Some Tendencies of Contemporary Chinese Philosophy

As symbols of adaptability and transformation, together with qualities of vigilance and intelligence, we argue the relevance of dragons for spatial planning in China. We develop a metaphorical concept – the green dragon – for grasping the condition of contemporary Chinese societies and for facilitating the development of theories and practices of spatial planning which are able to face the challenges of rapid change. We ask Chinese scholars and spatial planners to liberate Deleuzian potential for strategic spatial planning in a ‘becoming-between, coming-together’ of concepts which can effectively make a difference in the world. Having outlined what we regard as key transversals or diagonals between our reading of Gilles Deleuze and aspects of Chinese philosophy, we then offer the metaphor of strategic spatial planning as Chinese literati landscape painting. This is a form of painting which rejects the idea of the world being supremely organised from a particular point of view, preferring to paint immanence and transformation. Chinese literati landscape paintings, like philosophy and strategic spatial planning, ‘look only at the movements’. We conclude that connections between what concepts of Chinese philosophy and those of Gilles Deleuze can do, suggest that in China, a conception of strategic spatial planning as metaphorical green dragon may offer academics and planning practitioners a transverse way to relate the legacies of past philosophies and current thinking.

Download Full-text

Beyond Murderous Dialectics

Asian Studies ◽

10.4312/as.2019.7.1.37-54 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 37-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fabian HEUBEL

Keyword(s):

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Socialist Revolution ◽

Dialectical Thinking ◽

Mou Zongsan ◽

Chinese Characteristics ◽

Book Of Changes ◽

Paradoxical Thinking ◽

The One ◽

The Ancient Chinese ◽

Contemporary Chinese

This essay has been inspired by the writings of the contemporary Neo-Confucian philosopher Mou Zongsan and the German sinologist Wolfgang Bauer. It assumes that the power of Mao Zedong’s thought sprung from its ability to systematically subordinate the transformative philosophy of the classical Book of Changes to the Marxist model of revolutionary class struggle. If dialectical thinking requires thought to think against itself and thereby be able to continuously change itself from the inside, Mao seems to have been a master of dialectical thinking. One of the intellectual impulses for the Great Cultural Revolution was the radically unsentimental judgement that, in order for the socialist revolution to succeed, it was necessary to erase the ancient Chinese legacy of paradoxical thinking, and that this was a precondition of the possibility of Mao’s Sino-Marxist discourse. But the enormous power that Mao’s thought derived from the tension between revolutionary heroism and transformative flexibility revealed itself as self-destructive. Mao tried to fight against the failure of his revolutionary vision and the possibility that the wisdom of paradoxical thinking and the classical heritage of China could, finally, gain the upper hand in the ongoing struggle for modernization. From this perspective, this essay touches upon a contradiction, which can be understood as the principle contradiction of contemporary Chinese philosophy: the contradiction between the defence of Sino-Marxism as the ideological foundation of a “socialism with Chinese characteristics” on the one hand, and the renaissance of traditional culture and classical learning on the other, which entails a powerful challenge to this very foundation.

Download Full-text

The Design Theory of Contemporary “Chinese” Fashion

Design Issues ◽

10.1162/desi_a_00550 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 64-75

Author(s):

Christine Tsui

Keyword(s):

Design Theory ◽

Chinese Character ◽

Chinese Philosophy ◽

The Body ◽

Republic Of China ◽

The Social ◽

Design Theories ◽

Contemporary Chinese ◽

Depth Interviews ◽

Primary Form

This paper examines the basic design theories underpinning contemporary Chinese fashion by exploring a fundamental question: are there any common features that can be summarized about Chinese fashion, and, if yes, what is Chinese fashion? Chinese fashion in this paper means clothing that is in “Chinese” style and designed by People's Republic of China (PRC) designers. To answer the specific question, I undertook in-depth interviews with selected Chinese designers and then supplemented these with a textual analysis of interviews published previously in prominent Chinese fashion journals. This study shows the Chinese style exhibiting features of “implied beauty” in aesthetic, flat form in shape, and harmony in spirit. I synthesize the three features into one Chinese character, HE. HE literally encompasses rich meanings: harmony, peace, implicit but evoking, reserved, pure, natural, and any synonyms of these words. The character indicates an implied beauty system of China—presenting the beauty in an implicit and subtle form. Implied beauty urges viewers to imagine the beauty that is between visibility and invisibility under the clothing, rather than to sense the beauty by directly seeing the body of the wearer through the eyes. The primary form in Chinese style clothing as a reflection of implied beauty is the flat form, meaning that the clothing is cut without any darts or seam lines to reduce the volume differences between the bust line, the waist line, and the hip line. The cutting hides body rather than reveals body. Finally, in spirit Chinese fashion reflects the core Chinese philosophy of harmony, which means being in tune with both the social and the natural environment.

Download Full-text

Das Können des Nichtkönnens und das Tun ohne Tun

Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie ◽

10.1515/dzph-2021-0064 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 783-800

Author(s):

Lài Xísān

Keyword(s):

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Starting Point ◽

Contemporary Chinese

Abstract In this essay, Christoph Menke’s “aesthetics of force” converses with contemporary Chinese philosophy, especially with the field of Transcultural Research in the Zhuāngzǐ conducted in Taiwan. The starting point of the following reflections is that “the artist is able to be unable” (der Künstler kann das Nichtkönnen). How can we philosophically describe a way of doing that retains self-awareness in the midst of self-forgetfulness? What Zhuāngzǐ discusses is an aesthetic cultivation of “contemplative perception” (Schau/guān 觀) in the midst of doing. His language is able to describe and interpret from within a way of doing that refrains from purposeful action. Menke’s approach corresponds with my reflections on Daoism and the book Zhuāngzǐ developed in recent years. Particularly important in this context is the exploration of relating aesthetics to ethical and political questions through an aesthetic transformation of subjectivity. Following the linguistic dynamics associated with the transcultural interweaving of texts, this essay connects Menke’s interpretation of Nietzsche and my interpretation of the Zhuāngzǐ. In so doing, I hope to set in motion a change in thinking on both sides.

Download Full-text

Aesthetic cultivation and creative ascesis: Transcultural reflections on the late Foucault

Human Affairs ◽

10.1515/humaff-2017-0032 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Fabian Heubel

Keyword(s):

Chinese Philosophy ◽

Historical Context ◽

Theory Formation ◽

The Third ◽

Theoretical Structure ◽

Contemporary Chinese

AbstractFoucault’s understanding of the history and contemporary significance of ascetic practices or exercises of cultivation (ascesis) differs significantly from attempts which consider the renewal of asceticism in spiritual or even religious terms. This paper tries to show that he thought about related problems from the perspective of aesthetic cultivation. The first part will discuss his analysis of sexuality within the broader context of his theory-formation and elaborate on the theoretical structure of his concept of self-cultivation. In the second part I will situate the idea of creative ascesis in a broader historical context. The third part will provide a preliminary perspective on the transcultural significance of relating Foucault and contemporary Chinese philosophy.

Download Full-text