This essay aims to answer the question: how did Su Shi’s literati aesthetic reflect his intellectual construction based on the influence of Confucianism and Daoism? In the first chapter, I will...Show moreThis essay aims to answer the question: how did Su Shi’s literati aesthetic reflect his intellectual construction based on the influence of Confucianism and Daoism? In the first chapter, I will briefly trace the conceptual history of the term “art” and the role of painting within it in the discourse of Chinese philosophy. The legitimacy of conducting a philosophical investigation of Su Shi's diverse writing materials about art is deeply rooted in the characteristic nature of the Chinese concept of art and culture, demonstrating how art forms of painting and writing should be treated according to a unitary principle that underpins core literati spirit and ideology. In the second and third chapters, I will explore how the development of Neo-Confucianism and the influence of Daoist master Zhuangzi shaped Su Shi’s thinking and aesthetics. It will be done by analysing concepts and arguments from both his philosophical writings for official exams and aesthetical writings in his leisure time. Su Shi’s aesthetic theory emphasizes the harmonious integration of individual cultivation and natural spontaneity, demonstrating his adherence to both Confucian metaphysics and Daoist ideals. By concentrating on his theory of human nature, subject-object relationship and literati as unstrained talent, Su Shi’s model of literati bears the double faces of Confucian scholar and Daosim hermit, which constantly embodied the existential controversiality of chasing a pragmatical aim of a successful life as official-scholars and withdrawing oneself from it.Show less
Multiple government Social Credit Systems (SCSs) are being piloted in China in response to the growing calls from the population that there is a breakdown of trust within society. Previous research...Show moreMultiple government Social Credit Systems (SCSs) are being piloted in China in response to the growing calls from the population that there is a breakdown of trust within society. Previous research finds that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are employing a surveillant construction to unite the heterogenous elements of the country using Big Data (BD), including; Chinese individuals, companies, social organizations and government agencies. This thesis focuses on how Foucault’s, Deleuze & Guatarri’s and Jäger’s interpretation of the ‘dispositive’ is being updated onto the digital platform of the SCS. Conducting Siegfried Jäger’s ‘Dispositive Analysis’ over a 3 × 3 analysis framework which includes the three perspectives of Apparatus, Articulation and Assemblage over the three modalities of Law, Ethical and Utilitarian, the thesis presents how the CCP are reconstructing cyberspace for the application of the SCS. More importantly, this research finds that the CCP are drawing upon traditional Confucian & Daoist morals and ethics as the basis for the SCS’s functionality, shaping the actions and behavioural patterns of the population.Show less
The word Xian仙, by its graphic form recorded in Shuowen Jiezi (说文解字, the earliest Chinese Dictionary), is glossed as “man in mountain”. Another form of this word in Shuowen Jiezi is 僊, which is...Show moreThe word Xian仙, by its graphic form recorded in Shuowen Jiezi (说文解字, the earliest Chinese Dictionary), is glossed as “man in mountain”. Another form of this word in Shuowen Jiezi is 僊, which is glossed as “long-lived and ascended”. It implicitly signifies a picture on which a recluse is meditating by a mountain cave. In the theory of religious Daoism, such transcendental recluses are often named as “True-man”(Zhenren真人) or “Immortal” (Xian Ren仙人), who are Daoist practitioners having attained the Dao. Mountains, as the places where immortals attain the Dao and achieve their transcendence, are one of the most significant natural beings for Daoists and are positioned in the core of Daoist practices. It is through the practices of Daoists in mountain caves that Daoists gradually constructed their sacred geography centering on mountains. As Daoist sacred mountains are the locus of transcendence and sanctity for Daoists, the Daoist sacred geography--- in other words, the narrative of the way to perceive their sacred landscapes, can shed light on the contour of the Daoist history in early medieval China. In this regard, a theory explaining the historical process of the construction of the Daoist sacred geography has been put forward by Ge Zhaoguang葛兆光, to generalize the Daoist history as a history of Daoist surrendering to the imperial power. In his book A History of Surrender: A Study on the Thoughts of Religious Daoism in the Six Dynasties and Sui-Tang period (222-907 AD), he proposed that the Daoist thoughts, knowledge, and rituals were “purified” by a long-term self-reform to attain the orthodoxy approval from the state regimes; Daoist lineages were denigrated to be “the others” by the official ideology (mostly Confucianism); the legitimacy of Daoist narratives is constructed by the discourse of power. From the sense of Michel Foucault, the history of religious Daoism is a fabulous illustration of the theory of power structure. It is mainly from the three aspects that Ge Zhaoguang argues his theory. The first one is that the socio-militarized structure of twenty-four dioceses was transformed as imagined geography of cavern heavens and blessed lands, which means Daoists lost their socio-military power in the secular world. The second one is that many significant rites and ceremonies, such as “the rites of passage”(Guodu Yi過度儀) and “charcoal-painting ceremonies” (Tutan Zhai塗炭齋), were removed by Daoists themselves to get away from the moral criticism from Confucianists and Buddhists. In addition, the ritualistic knowledge and magics of Daoism were shadowed by the prevailed metaphysical teachings and mysterious philosophies in order to cater to the tastes of Confucian intellectuals and other imperial cultural elites. Ge Zhaoguang concludes that religious Daoism acknowledged its allegiance to the imperial power by castrating some of its most featured knowledge and skills. Although there have been commentary articles on his theory, no one has ever responded to it by a study on the construction of the Daoist sacred geography. In this thesis, I will examine his theory by responding to the three aspects.Show less
The Liezi is often regarded as the most important Daoist document after the Laozi and the Zhuangzi (both dating from the Warring States period; 475-221 BCE), yet the existing academic literature...Show moreThe Liezi is often regarded as the most important Daoist document after the Laozi and the Zhuangzi (both dating from the Warring States period; 475-221 BCE), yet the existing academic literature leaves a large gap on the philosophical significance of the Liezi, mainly because it is widely considered a forgery of the fourth or fifth century. Philosophically, the Liezi applies Daoist principles to human destiny by example of the Daoist sage, who despite his humanness, is said to be invulnerable. This is contrasted with ordinary people, who perceive their life as a series of fortunate and/or unfortunate events that either were happening as a result of their free will or were determined by forces beyond human control. Whereas for ordinary people free will and determinism are two separate entities, sages unify the manifestations of both concepts within themselves, realizing free will and determinism to be the same but two viewpoints on life which arise naturally due to the duality of existence. By examining the interrelationship between destiny and the sage based on its Daoist metaphysics, this study on the Liezi shows how the seemingly paradoxical relation between free will and determinism is reconciled in personal freedom and happiness through Daoist self-cultivation.Show less
This study analyzes the experience of Daoism in the Netherlands among practitioners of three body practices: taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao. It describes how this ancient Chinese tradition has...Show moreThis study analyzes the experience of Daoism in the Netherlands among practitioners of three body practices: taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao. It describes how this ancient Chinese tradition has found its place in the daily life of practitioners of three “Daoist” body practices and how the practitioners experience Daoism. Through analyzing qualitative interviews with teachers and students practicing taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao, this thesis shows that Daoism in the Netherlands is mostly experienced as a practical guideline and serves as the basis for these body practices. For a significant number of practitioners, Daoism is applicable everywhere and gives meaning to life. It explains the world around the practitioners without requiring a strong “belief” in anything. Some practitioners connect Daoism and their body practice to its Chinese origin, whereas others believe the underlying principles are the most important. Through this analyzation, it becomes clear that Daoism is experienced stronger in the Netherlands than was expected prior to this research.Show less
A comparative analysis between the concept of emptiness in the Buddhist and Daoist tradition. A general introduction of the Buddhist tradition was given, followed by a specific discussion of the...Show moreA comparative analysis between the concept of emptiness in the Buddhist and Daoist tradition. A general introduction of the Buddhist tradition was given, followed by a specific discussion of the Madhyamaka school and its concept of śūnyatā. Śūnyatā designates the absence of an intrinsic essence to any aspect of existence and can thus be considered a form of philosophical emptiness. This was followed by an analysis of the Daoist tradition, which deals with emptiness in multiple forms: its central concept of ‘way-making’, the notion of spatiality, and the ethically relevant wu-forms. Finally, a comparison between Daoist and Buddhist forms of emptiness was offered. Both philosophies consider the meaning of emptiness to involve the ambiguity of linguistic definition, the utility of spatial or causal receptivity, and the ethics of selflessness. In the conclusion, emptiness was offered up as a philosophical through-line that can unite disparate schools of thought and provide the foundation for a more global philosophy.Show less
