Categories of exemplary persons such as the sage (shengren 聖人), the gentleman (junzi 君子) and the worthy (xian 賢) play a significant role in the Confucian tradition. Oftentimes interpreted as...Show moreCategories of exemplary persons such as the sage (shengren 聖人), the gentleman (junzi 君子) and the worthy (xian 賢) play a significant role in the Confucian tradition. Oftentimes interpreted as embodiments of moral quality, virtue and skill, these exemplars serve as admirable ideals for Confucian thinkers throughout history. This thesis, by using Zagzebski’s theory of exemplarism as an interpretative framework, examines the views of Ming Neo-Confucian thinker Luo Qinshun 羅欽順 (1465 – 1547 CE) on exemplary persons in the Kunzhiji 困知記. With a specific focus on admiration and emulation, this thesis argues that Luo considers the sage, the gentleman and the worthy to be part of an orderly sequence of attainment, in which the sage stands as the ultimate exemplary person, but that Luo’s primary objects of admiration are the virtues and qualities involved in the pursuit to become a sage rather than the actual state of sagehood itself.Show less
