Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

242 Pages·2010·1.24 MB·English

by  Erica Fox Brindley

(Continued from front flap) ch i nEsE h i s t o ry
b eriCA FOX brindley
r
i
n C
external (institutionalized), or mixed “Contrary to common claims onventional wisdom has it that
d
(syncretic) approaches to self-cultivation about the absence of individualism the concept of individualism was absent
l
and state control emerged in response in early China and its supposed e in early China. in this uncommon study
to such ideals. in her exploration of the reification in ‘the West,’ y of the self and human agency in ancient
nature of early Chinese individualism both the Western and Chinese traditions China, erica Fox brindley provides an
and the various theories for and against have historically been characterized important corrective to this view and
it, she reveals the ways in which authors by diverse and constantly evolving persuasively argues with intriguing
innovatively adapted new theories on attitudes toward the individual. results that an idea of individualism can
individual power to the needs of the This book serves as an important corrective be applied to the study of early Chinese
burgeoning imperial state. to monolithic or essentializing thought and politics. She introduces the
accounts of early Chinese thought, development of ideological and religious
With clarity and force, Individu- and the narrative concerning the evolution beliefs that link universal, cosmic author-
alism in Early China illuminates the of the concept of the individual in early China ity to the individual in ways that may be
importance of the individual in Chinese is an interesting and novel one. referred to as individualistic and illus-
culture. by focusing on what is unique it will appeal widely to people trates how these evolved alongside and
about early Chinese thinking on this working on early Chinese thought potentially helped contribute to larger
topic, it gives readers a means of under- and comparative religion more broadly.” sociopolitical changes of the time, such
standing particular “Chinese” discussions
as the centralization of political authority
of and respect for the self. —Edward Slingerland, University of British Columbia
and the growth in the social mobility of
the educated elite class.
“There is a great deal of resistance Starting with the writings of the
to the very applicability of the concept early Mohists (fourth century bCe),
Erica Fox BrindlEy is assistant of individualism in early China. brindley analyzes many of the major
professor of history and religious studies in this impressively ambitious project, Individualism works through the early second century
at The Pennsylvania State University. erica brindley succeeds in deploying the concept China bCe by laozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi,
to the understanding of early Chinese thought. in Early and Han Feizi, as well as anonymous
in exploring the emergence of and response to authors of both received and excavated
distinctively Chinese forms of individuals, texts. Changing notions of human agency
she puts some familiar and major texts affected prevailing attitudes toward the
in a surprising light as part of an overall dynamic. self as individual—in particular, the onset
One of the significant lessons of this book of ideals that stressed the power and
is that there is a variety of ways authority of the individual, either as a
to conceive of and value the individual.” conformist agent in relation to a larger
Human Agency and the Self whole or as an individualistic agent
—David Wong, Duke University endowed with inalienable cosmic pow-
in Thought and Politics
ers and authorities. She goes on to show
how distinctly internal (individualistic),
Jacket design: Wilson Angel
UniverSiTy of HAWAi‘i PreSS
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888
(Continued on back flap)
Brindley-IdvChina_cvrMech2.indd 1 5/6/10 10:38:44 AM
Individualism in Early China

ndividualism
I
in
E C
arly hina
Human Agency
and the Self in
Thought and Politics
Erica Fox Brindley
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
© 2010 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brindley, Erica.
Individualism in early China : human agency and the self in thought and
politics / Erica Fox Brindley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8248-3386-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8248-3386-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Individualism—China—History. 2. Self (Philosophy)—China—History.
3. Philosophy, Chinese—To 221 B.C. 4. Philosophy, Chinese—221 B.C.–960
A.D. I. Title.
B824.B74 2010
126.0931—dc22
2009042973

University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by Josie Herr
Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
For my loving parents,
Monica and Tom

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
chapter one Individual Agency and Universal, Centralized
Authority in Early Mohist Writings 1
chapter two Centralizing Control: The Politics of
Bodily Conformism 29
chapter three Decentralizing Control and Naturalizing
Cosmic Agency: Bodily Conformism and Individualism 54
chapter four Two Prongs of the Debate: Bodily Agencies vs.
Claims for Institutional Controls 77
chapter five Servants of the Self and Empire: Institutionally
Controlled Individualism at the Dawn of a New Era 104
chapter six Conclusion 121
Postscript: A Note on Chinese Individualism,
Human Rights, and the Asian Values Debate 131
Notes 137
Works Cited 189
Index 201

Preface
The state successfully transformed the idea of individualism into a
synecdoche for a negative West, as the discourse surrounding this
meaning began to play an important role in China’s reinvention
of the power relationship between East and West, as well as that
between the state and its intelligentsia. In other words, the state
had a political stake in presenting the idea of individualism to its
people as un-Chinese.
—Lydia H. Liu, “Translingual Practice” 1
Chinese culture is often characterized as a culture of obligation rather than
individual freedom. This characterization is not just a stereotype; it is rooted
in various nineteenth- and twentieth-century constructions of Chinese iden-
tity, as such an identity is compared to that of the “West.” 2 Such a charac-
terization affects scholarship, diplomacy, and public policy. For example, the
modern Chinese state, among other Asian contemporaries, has resisted pay-
ing attention to charges of “universal human rights” violations on grounds
that such rights are bound up in culturally specific views on individual-
ism—views that are incompatible with traditional “Asian values.” 3
Given that policy decisions and international relations depend greatly
on whether or not Chinese or Asian values are compatible with individual-
ism, it would seem that the issue would be of considerable scholarly impor-
tance. Furthermore, given the wealth of scholarship on human rights in Asia
and the “Asian values” question, one would think that understanding the
nature of Chinese individualism might be central to determining the extent
to which Western-style human rights are relevant to Asian traditions and
contexts.4 Yet relatively few scholars directly address the specific notion
of individualism in China or Asia, and they especially do not discuss it at
length in historical context.5 An exclusively European and American con-
cept, “individualism” remains, for most scholars, an icon in the develop-
ment of Western thought and institutions.6
ix