The Junzi doth protest: Toward a philosophy of remonstrance in Confucianism (Lu Xun).

摘要

This dissertation focuses on the Confucian value of remonstrance ( jian) and explores the degree to which remonstrance as a form of protest is a key value within the Confucian tradition. My claim is that the literature has undervalued the role of jian; that, in fact, jian serves as a critical counterpoint to sentiments of reciprocity, deference, and benevolence within the tradition. Furthermore, I argue that jian becomes an especially significant strategy for harmonizing values and practices in times when forces for change and continuity are in complex collision.; My point of departure will be with the works of Lu Xun, a fiction writer and cultural critic during the early years of the 20th century, and I will explore the degree to which he instantiates the value of jian and the role that it plays in his theory of "grabbism" (nalai zhuyi). While Lu Xun is conventionally perceived and portrayed as being anti-Confucian, I will present a reading that counters this depiction and contend that such a reading of Lu Xun will serve to clarify the creative dimension of remonstrance.; The two propositions that frame this dissertation are: (1) Remonstrance as a form of protest is integral to Confucianism and, (2) Lu Xun's protest remains within the Confucian tradition While the first will be my primary focus, I intend to establish these as interrelated propositions, the latter providing the context in which to more fully grasp the former. My methodology will rely not on analytic process; rather I will develop a narrative understanding of jian through an exploration of how this term is used within a particular historical instance, in this case by focusing on the nature of Lu Xun's critique of Confucianism during the period of New Culture Movement. Such an extensive method is consistent with the Confucian tradition's own way of understanding its key terms and Lu Xun, through modeling the technique of jian, can be seen as the functional equivalent of the principle of protest at work. Commentary on this relationship will take place within a Deweyan framework.