Tan Sitong Research Articles

Sex/xing性/yin淫 and translation as “thing-in-between”: the reconfiguration of sex/gender knowledge in late Qing China

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how certain conceptual frameworks functioned as mediation to reconfigure the sex/gender knowledge formations in late Qing China by looking into three instances of translation: First, it explores certain historical traces of the English word “sex” and the Chinese Character “xing” 性, before the equivalence in translation was established, to examine the knowledge discourse’s mediating function. Second, it discusses an instance prior to the Chinese translation of “sex” being generalized and fixed to be “xing,” where the early modern thinker Tan Sitong in Ren Xue used the word “yin” 淫 to bring out the content of modern notion of “sex.” Third, it traces the context of Ma Junwu’s translation of John Stuart Mill to observe the remnants of the concealed interconnection between this “liberal-feminist theorist,” as viewed from the feminist categorization today, and socialism. Through these remains, this paper demonstrates how “mediation” brings about certain configurations of knowledge while obscuring certain facts and relations. It also borrows Lu Xun’s concept of “thing-in-between” (zhongjianwu; 中間物) to explain how these knowledge formations are oftentimes mediated by the scheme of modern-tradition binary constituted by Western modernity. This mediated knowledge itself then turns around to mediate the relationship between the modern and the traditional as it gets localized in its particular context.

From the Cognition of the Sick at Heart to the Cognition of Ghosts: The Knowledge Transformation of Cognitive Psychology in the Late Qing/ Republican Era (1895-1949)

In examining the historical changes in cognitive psychology from 1895 to 1949, it is necessary to transform cognitive psychology into cognitive practice. In the late Qing and early Republic era (1895-1919), cognitive practice mainly appeared as the cognition of the sick at heart. Against the background of the late Qing importation of Western learning aimed at securing national salvation, the intellectual class, represented by Tan Sitong, hastily dressed the wound to the traditional Chinese learning of Heaven and man inflicted by late nineteenth century scientific knowledge from Europe and America. They regarded cognition as the understanding gained in the practice of self-cultivation, as affording man a spiritual resting place between Heaven and Earth. By the time of the Republic of China (1920-1949), the main form of cognitive practice had become ghostly cognition. Under the banner of saving the country by means of science, higher education researchers, represented by Lu Zhiwei, explored cognition with the help of such intermediaries as physiological mechanisms and language structure. Men could easily become ghosts trapped in intermediaries when they plunged into the conceptual world in search of truth, as their cognitive practice evolved into the conceptual grasp of ghosts. This ghostly cognition continued into later information processing psychology and was disseminated among the mass of the public. A deeper level of the cognition of the sick at heart remains for future study, on the lengthy road home.

담사동(譚嗣同)의 유학 비판과 군주제 비판 문제

담사동(譚嗣同)의 유학 비판과 군주제 비판 문제

基督教与谭嗣同“仁–通–平等”的政治伦理理念

近代以来，基督教再次传入中国，深刻影响了中国知识分子看待人生的方式。谭嗣同三十岁前后接触基督教，从基督教思想中吸收了很多观念，对他的政治理想起了很大的影响。谭嗣同从基督教思想中引入“以太”、“灵魂”等概念，加深了对“仁”的思想阐发，引入“博爱”与“平等”观念，形成了“仁–通–平等”的政治伦理理念。“仁”即仁爱，是无私无欲的崇高境界，这是他政治伦理思想的核心内容。“通”是“仁”的第一要义，由“通”即中外通、上下通、男女内外通、人我通达到“平等”，包括政治平等、经济平等，社会平等等方面，最终实现“仁”的无私无欲境界。 In modern times, Christian-Religion is re-introduced to China and deeply influences the Chinese intellectuals’ thoughts about life. Tan Si-tong contacted with Christian-Religion around thirty, ab-sorbing a lot of ideas from Christianity, which had great influence on his political ideal. Tan Si-tong introduced the “ether” and “soul” concepts in the Christian-Religion, and deepened the thoughts of “benevolence” based on that. Besides, he introduced the concept of “universal love” and “equality”, and formed the “benevolence-generality-equality” political ethics concept. “Benevolence” means selfless love and realm with no desire, which is the core content of his political ethics thought. “Generality” is the first factor of “benevolence”. Through “Generality” (including Chinese and foreign communication, men and women communication, and interpersonal relationship) people can achieve “equality” (including political equality, economic equality, social equality and so on), and finally realize the realm of “Benevolence”.

How Meaning Moves: Tan Sitong on Borrowing across Cultures

Much recent comparative political theory and philosophy engages the substantive ideas of historically marginalized thought traditions, but ignores the methodological insights that have structured cross-cultural thinking in diverse times and places. In contrast, this essay examines the cross-cultural methodology of Tan Sitong, an influential Chinese reformer of the Qing dynasty who thought critically and carefully about his country’s engagement with Western knowledge. Tan’s work draws attention to how dynamic and plural meaning (dao) in any society is embedded and produced through externally observable practices and institutions (qi) that can be replicable in other communities. Working from these metaphysical assumptions, he draws attention to the possibility of “authentic” imitation of foreign ways of life. His ambitions to authenticity, however, do not affirm a cultural essence so much as they recognize the process of meaning-production as driven by a necessary tension between continuity or replication, on the one hand, and innovation and interpretation, on the other. Tan therefore provides an important corrective to contemporary accounts that emphasizes how the emergent and hybrid character of cultural constructs tends to ignore the ways in which foreign learning can be a site of discipline as well as a target of inclusion.

Xunzis Theory of Human Nature and His “Emptiness, Unity, and Stillness” Psychology

Xunzi (C.310-219 B.C.E) is the one of great early Confucian thinkers. In the history of ancient Chinese theory and literary, he is undoubtedly a master of character. Many of his thoughts contain profound reflections on psychology, ethics, society and politics. Although his theory is not accepted by the two thousand years of feudal regime, but its influence was very large. So Tan Sitong (1865-1898), an eminent Chinese revolutionist in the late Qing Dynasty who was in support of liberal reform, said that “Chinese culture in two thousand years is Xunzi’s theory ”. Unfortunately, in the history of Chinese thought, Xunzi has been treated unfairly. Scholars tend to emphasis on researching Mencius and other philosophers of Si-Meng School, respected Mencius but belittled Xunzi. Xunzi and his theory have been neglected for a long time. In the 20 century, with the revival of studying Confucianism, scholars started to focus on it, but compared to the research of Confucius, Mencius and other traditional Confucian, researches are still not enough. This is inconsistent with the contribution of Xunzi, because some of his theories are very insightful, especially his psychology. My study of his Psychology will begin with a review of his ethnics and moral philosophy, then talk about his psychology theory, as emptiness, unity, and stillness about human mind. 2 Xing(human nature)

Force of Psyche: Electricity or Void? Re-examination of the Hermeneutics of the Force of Psyche in Late Qing China

The aim of this paper is to discuss the contrasting hermeneutics concerning the concept of psyche among the late Qing intellectuals. Late Qing intellectuals developed a mode of hermeneutics that viewed xin li, or ”psyche force,” as utilizable, tamable, self-adaptable (in the manner of electricity) and capable of evolving. Also, the ”weak mind” has to be exercised as a muscle and all socalled ”vile thoughts” must be erased. This Christianized version of the psyche descends, at least in part, from some of the vast range of western knowledge which was introduced into China during the modernization movement, mostly through second-hand translations (based on Japanese translations), as well as through translations by the missionaries in China. John Fryer's Zhixin mianbingfa (治心免病法A Method for the Avoidance of Illness by Controlling the Mind), published in Shanghai in 1896, was the first text that introduced the term xin li (心力) into the Chinese contexts and represented the emblematic text of this trend of hermeneutics. Liang Qichao fully absorbed this mode of interpretation and elaborated the concept of xin li in such a way that this utilizable and tamable force of psyche could be governed and exercised so as to save the nation and to create a new people. Tan Sitong, though a close friend to Liang Qichao and a member of the Hundred Days’ Reform in 1898 and died as a martyr, held a totally different concept of xin li. In his Buddhist-inspired vision of the xin li, the force of psyche was presented as void, a site for ”microappearing- disappearing,” that was possible of subverting any fixed nominal system. This paper discusses the political implications in Tan's anarchistic vision of xin li. This paper argues that Lacan's topological formulation of the psyche and ex-sistenceas well as Alain Badiou's concept of void and the force of subtraction can help us explicate the radicality of Tan's notions of the psyche.

The Power of Interconnectivity: Tan Sitong's Invention of Historical Agency in Late Qing China

To explore how Chinese Buddhists acted as trailblazers of Engaged Buddhism, I shall analyze a late nineteenth-century thinker, Tan Sitong 譚嗣同 (1865–1898). The focus of my analysis is his masterpiece, Renxue 仁學. From his position of Buddhist eclecticism, Tan discoursed at length on non-differentiation as the truth of the universe to reflect on the creative disposition of human agency. He described in Renxue how this disposition would contribute to the agendas defining Chinese modernity. In addition, discussing the meanings of non-differentiation, Tan also generalized about the nature of the human agency he attempted to advocate: while he perceived the human agency blessed with a non-differentiating mindset as an omnipotent history-making force, he also argued that it did not confer upon its owner the status of world savior. In fact, in his view, the efficacy of a non-differentiating mind was determined by the world it aimed to help. Tan's signature piece, I argue, provides a lens through which we can observe modern Chinese Buddhism's role as an important part of the global formation of Engaged Buddhism.

From the hierarchicalrento egalitarianism: A case of cross‐cultural rhetorical mediation

A Study of Humanity (Ren), the first Chinese “manifesto of egalitarianism,” written by Tan Sitong in 1896–97, was one of the most important spiritual contributions to the republican movement toward the end of China's last imperial dynasty. This essay argues that the particular persuasiveness of its nontraditional egalitarian argument is explained by the writer's skills in exploiting the humanistic and organic ethos of Chinese tradition. This case reveals the interaction of rhetoric and culture. It shows how a dynamic process of rhetorical mediation led to change and also how the fundamental experience of Chinese culture remained intact as long as the Confucian organic world views remained operative in dictating the writer's choice of the appropriate channels, means, and modes of moderation.

Whatever Happened to Tan Sitong's Wife?—A Footnote in Modern Chinese History

Tan Sitong's summary execution at the close of the Hundred Days Reform (1898) inadvertently threw his wife, Li Run, into the public limelight. Following the September coup, theGuowen bao(National News) in Tianjin carried a story, entitled “Tan liefu zhuan” (Biography of the virtuous woman Tan), in which Li allegedly committed suicide by slashing her throat on learning of her husband's fate. She died broken-hearted, it was said, in protest against the wicked court ministers responsible for Tan's death. The story was quickly reprinted inQingyi bao(The China Discussion), a periodical which Liang Qichao, a reformer in exile, started in Yokohama, Japan, as one prong of his anti-Qing campaign. The report on Li's demise continued to circulate. Twenty years later, when the Chinese scholar, Yi Zhongkui, compiled hisXin shishuo(Sequel toNew Account of Tales of the World), he included a short biography of Li Run, based on theGuowen baoaccount. More recently, in herChinese Women in a Century of Revolution 1850–1950, Ono Kazuko refers to the suicide story and wisely cautions about its veracity. But she adduces no evidence to confirm what actually did happen to Li Run in 1898.

Tan Sitong and the ether reconsidered

The main subject of this paper is the influence of Western science on the philosophy of the young scholar Tan Sitong(1865–98) who was active in the reform movement of the late Qing dynasty. It seeks to show that his understanding of Western science was not as confused and superficial as some commentators have claimed, and that in fact his conception ofyitaidrew on views of the ether and electricity which were held by some at least of the most eminent Western scientists of his time. It also demonstrates thatyitaiis the direct descendant of theqiof the Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhang Zai(1020–77), and shows how Tan developed the views of Kang Youwei(1858–1927) on the relationship ofqito consciousness.

From the Criterion of Practice to the Criterion of the Production Forces

Sun Changjiang was born in 1933, in Fujian Province. He is currently professor at Beijing Teacher's College and editor-in-chief of Science and Technology Daily. His major works include: "On Tan Sitong," Exploring the Truth, "Three Challenges Confronting Marxism," "The Study of the Book of Changes and Chinese Culture," and "Chinese Society, Chinese Confucianism, and China's Modernizations."

The Liberal Teachings of the Young Liang Qichao

During period of Wushu (1898) Hundred-Days Reform, modern Chinese philosophy stepped into stage of development characterized by growth and spread of theory of evolution and of humanism. Kang Youwei, Yan Fu, Tan Sitong, and Liang Qichao were representative figures of this stage. At time, with a tremendous flair for vivid and persuasive writing, young Liang Qichao broke through bonds of feudal autocracy with ideas of humanism, used liberty to oppose slavishness, and, by approaching exploration of meaning of the freedom of self from angle of new epistemology and new ethics, Liang played a major role and exerted a widespread influence on his countrymen in their intellectual emancipation. As he himself once said: It can be said of Liang Qichao that he was Chen She in new intellectual circles. [Chen She, alias Chen Sheng, famous rebel who started peasant uprising against Qin dynasty.—Trans.] Indeed, we may say that such a moniker w...