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ABSTRACT
This work is a thought experiment in re-interpreting the virtue of li or ritual/propriety for the contemporary, multi-cultural, world. Using Zhuangzi, the Lunyu, and Zhongyong as my primary points of departure, I re-interpret the Confucian ideas of hierarchy in terms of the Daoist conception of harmony. Many scholars today argue that Confucianism has a relational ontology, yet at the same time, we find that Confucian values can and do lead to rigid and harmful traditions that have historically oppressed marginalized groups like women. As such, I re-imagine what li might look like if we take relational ontology seriously, Drawing from Zhuangzi, I argue that Confucian harmony and order do not necessarily arise out of hierarchy, and that harmony, the most primary goal of li and of the Confucian project, can be best attained through propriety that is influenced by Daoism and feminist values such as equality.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Elsewhere, I talk about this in length C. A. L. Tan (Citation2023).
2. Ibid. 19.
3. All Analects translations, unless otherwise stated, will be of this translation, formatted in book: section, page number.
4. This is because amongst all the virtues, li 裡 achieves most balance in that it is able to encompass both ren 仁 and yi 義 as the primary virtues. Such is also the reason why these three are most often considered as the more primary virtues. Li 裡 thus is the refined way of expressing the embodied moral consciousness of ren 仁 and the moral imperative of yi 義. For a more comprehensive discussion of li 裡 as the central virtue of the gentleman, See C. A. Tan (Citation2015).
5. See for instance, Zhongyong 30, p. 111; 32, pp. 113–114.
6. See, for instance, Analects 17:23 where Confucius compares women to petty men because they are fickle and hard to get along with.
7. A woman’s three obediences are her father, her husband, and lastly her son, when her husband passes. The four virtues, which Ban Zhao elaborates on later, are modesty, in speech and comportment, the neatness and rigour of her work, as well as her appearance. See Liji 禮記, 昏義Hun Yi, 7, cited in Sacred Books of the East, volume 28, part 4: The Li Ki (Legge, 1885).
8. This isn’t to say, moreover, that there aren’t already interpretations of a Confucianism that are less dogmatic and more friendly to feminism. (See, for instance, the Guliang 谷梁 commentaries of Spring and Autumn annals). Such interpretations, however, does not get to the root of the problem which is the idea of hierarchy itself.
9. Among others, of particular interest is Li (Citation2014) and Ramsey (Citation2016) as both argue for a reconstruction of Confucianism based on feminist relational ontology. Ramsey calls zhi-autonomy what Li calls competency-based autonomy, where the agent can choose their values more freely the more competent they are. I do not find this plausible, because of the issue that virtue is not an ontological given. The reality then is that there is a dialectical relationship between virtue and roles, meaning that social norms shape one’s knowledge and competency, hence virtues. This kind moral realism is, in the first place, the root of the problem of centralized authority and power, making everything else relational only to one ‘reality’ or, as it were, power. For a more comprehensive discussion on this see ‘how does one know shame’ Lehtinen (Citation1998)
10. See, for instance, Bai (Citation2021), and Fan (Citation2013) among others.
11. Not to mention the divergence and inconsistencies of the classical texts themselves, leaving one the philosophical task of that we have here, which is to think through a philosophically consistent, systematic, and plausible account of core Confucian teachings.
12. Huizi’s character is a namesake of Huizi the philosopher from school of names, who is famous for white horse is not a horse. His philosophical inquiries deal with abstract philosophical qualities and principles like hardness and whiteness.
13. In Analects 7:7, Confucius says that no matter if they cannot afford to pay him, he does not deny anyone of his instruction. This clearly shows that Confucius believed that everyone had a right to be educated regardless of economic background.
14. Of course, these are not two entirely distinct concepts as ‘power to’ do something also necessarily implies power over things and their consequences that are not separate from humans. For a more comprehensive discussion of this, see Pansardi (Citation2012).
15. See Analects 4:15, 15:23, 15:24, among others.
16. Cook Ding or Butcher Ding is a character in Zhuangzi’s Inner Chapters. He is so good at what he does because he follows along the patterns of the ox. See Ziporyn (Citation2020, pp. 29–30).
17. By competence here, we simply mean the ability to harmonize with one’s surroundings, or to bring harmony to one’s surroundings, as is the purpose of propriety.
18. Yao is often regarded as the epitome of virtue and goodness. A model for an emperor should strive to be, and ‘Jie is his traditional antipode, the last emperor of the Xia dynasty, which ended in the sixteenth century B.C.E. He is a legendary symbol of tyranny, cruelty, and all-around wickedness, and his excesses were used to justify the Shang dynasty’s overthrow of the Xia’. See Ziporyn (Citation2009, p. 43).