Confucian Literati Research Articles

Christian Conversion in Late Ming China

Using letters written by the Italian Jesuit missionary Niccolo Longobardo, this article explores in depth the encounter between the Christian mission and different strata of early seventeenth century Chinese society in Shangdong province. It follows Longobardo’s evangelical activities among Ming feudatory princes, Muslim mullahs, Confucian literati and leaders of secret popular religious sects. By using Jesuit records and Chinese documents of the late Ming, this article tries to analyse the attractions of Christianity for different segments of late Ming society, one that experienced a profound social, political and economic crisis. Both, the reasons for conversions and arguments against Christianity are presented in the specific social context of early seventeenth century Chinese society.

The Origins of the Public Sphere and Civil Society

This article explores an East Asian parallel to the “structural transformation” of the European public sphere and civil society by studying private academies and Confucian literati petitions in Chosŏn Korea from 1506 to 1800. During this period, the Confucian literati emerged as the new public and challenged royal authority, engaging in a broad range of public activities through the academies and petitions. Voluntaristic and nongovernmental connections of private academies reveal aspects of a nascent civil society, whereas the rational-critical nature of petitioning indicates the formation of the public sphere in Chosŏn Korea. This analysis demonstrates a close historical association between the evolution of private academies and the development of petitions. This historical interplay confirms Jürgen Habermas's thesis that the public sphere arises from civil society.

From Indra to Maitreya: Buddhist Influence in Vietnamese Political Thought

Until the fifteenth century, Vietnam was essentially a Buddhist country. The piety of the dynasties constituted their source of legitimacy, and Buddhism provided a means for royal authority to penetrate and incorporate the local political structure. In the face of the development of social unrest, however, Confucian literati started to voice their concern for the maintenance of order and eventually emerged in the fifteenth century as spokesmen for royal authority, definers of public morality and guardians of the court. As a result, institutional Buddhism lost the court patronage it had previously enjoyed, and henceforth its political influence declined steadily.

China's intellectuals and the state: in search of a new relationship

Today's intellectuals in China inherit a mixed tradition in terms of their relationship to the state. Some follow the Confucian literati watchdog role of criticizing abuses of political power. Marxist intellectuals judge the state's practices on the basis of Communist ideals. Others prefer the May Fourth spirit, dedicated to the principles of free scholarly and artistic expression. The Chinese government, for its part, has undulated in its treatment of intellectuals, applying restraints when free expression threatened to get out of control, relaxing controls when state policies required the cooperation, good will, and expertise of intellectuals. In this stimulating work, twelve China scholars examine that troubled and changing relationship. They focus primarily on the post-Mao years when bitter memories of the Cultural Revolution and China's renewed quest for modernization have at times allowed intellectuals increased leeway in expression and more influence in policy-making. Specialists examine the situation with respect to economists, lawyers, scientists and technocrats, writers, and humanist scholars in the climate of Deng Xiaoping's policies, and speculate about future developments. This book will be a valuable source of information for anyone interested in the changing scene in contemporary China and in its relations with the outside world.

Fellow-regional Associations in the Ch'ing Dynasty: Organizations in Flux for Mobile People. A Preliminary Survey

As had been the case throughout much of Chinese history, government during the Ch'ing dynasty (1644–1911) was largely in the hands of a civil bureaucracy staffed by the Confucian literati. Prevailing political thought held that moral suasion and commonly held ideals were in a large way responsible for keeping both the society and the body politic running smoothly. For this and other reasons, the court assigned a rather small number of bureaucrats to manage a truly vast population. In addition, it was commonly assumed by rulers and the ruled that China's was and should be primarily an agrarian society of self-sufficient peasants. The only orthodox avenue of social, even spatial, mobility was the Confucian examination system which led successful candidates into the bureaucracy. This view denigrated the importance of commerce, of technological advancement, of learning outside the Confucian classics; and it acted as a brake on social, political, and economic development.