On the Margins of the Grand Unity: Empire, Violence, and Ethnicity in the Virtue Ethics and Political Practice of Wang Yangming (1472--1529)

Previous interpretations of the relationship between Wang Yangming's Neo-Confucian philosophy---his learning of the mind-heart---and his political career (practice) have generally been framed in the larger context of a reading of Neo-Confucianism as a whole. Condemnatory interpretations of Neo-Confucian philosophy yield an agent of feudal ethics and autocratic despotism engaging in acts of repression; celebratory interpretations yield a man of passionate humanity responding to his conscience. This study eschews a simplistic reading of Wang Yangming's actions and policies as an official by showing the promises and limitations of his political philosophy and ethics as he went about the process of defining the situations of conflict he confronted, determining the identities and motivations of those caught up in them, and deciding on what he believed to be a just course of action. Indeed, the assumptions he brought to the table about human nature and the ends of political life at times opened up the possibility for dialogue and a peaceful resolution of conflict, while at others leading to employment of the military instrument. By placing Wang Yangming's ethical philosophy in the context of his official career, it becomes evident that his most fundamental notions were inseparable from the paternalistic civilizing practices of Ming empire, with all the consequences this entailed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Israel, George Lawrence

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chow, Kai-Wing

• History, Asia, Australia and Oceania

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3337804

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/84693