Confucian China and Its Modern Fate: The Problem of Intellectual Continuity

Confucian China and Its Modern Fate #1

by Joseph Richmond Levenson

Later edition of the first in the trilogy, published under this title.

Genres: China

246 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

To really get the most out of this book, it feels like one needs an education on classical to modern (20th Century) Chinese history. This includes philosophical and political development, the reaction to Christianity, social turmoil periods such as the Taiping Rebellion (over 10 million dead!), the Boxer Rebellion and more including classical painters. There are small, B&W reproductions of some kep painting, but that is not enough. One interesting part for me was the parallelism of through with Greek development. I particularly reacted to the growth of idealism in Chinese philosophy, particularly nominalism, and the contrasting views of realism. Now the issues there confound me and I don't feel I have the acumen and knowledge to delineate let along decide, but it did give me the idea that there is a natural development in philosophical thought that occurs in stages natively only for the first civilizations to reach that point. (Eventually others can just "read the book" and miss the opportunity of de novo though evolution.) That is, the ideal must be conceived of in a non- or post-religious sense and organized schools defining and refuting its reality must develop. Very few civilizations have proven that capability.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read Modern China and its Confucian Past: The Problem of Intellectual Continuity, published by Doubleday 1964, but Goodreads apparently didn't have that version. Levenson looks at Confucian thought in China starting in the late Ming Dynasty and running through the Communist takeover. Overall, he writes succinctly and with a clarity of thought unfortunately no longer seen in more recent, mealy-mouthed politically correct tracts. The work is not for the person of passing general interest, as Levenson assumes one knows basic facts about Chinese history already, and he frequently incorporates Chinese words (transliterated) to illustrate important ideas, though he does translate them at least the first time he uses them.

Levenson makes the case that by the 19th century, even Chinese "traditionalists" were no longer following in the molds of their recent ancestors by virtue of the fact that they were having to react to Western ideas and influences, to include defending Chinese ideas and values. He examines also syncretists who sought to incorporate material elements of Western civilization while embracing indigenous values, nationalists who also sought to preserve elements of traditional culture, nationalists who sought to objectively embrace "the best" without regard to culture, and, of course the Communists.

Levenson's analysis leaves the reader little doubt why the Communists had the advantage over the other groups competing for the soul of China. His analysis of the power politics involved between foreign powers and various Chinese groups in the post-Opium War period is as insightful as it is piercing.

The work is a combination of intellectual history and analysis of art history, the latter coming as some surprise given it is not really mentioned in the book title. Levenson's use of "northern" and "southern" school of painting in the Ming period usefully illustrates elements of the prevailing Confucian thought, as well as the more (heterodox vice doctrinaire) practical applications of it in reality. However, it seemed that Levenson's focus on Chinese art went beyond such cursory illustration and became a significant focus of the book, to include eight pages of Chinese artwork in a book otherwise lacking pictures or illustrations.

Overall, I felt the book contributed to my understanding of China and especially its Confucian elements, which continue to exercise an influence on Chinese culture today. However, I would not recommend this as a starting point for understanding China, but rather as something to add to a list of other books. I would also point out the large focus devoted to Chinese art to anyone reading this expecting it to stay focuses only on philosophy and thought.