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Facets of the Self in Early Modern China: Escape from Authoritarian and Moralistic Predicaments Paolo Santangelo

Facets of the Self in Early Modern China: Escape from Authoritarian and Moralistic Predicaments by Paolo Santangelo

“Nuanced, sweeping, well argued, and on the important subject of the self negotiating between external morality and legal authority, this study is relevant to issues today. Santangelo uses a wide variety of resources from the fields of literature, philosophy, religious studies, and newer subfields including olfactory studies, and more—all of which he impressively and ably analyzes, bringing together and thereby creating bridges between traditional disciplinary fields." —Pauline Lee, Saint Louis University

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  • Formats Hardcover, Digital
  • Hardcover ISBN 9781638571896
  • Pages 432
  • Date April 2025
  • Size 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm

This book is part of the Cambria Sinophone World Series, headed by Victor Mair (University of Pennsylvania).

In his earlier work, Individual Autonomy and Responsibility in Late Imperial China, Paolo Santangelo embarked on an incisive analysis of Li Zhi’s philosophical contributions, noting the necessity to compile evidence underscoring the significance of individual freedom and responsibility. This led him to explore the reevaluation of the individual from the latter part of the Ming dynasty to the early Qing dynasty. His aim was to trace the evolution of the valorization of individual will and desire, culminating in the construction of a more autonomous selfhood. Drawing on an extensive array of sources from both Eastern and Western traditions and spanning various disciplines, Santangelo’s study meticulously addresses questions of philosophical and ethical comparability. This book stands as a vital resource not only for those engaged in Chinese intellectual history and moral philosophy but also for scholars interested in understanding these issues on a global scale.

“Nuanced, sweeping, well argued, and on the important subject of the self negotiating between external morality and legal authority, this study is relevant to issues today. Santangelo uses a wide variety of resources from the fields of literature, philosophy, religious studies, and newer subfields including olfactory studies, and more—all of which he impressively and ably analyzes, bringing together and thereby creating bridges between traditional disciplinary fields. The subject of the self, describing resources within Ming-Qing China for thinking about the individual, as well as comparing these views to contemporary ideas about the self, is a significant and important scholarly topic. Santangelo is more than well equipped to take on this challenge, and he does it admirably well.” —Pauline Lee, Saint Louis University

Paolo Santangelo is Professor Emeritus of East Asian history at Sapienza University of Roma, and Editor-in-Chief of Ming Qing Studies. His books include Individual Autonomy and Responsibility in Late Imperial China, Sentimental Education in Chinese History: An Interdisciplinary Textual Research in Ming and Qing Sources, Materials for an Anatomy of Personality in Late Imperial China, Shan’ge, the ‘Mountain Songs’: Love Songs in Ming China (coauthored with Oki Yasushi), Zibuyu, “What the Master Would Not Discuss”, according to Yuan Mei (1716-1798): A Collection of Supernatural Stories (in cooperation with Yan Beiwen), Passion, Romance and Qing: The World of Emotions and States of Mind in Peony Pavilion (coauthored with Tian Yuan Tan), Revisiting Liaozhai zhiyi, and The Culture of Love in China and Europe (with Gábor Boros).

Introduction

Part I: Representations of the Self

Chapter 1. Confucianisms: Virtue or Law

Chapter 2. Dyads “Public/Private” and Principle/Desires-Emotion

Part II: Attempts for the Construction of a New Self

Chapter 3. Wang Yangming: The Mind as Principle (Si and Yiti)

Chapter 4. A New Social and Intellectual Atmosphere

Chapter 5. Li Zhi: Autonomy from Invasive Law and Imposed Virtue

Chapter 6. Chen Que, Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, Yan Yuan

Chapter 7. Chen Hongmou, Dai Zhen, Yuan Mei and Other Writers

Conclusions: Toward a New Anthropological Vision?

Bibliography

Index

  • 2026 Cambria Press

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