Authority and Welfare in China Modern Debates in Historical Perspective [Paperback]

This book describes the relationship between political authoritarianism and people's welfare in modern China. Based on a study of Chinese political discourse from the 1898 reform period to the present, the book demonstrates that support for authoritarian rule in modern China is best understood when compared to ancient political traditions of authority and welfare that were established in China's late Zhou dynasty by the Confucian philosopher Xunzi (298-238 BC).Preface Introduction PART ONE: ANCIENT AUTHORITY AND WELFARE Authority and Welfare in the Ancient Confucian Texts Kang Youwei Liang Qichao PART TWO: REVOLUTIONARY AUTHORITY AND WELFARE Sun Yatsen Mao Zedong Deng Xiaoping PART THREE: NEW AUTHORITY AND WELFARE The 'New Authoritarian' Debates of the Late 1980s The Impact of Tiananmen Conclusion Notes and References Bibliography Index

'In this thought-provoking study, Michael Twohey persuasively argues that the Confucian conception of the relationship between authority and welfare, informed by Xunzi's political thought, is a pertinent frame of reference for understanding contemporary Chinese statecraft. He has demontrated that familiarity with Xunzi's ideas of group, natural inquality and great harmony can significantly enhance our appreciation of the rhetoric and ritural of exercising power in the People's Republic of China. His analysis of the debates on New Authoritarianism offers a fresh perspective on democracy and socialism in China.' - Tu Weiming, Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy, Harvard University and Director, Harvard-Yenching Institute

'Michael Twohey sets aside the long-standing disposition to see political arguments in China in the past hundred years from a liberal or Marxist point of view, argues that to call them 'Confucian' is too simple, and demonstrates their strikingly pragmatic continuity from Kang through Sun Yat-sen and the early Mao and Deng to the present. The result is a clear, powerful and persuasive ilƒ-