Rituals without Rules

T'oung Pao, 2008

The Journal of Asian Studies, 2014

Early Medieval China, 2024

Journal of Chinese Studies 中國文化研究所學報 75 , 2022

​ The article aims to rethink the pluralistic intellectual currents and social changes of the last centuries in China: how literati reacted to the historical changes, the economic developments, the collapse of the hierarchical order, and the social mobility from the end of the Ming to the middle of the Qing dynasty. Urbanisation, the great silver inflow, the acceleration of trade, and social mobility raised new challenges to the orthodox view of the world and to Neo-Confucian norms. These new attitudes of the Chinese literati – which can be inferred both from literary and philosophical works – uncover new attitudes in the mental structure of the intellectual strata of the time. In the history of ideas we notice a progressive detachment from the orthodox view of the conflictual relationship between principle and desires, especially in the ambit of the Taizhou school. The elaboration of a new anthropological mindset aimed at the rehabilitation of passions and desires culminated with Li Zhi. This trend went on in the Qing period, from Wang Fuzhi to Dai Zhen. Also in literature such trend, the so-called 'cult of ​ qing​ ', can be found with the moral justification of emotion-desire (establishing emotion as a genuine and active source of virtue), and with the vitalistic identification of emotions as the source of life and reproduction. Another indication of the change of mentality is the challenge of common and accepted truisms through the praise of 'folly' in real life situations and literary works: to be 'crazy' and 'foolish' becomes a sign of distinction among certain intellectual circles, in contrast with the pedant orthodox scholars and officials and the vulgar ​ nouveaux riches​. The unconventional character of the anti-hero Baoyu is emblematic, with his aversion for any kind of official ceremony and convention, his abnormal sensibility and impractical and naïve mentality, and his consciousness of being different from others. The crisis of the established ladder of values can be seen in the exaltation of 'amoral' wisdom and in the presentation of various dimensions of love, from the idealistic sentiment of 'the talented student and the beautiful girl' to the metaphysical passion that overcomes death, and to the minimalist concept of ​ '​ love is like food​ ' in a ​ carpe diem perspective​. ​ And finally another challenge is exemplified by Yuan Mei's reflections on the concept of Heavenly Mandate, retribution, human responsibility, and historical constructions by resorting to 'abnormal' phenomena to uncover the absurdity of reality and unconscious imagery. His questions testify the polyphonic debates of the late imperial China, besides established conventions and Neo-Confucian orthodoxy. KEY WORDS : Literati, modernisation, desires and principles, Li Zhi, cult of qing, foolishness, Yuan Mei, retribution, human responsibility

Dao, 2015

ZHU Xi's 朱熹 (1130-1200) interpretations systematized the Five Classics; moreover, he elevated the "Four Books" to such a supra-canonical status that these texts along with his commentaries became the core curriculum for civil service examinations from the early 13th century to the 20th century. Inquiring into what was the essential and unique Song 宋 (960-1279) character of Classical scholarship, we will highlight the canonical Ritual Classics because these texts were crucial for centuries, especially during the Han 漢 (206 BCE-CE 220) through Tang 唐 (618-906) dynasties. We show how Zhu updated ritual practices by focusing on the Yili 儀禮 (Book of Etiquette and Ceremonies) as the crucial Classic for guidelines on etiquette, and also rebalanced the relation between rituals and moral "principles." We will explore how Zhu's systematization of moral principles and ritual did not fully resolve tensions from his major 11thcentury philosophical predecessors regarding principles and ritual, as well as the Four Books and the Five Classics. Even if DAI Zhen's 戴震 (1724-1777) criticism of Zhu was somewhat misplaced or overstated, tensions within Zhu's views provide us a basis for understanding Dai's attacks and ambivalence among Qing 清 (1644-1911) and 20th-century scholars toward ZHU Xi's philosophy.

Academia Letters, 2022

Chunyu Yi, a famous doctor of Han China, offended the nobility, who wrote a complaint letter to the Emperor Wen of Han in 176 BC. Then Chunyu Yi was escorted to the capital Chang'an and would be subjected to one of Five Corporal punishments. When Chunyu Yi was taken away, five daughters were all crying. Knowing that he had no one who could appeal 1 for him, Chunyu Yi looked at his daughters and yelled, "I will be sent to the capital for punishment right away where no woman can follow, and unfortunately, I have five daughters. If only I had a son!" Therefore, Chunyu Ti Ying, the youngest daughter, made up her mind and followed her father to the capital. Once Ti Ying arrived, she made an appeal on behalf of her father to Emperor Wen, despite knowing that, as a young girl, her appeal would likely be treated with derision and even seen as improper conduct. To save her father, she took a novel approach in her appeal. Instead of writing about her father's good nature and accomplishments to show he deserved leniency, as might have been expected, she instead wrote about the legal tradition of Five Punishments, showing how cruel and unethical they were. Emperor Wen was moved by Ti Ying's letter. Later on, Chunyu Yi was released, and corporal punishment was abolished. In China, the story is seen as an excellent example of traditional ethics, Xiao, which means filial piety in English. Thus it was presented by many kinds of media, including television series, court drama, movies, and cartoons. This paper focuses on discussing the conflicts 1 In pre-modern China, women did not have a say in the court nor society, unless they had some special status.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 10/3, 422–24., 2000

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2014

Ming Studies

Reading beyond the visual surface, this paper examines the symbolic meaning of flowers, and of men wearing flowers in Chen Hongshou’s (1598–1652) Sheng’an Wearing Flowers in His Hair. It explores the inner world of Chen Hongshou and attempts to understand the message the artist meant to convey to his intended audience. Looking into the subject matter of the artwork, the paper also investigates how the life experience of Yang Shen (1488–1559) echoed that of the artist. The paper argues that Sheng’an Wearing Flowers in His Hair reflects the artist’s lament about Ming society and politics, and it symbolizes the contradictory aspects of Chen’s life at the end of the Ming dynasty. KEYWORDS: Yang Shen楊慎, Chen Hongshou, zan hua 簪花 (wear flowers), yinyi 隱逸 (recluse), rushi 入世 and chushi 出世 (engage and disengage)