The book History of Chinese Political Thought. by LIANG CHI-CHAO in a kojevian perspective Ari Marcelo SOLON The book History of Chinese Political Thought. By LIANG CHI-CHAO. was compiled from a series of lectures delivered by Liang Chi-Chao to students of law and politics in 1922. The first part of the book consists of a study in history and theory of the origins and nature of Chinese political philosophy as it was developed by intellectuals who lived during the late Chou and Tsin periods . In these first chapters we find a general overview of the characteristics of the Taoist, Confucian, and Legalist schools, with special attention to Mencius, Hsun Tzu, and Moti. The second part of the book consists on the analysis of the Chinese traditional doctrines focusing on different sorts of political questions. More specifically, the author separates his analysis in several chapters: "On Chinese Theocracy," "On Democratic Ideals," "Politics and Ethics," "Unification Movement," "Disarmament Movement," and "On People's Rights. Confucianism in particular was one of the most important traditional Chinese state ideology. Its teachings were centered on family ethics as preached by the founders of this philosophy. The community was conceived as an extended family. The emperor was regarded as the son of Heaven ruling by divine mandate and was expected to care for his subjects as a father cares for his children. Officials were called “father-mother officials”. The concept of theocracy and the idea of family tied together give rise to the term “Son of Heaven.” The whole universe is but one large family. This thought is simple, but embodies a very high political ideal. The concept of the individual and his rights did not exist in traditional Chinese philosophy. The human being was not conceived of as an abstract and autonomous entity possessing qualities which may be described in the language of rights. Accordingly, the human being was defined by the social human relationships in which he inserted and the realization of human nature was closely related to the fulfillment of the moral obligations associated with one‟s social roles. In ancient China there were no individuals as such - there were only sons, daughters, parents, husbands, wives, subjects, rulers, ministers, etc. That gives rise to the emphasis on the social nature of men .The human being is inextricably and at all times embedded in multiple sets of interpersonal relationships, and society is no more than a network of familial and other human relationships. The Confucians preach benevolence (ren), and it should begin with one‟s family members and kin and only then extend into other human relationships He points out that „ren ‟ („jen‟) which may be translated as benevolence, is a sense of sympathy for, and identification and solidarity with one‟s own kind. This sense is described in this English translation of Liang‟s book as „fellow-feeling. The ideal state of Confucian political thinking is that every man should develop his fellow-feeling to the maximum degree, and so construct a world in which the doctrine of “Jen ” rules. This is called the Great Commonwealth.‟
In this moral universe, there are five cardinal relationships: ruler-minister, father-son, elder brother-younger brother, husband-wife, and friend-friend. Three of these relationships are between family members, and the other two are also supposed to be modeled on family relationships. These social interactions involve reciprocal moral expectations as well as (in the cases of the first four relationships) authority, obedience and subordination, which provide the basis of a hierarchical social and political order. Proper behaviour is secured by social pressure regarding observance of the “li” - traditional customary norms of propriety, rites, rituals and ceremonies expressing the requirements and expectations associated with various social roles and human relationships. It was believed that the li was the keystone for moral self-cultivation, personal character growth and social harmony Rulers were expected to teach the people these moral norms, and to serve themselves as ethical examples: „The Confucian political methods ... depend much upon saintly emperors and virtuous officers ... the work of a statesman is that of an educator‟; But moral righteousness was not only expected of the sovereign. If he was expected to lead by integrity and incorruptible moral standards, his subjects were expected to recognize that. Therefore, the cardinal virtues to be promoted among the population included loyalty to the ruler (zhong) and filial piety to parents ( xiao). The predominance of the ethics of familial and human relationships was clearly one of the most salient characteristics of Chinese civilization. The subordination of the individual to the family contributes to the absence of the concept of an autonomous, self-sufficient and rights-possessing individual. The strong moralistic overtone of Chinese traditional culture, together with the importance given to social harmony and Nature also worked against the emergence of any idea of individual rights. Confucian moral thinking draws a sharp opposition between “yi” (rightness or righteousness) and “li” (gain or profit - the Chinese character for this is entirely different from that for “li” mentioned above as meaning norms of propriety). Moral righteousness lies in acting in accordance with the moral law, with one‟s conscience, with one‟s duties to the other party of the social relationship (e.g. a family member). The key to that lies in disregarding one‟s self-interest (which is regarded as a reflection of selfishness) and engaging oneself in self-sacrificial devotion to others. Any assertion of personal interests (which may occasionally be represented by “rights”) is morally questionable and illegitimate, for the morally good person is one who is unselfish and who cares for others more than he cares for himself. The ideal subjects is the one who is complaisant - willing to yield (“ yang”), compromise and give concessions in situations of conflict between his interests and those of others. That is the reason why litigation was not encouraged as a means for dispute settlement (mediation and out-of-court settlement were preferred and seen as more compatible with social harmony). The idea of individual rights (in the sense of self-interest put forward through legitimate claims amidst conflict situations) is totally inconsistent with Chinese moral idealism, focused on the protection of a “fiduciary community” constituted by networks of human relationships characterized by shared values, self-restraint, mutual deference, and feelings of solidarity.