How should we use the Chinese past? Contemporary Confucianism, the 'reorganization of the national heritage' and non-Western histories of thought in a global age. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jenco, Leigh
• Other Names: Jenco Leigh guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: European journal of political theory. Volume 16:Number 4(2017)
• Page Start: 450
• Page End: 469
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: History of political thought -- Chinese political thought -- May Fourth movement -- Confucianism -- modernisation -- national heritage -- comparative political theory -- comparative philosophy; Political science -- Periodicals; Political science -- Europe -- Periodicals; 320.05
• DOI: 10.1177/1474885117703768
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-8851

Abstract

In this essay I argue that recent philosophical attempts to 'modernise' Confucianism rehearse problematic relationships to the past that – far from broadening Confucianism's appeal beyond its typical borders – end up narrowing its scope as a source of scholarly knowledge. This is because the very attempt to modernise assumes a rupture with a past in which Confucianism was once alive and relevant, fixing its identity to a static historical place disconnected from the present. I go on to explore alternative means of situating past thought to present inquiry, by examining a debate among early 20th-century Chinese intellectuals over the value of their past heritage in a modern age. Their diverse responses undermine the certainty of a singular or persistent Chinese past, enabling a creative presentism that encourages deliberate filiation with alternative 'tracks' of past practice and thought.