The leisure views of Jiangnan’s literati in the late Ming: A comparative analysis of China and the West

Abstract

Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty developed economy and thriving culture. Meanwhile combat among political parties was fierce and politics was darkness in imperial court, so literati intentionally chose to retreat into the mountains and forests to escape fame and live in seclusion, and this formed a pervasive trend of leisure living. With this background, based on their understanding and observation of leisure practice and phenomena, Jiangnan’s literati put forward many views on leisure, such as the unity of humans and nature, the usefulness of leisure, the divergence of the cultured and common, self-cultivation based on stillness, and fusion of the three religions. This closely matched the views of ancient and modern Western philosophers on leisure. Therefore, the late Ming was undoubtedly a self-aware age of leisure in ancient China and also an age in Chinese history with highly developed thought on leisure. The active elements and passive influence of the leisure views of Jiangnan’s literati undoubtedly have important theoretical constructivist and reference value for the practice of leisure in China today.