannah, 16–17

  135–137

  Aristotle, 14, 78n21

  ancestor worship, 24, 67–68, 125

  arithmetic, 219, 257–258

  Ancient Script Book of History. See Guwen

  ascension to Heaven, 31, 34–39, 52n105,

  Shangshu

  55n131, 72, 83n77. See also afterlife; xian

  anfu (security of the rich), 305–307

  immortality

  An Lushan Rebellion, 240–242

  asceticism, 169, 170–171, 179, 210,

  Annals of Lü Buwei ( Lüshi chunqiu), 22

  212–213, 215

  Anqi Sheng, 34

  Atwell, William S., 355,
357, 361–363

  An Shigao, 76

  Axial breakthrough (Axial Age), xiv, 5–8,

  Araki Kengo, 355, 356, 368–369

  10–16, 378, 379

  384 inde x

  Ba (white, human soul, variant of po),

  book learning, 186–195, 199–200, 202,

  62, 87

  203n36 (Cheng Hao critique of ),

  “Baben saiyuan” (Pulling Up the Root

  204n38. See also knowledge vs.

  and Stopping Up the Source), 285–286,

  morality in Neo-Confucianism

  288, 295

  book market of Tang-Song dynasties,

  bagu (eight-legged essay), 362, 372n14

  245–246

  Bai Gui (economic expert), 227

  Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial. See Yili

  baixing riyong ([ Dao in terms of ] the daily

  Book of History ( Shangshu, Shujing), 12,

  activity of the common people), 290,

  87, 203n30

  301

  Braudel, Fernand, 211–212, 236

  Baizhang Huaihai, 169, 170, 212

  breath, 37; soul breath, 64–65, 72, 80n31,

  Baizhang qinggui (Pure Rules of

  87. See also hun (soul)

  Baizhang), 169, 178

  breath-soul (hunqi), 65, 66, 80n31;

  Balanced Inquiries. See Lunheng

  brilliant virtues ( mingde), 12

  bamboo slips in Han tombs, 85, 94, 107,

  Buddhism: afterworld concept of, 68–69,

  116n5

  77; Chan (Zen) sect of, 15–16, 167–171,

  Bangtaizi mural-painted tomb, Liaoyang,

  173–178, 212, 333, 369–370; on economic

  96, 97, 99

  activities, 212; Heavenly Principle of, 176;

  Ban Gu, 36, 107

  intellectual movement in, 369–371;

  Banquet at Hong Men. See Hong Men

  introduction of, 14; inward transcendence

  Banquet

  of Chinese Buddhism, 15; Jiao Hong

  Baofu (protection of the rich), 305–307, 313

  and, 326–328, 332–333; monastic vs. lay

  Bao Jingyan, 136

  life, 170–171. See also Confucianism;

  Baoqiu Zi, 107

  Daoism; specifi c principles and scholars

  barbarian merchants ( shanghu), 240–242

  Burckhardt, Jacob, 139

  Baxter, Richard, 210

  burial-related objects. See archaeological

  beef, 94, 97, 99, 101, 103, 109. See also

  evidence

  meat

  business culture, 236–265; Central Asian

 

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