From the Castrated Subject to the Human Way: A Lacanian Reinterpretation of Ancient Chinese Thought

Abstract

Lacan studied ancient Chinese classics assiduously, including Daodejing and Mencius during 1969–73 when his own thought was reaching maturity. Lacan's idiosyncratic interpretation of Mencius is often regarded as a simple misreading. This essay defends Lacan's reading of Mencius by treating it as a psychoanalytic reading. It further develops a reinterpretation of ancient Chinese thought by revisiting primarily two major disputes – Mencius versus Xunzi, Confucianism versus Daoism – through a Lacanian interpretative method. The research findings reveal the possible latent side of ancient Chinese thought that has substantially formed what Lacan called ‘the Chinese unconscious’.