The torments of contemporary Chinese thought
The torments of contemporary Chinese thought. Cairn’s Montly Dossiers, n° 11, May 2018 [En ligne]. URL : https://mailchi.mp/cairn/dossier-11-contemporary-chinese-thought (consulté le 28 janvier 2019)
Le dossier comprend en particulier :
- un article d’Anne Cheng (Collège de France/CCJ-CECMC) : « L’universalité vue de la Chine » paru en 2011 dans la revue Vacarme. L’article est en libre accès.
- une “Carte blanche given to Laure Zhang” : il s’agit d’un entretien avec Laure Zhang (Université de Genève/CCJ-CECMC) intitulé “Narcissistic Sinocentrism”.
Présentation
Faced with the Western conception of universal values, many Chinese intellectuals argue for a historicist conception of civilization. Inspired by a school of thought born in Germany after the French Revolution in reaction to the Enlightenment, they defend the idea that values are specific to particular national identities. They attack the hegemonic claim of Western values, contrasting them with a specifically “Chinese way.” Their goal is a “universal civilization” based on “Chinese values.” Many draw on the classical authors of ancient China to justify this view in an age of globalization. Some promote a rehabilitation of the philosophy of “tianxia,” present in classical thought from the sixth century BC onwards, for which China is not only the center of the world but the world itself.
Several French-language journals have published texts by Chinese intellectuals warning more or less directly against this trend and the danger it runs of stirring up short-sighted nationalism. Opposing “Chinese values” to “Western values” reinforces a rejection of democratic values in general, and so justifies a “neo-authoritarian” regime.
Our selection:
Xu Jiling, Anne Cheng, Zhou Lian, Jean-François Billeter.
And also:
Zhao Tingyang, Ji Zhe.
Carte blanche given to Laure Zhang.
Lire le Dossier n° 11 (Mai 2018)
En savoir plus sur les Dossiers mensuels de Cairn : https://www.cairn-int.info/dossiers
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Monique Abud (28 janvier 2019). The torments of contemporary Chinese thought. Carnets du Centre Chine (CNRS/EHESS). Consulté le 19 avril 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/mgry