Harmony as a contested metaphor and conceptions of rightness (yi) in early Confucian ethics

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

7-2011

Abstract

The ideal of harmony is often singled out as central to Chinese philosophy and distinctive of the East Asian value system as a whole. In recent years, indeed, some governments in Asia have looked to the virtue of harmony in building social cohesion and national identity. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the meaning of harmony in Chinese thought, for it remains very much a diffused concept, embedded in not one but a host of concepts such as “unity of heaven and human beings” (tianren hey), “great unity” (datong), “great peace” (taiping), and the “doctrine of the mean” (zhongyong). In this discussion, I focus on the concept of he, which is arguably the most basic among concepts that convey a sense of harmony in Chinese philosophy. In particular, I explore the concept of he as a contested metaphor, between harmony in music and the artful blending of different ingredients in cooking. A different logic, it seems to me, guides their construal of harmony. On this basis, I examine also the concept of “rightness” (yi) in early Confucian ethics, focusing on some of the Guodian bamboo texts and especially the Mencius, in which he, signifi cantly, I believe, receives little attention.

Discipline

Ethics and Political Philosophy | Philosophy

Research Areas

Integrative Research Areas

Publication

How should one live? Comparing ethics in ancient China and Greco-Roman antiquity

Editor

R. A. H. King & Dennis Schilling

First Page

37

Last Page

62

ISBN

9783110252873

Identifier

10.1515/9783110252897.37

Publisher

De Gruyter

City or Country

Berlin

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110252897.37

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