Leigh K. Jenco How meaning moves: Tan Sitong on borrowing across cultures Article (Published version) (Refereed) Original citation: Jenco, Leigh K. (2012) How meaning moves: Tan Sitong on borrowing across cultures. Philosophy East and West, 62 (1). pp. 92-113. DOI: 10.1353/pew.2012.0007 © 2012 University of Hawai‘i Press This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/45297/ Available in LSE Research Online: September 2012 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website.
92 PhilosophyEast&WestVolume62,Number1January201292–113 ©2012byUniversityofHawai‘iPress
HOW MEANING MOVES:TAN SITONG ON BORROWINGACROSS CULTURES
Leigh K. JencoNationalUniversityofSingapore
Thisessayoffersanattemptatacross-culturalinquiryintocross-culturalinquirybyexamininghowoneinfluentialChinesereformer,TanSitong(1865–1898),thoughtcreativelyaboutthepossibilitiesoflearningfromdifferentlysituatedsocieties.Thatistosay,ratherthanfocusingondevelopingeitherTan’ssubstantiveideasorelaborat-ingamethodologyforhowsuchanapproachmightproceed,Iminehisworkforthemethodologicallessonsitoffers.Ihopetoofferbothargumentandexampleforthepossibilitynotonlythatculturallydistinctwaysoflifecaninformeachother,butthatsuchinfluencecanincludelearningtheoreticalandpracticalmeansbywhichsuchengagementmaybecarriedout.Thisexplorationseemsespeciallynecessarynowthatpoliticaltheoryandphilosophyincreasinglyrecognizethevalueofhistoricallymarginalizedthoughttraditions,butneverthelesscontinuetoengagethosetraditionsusingmethodologiesrootedintheirownconcerns,suchastorectifyinequalitiesofpowerortoaddress(mis-)representationofhistoricallymarginalizedgroups.1Oneresultisthatrecenttheoriesofcross-culturalunderstandinginAnglophonepoliticaltheoryandphilosophy—fromthe“politicsofrecognition”tocomparativepoliticaltheory, liberal multiculturalism, cultural cosmopolitanism, and universal humanrights—examineculturethroughthelensofculturallyembeddedindividualsortexts,rather thanas a social phenomenonconstitutedby learnedpractices.The taskofcross-culturalengagementbecomesdefinedashowtonegotiatewhatareassumedtobefairlyintractable(becauselocalized)culturaldifferences,oftenthroughsympa-theticunderstandingoftheother’sconceptualgrammarormoralvalues,orthereg-istrationofsingular,non-WesternvoiceswithinexistingEurocentricconversations.2
Onereasonforthisincreasinglycircumscribedpracticemaybethedifficultyofsharingmeaningasopposedtomerelyforgingmutualcommensurability,inwhichthe terms of the other are rendered intelligible by translating them into familiarvocabulary.Here,“meaning”pointsto“thewaysinwhichpeopleattempttomakeapparent,observable senseof theirworlds—to themselvesand toeachother—inemotionalandcognitiveterms.”3Asasociallyproducedphenomenonsustainedbycommunity-widepractices,meaningsresistidenticalexportationelsewherepreciselybecauseoftheirdiffuseandsocialcharacter(acharacteristicthatCharlesTaylorandothershavelabeled“intersubjectivity”4).Recognizingthefurtherdifficultyoftrans-plantingmeaningsinaworldinwhichEurocentricdiscoursesgovernthearticulationofculturalidentities,thegoalformuchrecentcross-culturalresearchistoenhanceself-reflexivityaboutone’sownvalues rather than toaskhowor ifone’s founda-tionalassumptionsanddisciplinaryconversationscanbedecisivelychallenged,andpossiblyreplaced,byforeignones.
LeighK.Jenco 93
Wemayfindanimportantanddisruptivecontrasttotheserecentmethodologicalclaimsindebatesassociatedwith“WesternLearning”(Xixue),areformmovementthatbeganinmid-nineteenth-centuryChinathaturgedtheadoptionofWesterninstitutionstoachieve“wealthandpower”(fuqiang).Isay“disruptive”becausetheseclaimsofferbothaninstructivecritiqueofmanycurrenttheoriesofcross-culturalborrowingandafairlyambitiousalternativevisionofhowcross-culturalinquirycanproceed.Usingthevocabularyofdao(substance,Way)andqi(vessel,tool),aswellastheparallelandmorewell-knowndichotomyofti(substanceorstructuring)andyong(function,use),thesereformersappliedlong-standingChinesestrandsofmetaphysicstoexam-inetheconditionsunderwhichmeaningsandsocialpractices—ratherthandiscreteknowledgeorindividualinsight—canmoveacrosscommunities.Byattemptingtheproductionofmeaningalongforeignlines,theseWesternLearningreformersques-tionedwhetherthelocalizationofmeaningentailsintractableculturaldifference.
Icentermydiscussiononatheoryabouttherelationshipbetweendaoandqithat the radical reformerTanSitong formulatedaround1895, in supportof “totalWesternization”(quanpan Xihua).Followingbutultimatelycontestingthedominantti/yong paradigm of the more conservative ForeignAffairs School,Tan parses theproblemoutinthisway:how,ifatall,aretheparticularconcretemanifestationsoftheWesternworldthatseemsobrilliantlyuseful—steamengines,guns,tallbuildings—relatedtothevaluesorprinciplesthatWesternpeopleseemtouphold?HowcantheycomenotonlytobeimitatedbyChinesebutalsotohavemeaningforthem?Tanrecognizedthatthesemeaningswererelatedbutirreducibletotheideasindividualsheldseparatelyintheirminds,orthevaluesenforcedbystateinstitutions.Inresponse,he produces an original and unusually metaphysical account of how values andmeaningareproducedandconsumedacrosssociety,aswellashowtheyworktosupportmoreobservableexternalphenomenasuchasparliamentarygovernment,technologicaldevelopment,andsocialpracticesofequality.
Tan’sinterventionintheWesternLearningdebate,inmyview,makesatleasttwoimportantcontributions to thinkingaboutcross-culturalborrowing.First,he looksbeyond the individualizedunderstandingandpartial,episodic translation thatarethegoalsofmuchcontemporarycross-culturaltheory.Hedrawsattentioninsteadtohowdaos(whichIwillprovisionallytranslateas“meanings”)aresociallyembeddedandproducedbutalsoaremanifest inexternallyobservablepracticesandinstitu-tions(qi)thatareintheoryreplicableinothercommunities.Second,bystressingtheexternalaspectsofmeaning-production,heprovidesamethodforre-creatingcul-tural forms inothercontexts,drawingattention to thepossibilityandnecessityofauthenticimitationofforeignwaysoflife.Hisambitionstoauthenticity,however,donotaffirmaculturalessencesomuchastheyrecognizetheprocessofmeaningpro-ductionasdrivenbyanecessarytensionbetweencontinuityorreplicationontheonehandandinnovationandinterpretationontheother.Tanthereforeprovidesanimportantcorrectivetocontemporaryaccounts,which,inemphasizingcultureasaconstructthatinformsthevaluesorchoicesofembeddedindividuals,tendstoignorethewaysinwhichforeignmeaningcanbeasiteofintellectualdisciplineaswellasatargetofpoliticalinclusion.
94 PhilosophyEast&West
Western Learning: Moving Meaning across Space?
WesternLearningwasnotacoherentmovementsomuchasadiffuseandcontestedreaction toconservatives in theQingcourt,whobelieved that adoptionof selectEuropeaninstitutionsinpiecemealfashioncouldstrengthentheQingstateandChi-nesesocietywhilemaintainingputativelytraditionalChinesesocialvalues.Thislatterargumentwasfirstputforwardundertherubricoftheti/yongor“essence/function”dichotomy,aNeo-Confucianmetaphysicalbinarywithnumerousanalogues(root/branch,way/vessel)thatcametostructuretheoriesofcross-culturallearningonbothsides.5
Themostfamousandcertainlymostinfluentialapplicationoftheti/yongbinarywasadvancedbyZhangZhidong(1837–1909)inhisfamous1898essayExhortation to Learning(Quanxue pian). Inthisessay,Zhanginsiststhattheutilitarian,functionalaspects(yong)ofEuropeanandAmericanmilitaryandtechnicalknowledgecouldbecombinedwiththeessentialfeaturesorsubstance(ti)ofChina’smoralandculturalheritagewhileleavingthemfullyintact.Zhanghelpfullyencapsulatesthesefeaturesas the“threebondsandfiverelationships”—normsofsocialhierarchythatZhanginsists “have been transmitted for several thousand years without changing theirmeaning.6Themeansbywhichsagesaresages,thewaybywhichChina(Zhongguo)isChina,actuallyliesinthese.”7ZhangZhidong’sassessmentofChineseculturewasattimesbothessentialistandanachronistic,butitassuredmanythatChina’scurrentpoliticalproblemscouldbesolvedwithoutradicaltransformationsofitsvaluesys-temandwayoflife.Itofferedadoubleemotionalpayoff,firstbyidentifyinga“true”essencetoChineseculturethatwouldsurvivetime,andsecondbyreducingforeigncapacitiesto“techniques.”AlthoughforZhangthese“techniques”includedhuman-isticlearning,suchashistoryandpolitics,anddidnotmerelysignifyWesterntech-nology,8theyneverthelesswereseentocomplementratherthantransformthemoresublimeendinformedbypriorunderstandingofChineseculturalvalues.
Beginningasearlyasthe1860s,however,reformerswhohopedtostrengthenChinamilitarilyandfinanciallybyborrowingWesterntechnology,suchasFengGui-fen (1809–1874), began to point out that simple know-how was not sufficient toproduce the desired outcome: they realized (some before Zhang introduced hisdichotomy)thatWestern“use”cannotbedetachedfromitsmetaphysicalbasisinaveryWesternti.TheproblemforFeng,andcertainlyforlaterradicalreformersaroundtheturnofthecentury,wasnotoneofknowledgebutofpracticalcapacitiesembodiedinbothpeopleandinstitutions.Thesethinkersaskednot“howcanweunderstandthose who speak and act within a different frame of cultural reference?” or even“howcanweusewhattheyknow?”but“howcanwe‘goon’todoastheydo?”ThatitwasthelatterquestionthatpreoccupiedthesethinkerscanbeseenintheirwidelysharedbeliefthatChinacouldgoontoexceedtheWestintermsofingenuity,pro-duction,andpoliticalprosperityandstability—notbyreplicatingWesterntechnol-ogybutbyinnovatingastheWesternersdid.9Althoughsomeresolvedthiscrisisofcontrast by presuming a Chinese origin forWestern ingenuity and science, mostothersrealizedthatborrowingfromtheWestrequiredafarmoredramaticandwhat
LeighK.Jenco 95
wemaycallanexplicitlyculturalleap—thatis,fromonewayofbeingintheworldandorganizingsocietytoanotherwithajarringlydifferentsetofmeaningsandfunc-tions.
Thisinsightincreasedinsophisticationaslaterandmoreradicalcriticsofself-strengtheningsuchasWangTao(1828–1897)insistedthat“managingalltheaffairsunderheaven”requirednolessthan“totalchange”(yi bian)inChineseinstitutionsandwaysoflife.10ZhengGuanying(1842–1922),theeditorofthevolumeShengshi weiyan(Warningstoaprosperousage),articulatedthistotalizingconceptascaptur-ingtheWesterners’tiaswellastheiryong.Inhisprefacetothiswork,Zhengimpliesthat ti andyongwerenotdichotomizedalongChinese/Western linesasearly re-formerswouldhaveit,butwereinfacttwoaspectsofthesamereality,andbothwerethusnecessarytargetsofborrowing.ThetirequiredtoembodytheWesterntechno-logicalyonglieincultivatingparticularkindsoftalent,practicingparticularkindsofpoliticalprocedure(specifically,parliamentarydebate),anduniting“rulerandpeo-ple.”Anythingless,inZheng’sview,is“emptytalk”thatwouldrenderChineseca-pacitiesvis-à-vistheWestessentiallyunchanged.11
Modernhistoricalassessmentsoftheseti/yongdebatesfocususuallyontherela-tionshipbetween“function”and“essence,”interpretingthebinaryeitherasalogicalunit12orasafunctionallyseparatealthoughcomplementarysetofdesirablequali-ties.13Amoreinterestingquestionmightbewhycross-culturalborrowingwas—and,inmuchcontemporaryChinesescholarship,continuestobe—articulatedusingsuchterms.14Whatgoalsdosuchtermssuggest,anddotheyenableaparticularwayofparsingorpursuingcross-culturalinquiry?
Onemainpossibilitystandsout,whichIwillraisehereandusetheremainderofthisessaytoelaborate.WesternLearningthinkers—atleastthoseopposedtowhatinChinesescholarshipisidentifiedasthe“ForeignAffairsSchool”ofZhangZhidongandhiscolleagues—ingeneralallviewedtheissueofcross-culturalborrowingasabroadsocialorpoliticaltransformationalongnewlinesofthoughtandaction.ThosesuchasYanFu(1854–1921),whorejectedthedichotomizationofti/yong,continuedto use it in differentways to construct an ambitious foundation for cross-culturallearning.AsYanpointedout,itwaspreciselybecausetiwassocloselyconnectedtoyongthatneithercouldbeconfinedtoonecultureoranother.15Thatis,ratherthanseekingmerelytogaincommensurabilityacrossdifferenceorknowledgeaboutfor-eignwaysoflife,theyaimedtoreproducewholesystemsofmeaning-making,socialorganization,andpoliticalorder.
TanSitongofferswhatisprobablythemostsystematicandthoroughtheorizationofsuchacts,invokingthetermsdaoandqi.Thebinaryofdaoandqimapsmuchthesamerelationshipbetweensubstance/formasdoesthatoftiandyong,apointthatTannotes,16butthealternativephrasingallowshimtoconnecttherelationshiptoacomplex interpretationof theBook of Changes advancedbyWang Fuzhi (1619–1692),theMing/Qingtransitionliteratus(andTan’sfellowHunanese).17Thedao/qivocabularyhelpsTantotheorizeaformofcross-culturalborrowingthatseeksfirsttoreplicate,andthengoesontobuildcreativelyfrom,alternativefoundations—thosesocial,political,andintellectualconstructspossessingthecapacitytogroundpresent
96 PhilosophyEast&West
intelligibilityandfutureinnovation.Inalatersection,Idiscusshowandwhysuchan“alternativefoundations”approachisrarelyseenasapossibilitywithincontempo-rarytheory,butIfirstexploreTan’sdefenseofhismoreradicalposition.
Tan Sitong’s Argument for Western Learning and “Total Westernization”
Asoneof themost dynamic andpassionate thinkers ofChina’s late-Qing reformgeneration,TanSitongmakesforadifficultcasestudy.Beginningasastaunchde-fenderofChineseethnocentrism,Taneventuallybecameoneof themore radicaldefenders ofWestern Learning and then eventually a theorist of universal, proto-cosmopolitanvaluesinhismagnumopusRenxue.18Butindefendinghistransitionfromconservativetoradical,Tanprovidesconsiderableinsightintothetheoreticalandnotmerelylogisticalinsightsthatunderlayhisnewconvictions.19Inalongessaywritten forhis friendOuyangZhonggu, titled“OnPromotingMathematics” (Xing suanxue yi),andinaletterofpersuasionsenttoBeiYuanzheng,bothwrittenaround1896,TanexplainshisradicalpositiononWesternLearning.Heinvokesthevocabu-laryofdaoandqitoofferasomewhatambiguousbuttheoreticallyrichframeworktosupporthisreasonsforsuchanambitiousculturaltransformation.
Tanbeginsboth lettersby trying toconvincehis interlocutorsnotonlyof theworthofborrowingmorethoroughlyfromtheWestthanearlierreformershadeverconceded,butalsoofthepropermethodforsuchborrowing.AtseveralpointsheaffirmstheworthofChinesetraditionalvaluesbutarguesthatinthepresenttimesthesevaluescanonlybeunderstoodwithrespecttothebinaryofdaoor“way”andqior“vessel.”CitingWangFuzhi’sOuter Commentary on the Book of Changes,Tansuggests that contemporary discourse has muddled the true relationship betweenthesetwoentitiesandassuchhasdeprivedWesternLearningand“foreignaffairs”(yangwu)ofanysubstantivecapacitytobenefitChinesesociety(Quanji,pp.196–197).
TanfollowsWangbydepartingfromtypicalNeo-Confucianreadingsthathelddao道tobethefoundationofqi 器,whichderivedfromthedistinctionbetweenli 理,generalmetaphysicalprincipleorpattern,andqi2氣,thematerialembodimentsorformsofprinciple.20MuchNeo-Confucianphilosophy,beginningwiththeChengbrothersintheearlySong,heldthatnotonlywasthisqi2inferiortolibutthatitalsoobscuredthetruthitcontained.Incontrast,Wangreversedtherelationship,holdingthatitwasinfact“vessels”thatheldthe“way,”or,inotherwords,theparticularandconcretethatpredicatedthegeneralandabstract.21Thisdeparturefromorthodoxyimbues thedaowithaconsiderablemeasureofcreativeambiguity;daobasicallymarksthepluralanddynamicoutcomesofchangingqi,resistingconsistenttransla-tionintoconcreteterms.
TanbuildsonWang’sheterodoxreadingtoarguethat“whatpeopletodaycalldao, without relying on qi, simply flails about in emptiness.” Citing Wang,Tanexplains:
“Thereisnodaowithoutqi.Withoutabowandarrowthereisnodaoofarchery;withouthorsesandvehiclesthereisnodaoofdriving....TheHanandTangdynastiesdidnot
LeighK.Jenco 97
havethedaooftoday,andtherearemanyexamplesofthepresenttimenothavingthedaoofpasttimes.”He[Wang]alsosays,“Therearemanytimeswhenthedaocanbehadbutitdoesnotexist.Thereforethereisnodaowithoutqi.”Ah,thesearetruewords.Ifwebelievethesewords,thendaomustrelyonqibeforeyoucanhavepracticaluse;itisnotthecasethatdaoexistsinsomeemptyobjectlessspace.(Quanji,pp.160–161)
Tan’sdaoandqiterminologyissometimesseenbycommentatorsasforwardingaconservativeargument,whichfollowsearlierti/yongbinariesrathercloselytourgetheinstrumentaladoptionofWesterntechnology (qi) toassurethepreservationofChinesevalues(dao).22Yetthetheoreticalframeworkofdaoandqi —aswellasTan’sownargument—suggestsamoreradicalinterpretationinwhichChinesevaluesandwaysoflifearefundamentallydisplacedbyaWesterndaoratherthanpreservedbyWesternqi.AsTanremarks,“Onceqihaschanged,candaoaloneremainunchanged?Changeispreciselydoingqi,andqicannotleavedao.Peoplecannotabandonqi;how,then,cantheyabandondao?”(Quanji,p.197).23
Accordingtothislogic,adoptingWesterntechnology(qi)willbringalongwithitaparticularkindofdao,anditisnotalwaysclearthatthisdaowillbethatofChina’sancientsages.TandoessuggestthatWesternersandChinesesharethesamekindofdao —meaningthattheirqiaresomehowcompatiblewith,ifnotoutrightidenticalto,alreadyexistingpracticesandmoraloutlooksofcontemporaryChinese(Quanji,pp.197,200).YethefollowsupthisobservationwithalongcelebrationofWesternsocial practices, from education to marriage arrangements, female liberation andparliamentaryassemblies (Quanji,pp.209–216).Theseqi imply staggeringlypro-foundsocialandpoliticaltransformations,belyinghisinsistencethatanypastChi-nesedaowillbepreserved.Headmitsthattheancientlaw(gu fa)waswellordered,butitisgone,becausetherearenosupportinginstitutionsremainingtoinvokeit:
All these statutes, institutions, and the renownedobjects [of past times, including thewell-fieldsystem]were,tragically,nottransmitted;thustheyarenotthingsthatlatergen-erationscanjustmodeloutofthinair.TheDukeofZhourecordedthesedevicesinordertoestablishthefirmfoundationofthelaw.Butthedevicescannotberevived,andtheirremainders[inthepresent]havenothingtoleanon,andtheirdistance[fromourtime]makesthemhardtoimplement.Therefore,Isay,withoutitsqiyoucannothaveitsdao.(Quanji,p.201)
Inthisiterationofdao/qi,Tanmakesclearhisviewofdaoasaholisticwebofrela-tionshipsbetweenmutuallydependentqi,inwhicheven“remainders”cannotservetoconjureuptheintegrityofpastinstitutions:eachtimehasitsowndaoandhenceadifferentsetofqitoinhabit.Only“changinglaws”(or“changingways,”bian fa)toreflectWesternmodesofdoingthingswillsupplytheqithatcanallowChinesesoci-ety to flourish again (Quanji, p. 227)—but given the protean working of qi, it isunclearonwhatgroundssuchre-establishmentwouldproceed.InaboldreversalofanxietiesheldbyearlierconservativessuchasWoren(1804–1871),whocondemnedWesternLearning in thebelief thatWestern ideasandobjects couldcontaminateChinese values,Tan complains in his treatise “Mathematics” that “we stagnantlyadoptonlythebranchesoftheWesterners,”thatis,theirgunsandships,but“leave
98 PhilosophyEast&West
behind their greatest essence” (Quanji,p.161).Theproblem forTan isnotbeingcontaminatedenough,notradically transformingto thedegreenecessarytomakeWesternqi(anddao)work.
Here and throughout the two essays he implicitly differentiates between twodistinctthoughrelatedkindsofqi:thefirstkindpointstotheactualmaterialobjectssuppliedbytheWesterners—militaryhardwareandtechnology,ships,Westernim-portedmerchandise.Thesecond,lessclear-cutkindofqipointstothefacultiesorcapacities—intellectual, social, institutional, economic—that produce these ob-jects.24TheselatterkindsofqiarewhatTanseemstomeanwhenhespeaksoftheWesterners’“greatestessence,”andseemtobeencapsulatedintheconceptof“law”(fa).ThroughoutTaninsiststhat,contrarytopopularopinion,WesternersandChinesedeepdownpossessthesame“nature”(xing).Theonlyproblemishoweachorga-nizessociety.“IsitthatWesterners’naturesaregoodwhileoursarebad?[No,itisthat]theirlawsaregoodandtheirintentionsimpeccable,whilewehavenolaws.Ifthelawisgoodtheneveryoneofmiddlingqualityandbelowcanpullthemselvesout[oftheirpredicaments];ifthereisnolawtheneventhoseabovemiddlingqualitywillhaveahardtimestandingupontheirown.”LikeFengGuifenbeforehim,Tanrecog-nizesthatlearninghowto(re-)produceWesternprosperityismoreimportantthansimplyattainingthematerialproductsthatcouldhelpdefendChinaagainstforeignincursion.ForFeng,however,thereasonswerestrategic:onlybyadaptingtothetimesand learning theWestern tricks—suchasphysics,moderndiplomacy,and institu-tionalorganization—couldWesternersbedrivenoutofChineseterritoryforgood.25
ButforTanthereasonsaremoremetaphysical.Tan’sreadingofdaoandqitakesthelogicofWangFuzhiastepfurthertointerrogatetherelationshipsbetweentheusesofitems(qi)andthelargersocialpatternstheydemanded.Continuingtohold,asWangFuzhidid,thatconcrete“tools”(ju)or“vessels”werethekeytosupportingdao,Tanconcludesfromthispremisethatsuchqicanactuallyproduceaparticulardao,inthiscaseoneclosertothespiritofthemodernWestthantotheancientChi-nesepast.Hedoesnot,afterall,suggestthattheWestlooktoChinaforitsdao,evenas China appropriatesWestern qi; if the two daos were actually the same, as hesometimessays,thisbilateralmovementwouldbeapossibility.26
AsIreadhim,TanissuggestingthattheinternalcomplexityofWesternpoliticalandsocialinstitutions,waysoflife,andintellectualorganizationcanbemademan-ageablebymeansofaparticularformofinquiry,onethatbeginswiththeparticular(qi)butculminatesinthegeneral(dao).Toavoid“flailingaboutinemptiness,”onecannotgoaroundhopingtoreviveadao —anydao —directly,becausethishaslittlemeaningwithoutbeingembeddedinparticularcontexts,performances,andmate-rialobjects.Tanspecifiesthatlearningforeignlanguages,readingforeignnewspa-pers, and studying abroad are the first steps in this practice- and object-basedborrowing,tobefollowedbythereformofeducation,thebuildingofmines,andthedevelopingofcommerce(Quanji,pp.162–163).InanannotationtoTan’stext,Ou-yangZhongguexplainsfurtherthatthismeansthe“practicingoftheir[i.e.,Western]affairs”willenableoneto“complete theqi”appropriate toWesterndao (Quanji,p.171n.16).
LeighK.Jenco 99
Byusingqi tomeannotonlymaterialobjectsbut thoseparticular systemsofknowledgeandpracticedeeplyimplicatedintheproductionofmeaning,Tan’suseofthetermbleedsintomuchofwhatwasusuallytakentobedaoorti(substance).Towhat,then,doesdaopoint?AlthoughoutsideEastAsiadaoisbestknownforthemysticalauraassociatedwithDaoistpractices, theconceptpoints towardamuchlargerandmoregeneralsetofconcepts thatarenotspecific toanyphilosophicalschool.Oftenthesiteofcontestationamongschoolsastowhosethoughtbestex-pressestheonetruepath,daowas“thewordmostoftenusedtotalkaboutthemanywaysofknowing,andsometimesusedtotalkaboutahigherlevelofknowingthatsubsumedallothers.”27
Similarly,Tan’sdaoisprobablybestunderstoodasanessentiallycontested,in-terpretativelyopenconceptimplicatedinmeaning-productionratherthanthesiteofsomesharedself-identity.Hispairingofthetermwithqiisonesuchinstanceofusingdaoasacapaciousanalyticcategory,ratherthanamarkerofaparticularphilosoph-icalallegiance.TanfollowsWangFuzhicloselyinthattheproliferationofobviouslydifferentkindsofqiresultsnotinaconvergencebutapluralityofdaos:thedaoofyesterday,beingsupportedbydifferentqithatarenolongerinexistence,impliesadifferentdaooftoday.Thisiswhylawchangeswiththetimes(Quanji,p.200).Daoseemstobethearchitectonicvaluethatinhabitsphysicalobjects,socialarrangements,persons,andgroups,makingthemaliveandmeaningful.Withouttherightkindofdao,Tanargues,imitatingritualsoractswillhavenopurpose.TothosewhowishtorevivetheancientlawsinsteadofborrowingWesternones,Tanwarns,“imitatethemdiligently,butintheenditwillsimplybeputtingonashow....[T]hecowisnotacow,thehorseisnotahorse;youwilljustbegoingthroughthemotionstonorealeffect”(Quanji,p.201).Thereisacausal(yin)effecthere:“Havingheightiscausedby(yin)atallhill;beinglowiscausedby(yin)amarshorriver.Theancientlawsarecompletelygone,and there isnothing to serveas their ‘cause’” (Quanji,p.201).Lackingayin —acauseoramotivation—theancientlawlacksadao.
Dao,then,isakinto“culture”inthatitnotonlyconditionsbutconstitutestherelationshipsamongandbetweentheseentities;itenablesandrendersmeaningfulthe faculties that qi implies.This mutually constitutive process is not adequatelydescribedasarelationshipbetweenformandsubstance,betweenayongandati.Ratheritgesturestowardthemutualco-appearanceofeachandthereforeimpliesarelationshipofdynamicadjustmentandchange.ToWangFuzhi,Tan’sinspiration,this relationshipbetweenwhatwecanperhapsbetter translateasappearance (qi)and way (dao) documents the cyclical and ever-changing processes of all-under-Heaven.TheChangesscholarHellmutWilhelmsummarizestheseprocessesasundi-recteddynamism,mappedbutnotexhaustedby“images”(xiang —words,objects,forms).28Suchimages—Tan’sqi —arelikeorientingcoordinatesforeventsandac-tions;theyareform,butalsoakindofdynamic“forming.”29
InthecaseofthemoreradicalreformersofWesternLearning,replicatingorbor-rowingqiacknowledgesthedeeplyinterconnectedsystemsofmeaningsandprac-tice that enable qi to exist at particular times and places, but without implyingbeforehandwhat“Western”dao(s)willlooklike;itallowsforlearninganddevelop-
100 PhilosophyEast&West
menttooccuralongWesternlines,withoutclaiming comprehensive knowledge of any given dao.Daoandqithusenableaformofborrowingthatpointsbeyondthelimitsofpersonalcomprehensionorcross-culturalintelligibilitytoimitativeprojectsmeanttocapture—andfurtherdevelopinperhapsunanticipatedways—thesociallydistributedknowledgeandpracticesofaculturalother.
Tan’s work suggests a more complex application of the ti/yong and dao/qidichotomies, but he sharesmuch in commonwithhis earlier progenitors. ZhangZhidong’sclassic ti/yongdichotomy(“Chineselearningfor ti [substance],Westernlearningforyong[use]”)waslaterrejectedbythinkerssuchasYanFuonthebasisofitsobviousontologicalimpossibility,30butitneverthelessfurnishesamodelforsitu-atingculturesinrelationtoeachotherthatestablishesanimportantframeworkforhowfutureWesternLearninginChinawouldbeconceptualized.Believing,asZhangdid,thatWesternyong(technology,medicine,methodsofwarfare)couldbeinjectedwholesaleintoChineseti(thewebofsocialandmoralvaluesunderwrittenbyChi-nesepoliticalorganization)recognizesthateven“practical”culturalformssuchasappliedtechnologyarenotsimplylodgedinindividual,representativepersonsbutareembodiedininstitutions—whethertheseinstitutionshavematerialpresenceintheformofbuildingsandpersonnel,orsocialpresenceintheformofrules,laws,or“logics.”TheproblemZhangseekstoaddressbydichotomizingtiandyongispre-ciselytheproblemTanaddressesbyinsistingthatthetwoconceptsaremutuallyre-lated:theyreflecttheenormityofborrowingasaninstitutional,society-wideprocess.IfChinesesubstancecanstand inplaceofWesternsubstance to supportWesternutility,asZhangbelieves,thentheanalytic(nottomentionlogistic)obstaclestothisformofcross-culturalborrowingaredrasticallyabated.Ifthisisnotpossible,asTanbelieves, then more thoroughgoing, society-wide transformations must take placeanddaowillbetransformed.BybuildingontheviewthatChinacouldborrowfromtheWest,Tanaffirmsboth“Chinese”and“Western”daosasdistinctsitesofthoughtandexperience.
Contemporary Counterarguments
Suchatheorizationofexchangewiththisimitativegoalinmindmayseembothuse-lessandunfeasible.Todayfewindividuals,muchlesswholesocieties,arewillingtodisplace completely their indigenous ways of thinking and practice with foreignones.Gadamer’sinsightintotheprejudicialprocessofallknowledge-formationsug-gestsfurtherthatsuchwholesaleimitationmaynotevenbepossible.31Ifweneces-sarilyunderstandnewideasonlybyreferencetowhatwealreadyknow,howcanweever completely replace our own categories with foreign ones? In contemporarypoliticaltheoryandphilosophy,thisGadamerianlogicinformsatleasttwodistinctargumentsagainstwholesaleborrowingofthekindTanadvocated.Bothseethefun-damentaldilemmaofcross-culturallearningasnegotiating(ratherthanovercoming)thesedeepGadamerianprejudices,orbackgroundassumptions, thatmakecross-culturalborrowingimpossibleordistorting,andeachoffersanalternativepictureofhowtheprocesscanproceedgiventheserestraints.
LeighK.Jenco 101
Thefirstargumentspeaksfromthepoliticaldifficultiesofpluralculturalidentity,oftenarticulatedashybridityorvernacularcosmopolitanism,negotiatedpoliticallybywayofthe“politicsofdifference.”Thismodeofnegotiatingdifferenceseekstheinclusionofethnicallyinflectedlifeexperiencesintopoliticaldecision-makingasameansofabatingdomination,enrichingdebate,andsecuringvoicetotypicallymar-ginalizedindividualsandgroups.32Inaworld“remadebycolonization”andbereftoffoundationalist,Archimedeanvantagepointsthatpresumetoadjudicateuniversalvalue,thesecontextualizednegotiations—whetherwithinliberal-democraticdomi-cilesorwithintheglobalarenawritlarge—havebecomeincreasinglyattractivetopoliticaltheoristsandcomparativephilosophershopingtoeffacelegaciesofWesterndomination.33To avoid the imposition of essentialism, and to capture the hybridcharacterofmuchcontemporaryculturalidentity,manytheoristsinpoliticaltheoryand philosophy attend carefully to the particular, power-saturated circumstanceswithinandforwhichculturalexchangetakesplace.Modelingtheireffortsonegali-tariandialogue,thesetheoristsanalogizecross-culturalexchangetotheinteractionbetweenembeddedpersonswhoofferupcategoriesofanalysisforexamination.34
The result isaprocessofcontestation inwhichnewvisionsof selfandotheremerge,adialogicinterplay“animatedbybothsympathyandresistance,awilling-nesstobalanceunderstandingandself-transgression,”whichleavesdifferencesin-tactratherthanattemptingfulltransparency.35Understoodinthisway,comparativephilosophyisanopen-ended,mutuallytransformativeprocessratherthanasystemofabsoluteadjudicationbetween twoormorepurportedlydiscretephilosophicalsystems.Comparativephilosophytakesplaceina“dialogic”mannerwithinandbe-tweenparticular,alreadysituatedphilosophicalsystems(whatthecomparativephi-losopherRaimundoPanikkargeneralizesas“topoi”)thatinevitablybeginsfromsomeparticularphilosophybutneverthelesssubjectseverythingtocriticalscrutiny.36
Thesecondargumenttakesthedifficultiesoflearningacrossculturesevenmoreseriously,callingintoquestionevenminimaldialogictransformation.Inacritiqueofcurrentworkincosmopolitanism,specificallytheworkofJeremyWaldron,PratapMehtaarguesthatattemptstoappropriateforeignculturalformsaremuchmoredif-ficultthancosmopolitans—and,wemayadd,comparativepoliticaltheorists—oftensuppose,preciselyforthereasonthatsuchformsrelyonpotentiallyincommensurableanddeeplylodgedbackgroundassumptionsthatgivethemmeaning.Waldronclaimsthat“weneedculture,butwedonotneedcultural integrity,”simplybecause thesignificanceofculturalmaterialsturnsforeachpersononwhatareoftenmisinterpre-tationsoftheiroriginalcontext.Thesematerialsaresimplyavailableforthetaking,“asmoreorlessmeaningfulfragments,images,snatchesofstories.”37Mehtainsists,however,thatthisabusestheveryideaofwhatcultureissupposedtodo.Theexistingculturalcontextinwhichforeignformsareappropriated“altersthembeyondrecog-nitionandoften,ratherthancomplicatingtheculturethatappropriatesthem,ismadequitecompatiblewithitsgoverningpremises.”38Heechoestheoristsofincommen-surabilitysuchasAlasdairMacIntyre,whoconnects thevaluesofparticular tradi-tions to their specificembodiments insharedpractices,histories,and institutions.AccordingtoMacIntyre,thesevaluescannotbedivorcedfromtheparticularsocial
102 PhilosophyEast&West
orderorculturalphenomenafromwhichtheyemergeandstillretaintheirintelligi-bility.39
Fromthisperspective,thosesuchasJeremyWaldronwhobelievethatindividualscanfreelyappropriateforeignideasandwaysoflifeareleftdefendingaratherunten-ableviewofcultureasindependentofinstitutions,includingsharedsocialnorms.Ifwedefinecultureas“intelligentandintelligiblestructuresofmeaning,”asWaldrondoes,40thenculturedemandsaparticularinstitutionalembodiment.FortheliberalpoliticalphilosopherWillKymlicka,thisrecognitionofembodimentjustifiesextend-ingspecialrightstominorities,toprotecttheirsharedwaysoflifefromencroach-ment by the larger culture in which they are territorially embedded.41 By seeingculturallifeassodeeplyembeddedinacollectivelifestylethatitscommunitymustenjoy political rights to assure its future existence, he—along with Mehta andMacIntyre—suggeststheimpossibilityofaborrowedcultureorculturalformversusmerelyaborrowedideathatexistsindependentlyofthesociopoliticalconstructsthatproducedit.
Basedonthesetwoargumentsabouttheembeddednatureofculturalconstructs,TanSitong’sintuitionaboutthenecessityforframingculturebywayofinstitutionsor“qi”seemstoworkagainsthim:Mehta,Kymlicka,andthoseinfluencedbyGadamerallargueindifferentwaysthatitispreciselybecauseculturalformshavesomeformofinstitutionalembodimentthattheirappropriation,assimilation,orcomprehensionbyothersissoproblematicastobeunlikely.DallmayrandPanikkar,inparticular,arguethatafusionofhorizonsoraffiliativeassociationsmediatedbydialogicinter-actionisthemostradicaloutcomethatiscognitivelypossibleforsuchirreduciblysituatedhumanbeings.
ButTan’sworkandtheintuitionsofhisfellowWesternLearningthinkershelptosteerapathbetweentheviewthatcultural formsareeitherindependentofsocialorganizationandinstitutions,ontheonehand,oraresodependentonsuchinstitu-tions that they cannot be meaningfully borrowed, on the other. Where Waldronrejectsorfailstoconsideradefinitionofcultureasinstitutionallyreliant,andcom-parativepoliticaltheoristsreadcultureasaccessibleonlypartiallythroughdialogicinteraction with embedded individuals, Tan insists that culture—constituted bycomplexanddynamicdaoswhosetruescopeisessentiallyunknowabletoanyonehuman—necessarilyisgraspedandembodiedonlyinqi (materialobjects,institu-tions,texts,andsoon).ButhedoesnotfollowKymlickaorMehtatoconcludethatthisinstitutionalembodimentimpliesaviewofcultureconfinedtothosewhoarebornintoit,orGadamertoconcludethatatbesta“fusionofhorizons”willbeforgedtocreateakindofthirdculturalspaceorunderstandingirreducibletotheoriginaltwo. Rather, the very replicability of qi enables the portability of culture—not inWaldron’scosmopolitansense,which“ignoresthedependenceofthesepracticesonincommensurable background presuppositions” and assumes we can hybridizeeasilyandquicklybyadoptingsuperficialmarkersofculturaldistinction,42butinamuchdeeper,morepracticalsense,whichwrestleswiththedifficultiesofsocialandnotjustindividualtransformation.
IncontrasttoincommensurabilitytheoristssuchasMacIntyre,whosesolutiontotheproblemof incommensurability involves familiarizingerstwhileoutsiderswith
LeighK.Jenco 103
thecanonicallanguagesofparticulartraditions,43Tanbroachestheneedforinstitu-tional re-creation of foreign traditions on native soil, and not just an individual’sinitiationintoexistingdiscourses.Althoughthesetransformationswilllikelybebesetbyissuesoftranslationandcommensurabilitybesthandledina“conversational”ordialogicway,toleavetheissueofborrowingtherewouldbetoignoretheveryrealneedtoframe(andborrow)culturalformsinasetofinstitutionsthatcansupportabroadrangeofpersonalinterests,needs,talents,andcertainlyinterpretations.
Specifically,Tan’sdao/qianalysissuggeststhatmeanings,ordaos,haveimportantinstitutionalcomponentsthatareproducedby,yetatthesametimeenable,particularkindsofknowledgeandunderstanding.Meaning-(ordao-)makingiskeyednottoethnicbackgroundoridiosyncrasysomuchasspecific,butreplicable,learningpro-cessesthattakeshapeinparticularareasandatparticulartimes.Assuch,itcannotbecapturedinadialogicencounterandrequiresafarmoreambitiousaccountofauthenticity,namelyofhowparticularcultural formscanbefaithfullyreproducedwithinforeigncommunities.
Authenticity
AuthenticitymaynotbethemostfelicitousEnglishtermforTan’sattempt,butitcap-turestherangeofmeaning(andtheurgency)indicatedbyTan’s(andhiscolleagues’)useofwordslike“imitate”(xiaofa)and“takeasmodel”(fa, mofang).IncontrasttomoreconservativedefendersofChineseculturalidentitysuchasZhangZhidong,Tanand other reformers wanted China to adopt institutions, such as parliamentarygovernment, that were not creative interpretations of those institutions but werethemselvesthoseinstitutions—thatis,theyhadtomeantoChinesewhattheymeanttoWesterners.Thisauthorizedabroadly transformativeprocess that inTan’sviewcouldandshoulddisplacenativeChinesevalues,whateverthoseweresupposedtobe,withonesthateitherproducedorconstitutedWesterndaos.
Forthemostpart,suchquestionsof“authentic”replicationhavebeenbracketedasirrelevanttothepowerrelationsthatarereallymediatingcross-culturalexchange,44ordiscreditedasfundamentallymisguidedeffortsthatreducethecomplexitiesofanentire culture to a singular essentialized identity.45 However, authenticity is itselfambiguous,anditspersistentassociationwithnotionsofculturalpurityorabsolu-tizedidentitydoesnotexhaustitspotentialimplicationsforcross-culturalexchange.Inhisstudyofauthenticityandculture,CharlesLinholmpointsoutthat“therearetwooverlappingmodesforcharacterizinganyentityasauthentic:genealogicalandhistorical(origin)andidentityorcorrespondence(content). . ..[T]hesetwoformsofauthenticityarenotalwayscompatible.”46Althoughcultural-identitypoliticsoftenturnonrubricsthatemphasizeoneortheother,wecaninsteaddiscernthetensionanimatingboth.Inemphasizingconformitytosomeexternalstandardorlogic,bothdefinitionsofauthenticityturnanalysisawayfromsubjectivelyexperiencedorinter-preted experience toward the ways in which communities of individuals govern,produce,andcontestmeaning.
Authenticitybecomessucha recurringelementofTan’sanalysispreciselybe-causeheandhis reformistcolleaguesbelieve that “learning from theWest”must
104 PhilosophyEast&West
extend beyond the individuals participating in it to produce non-subjectivist,community-generatedsystemsofmeaning.Theyrecognizethatmeaningsbydefini-tionarenotcreatedexnovobyindividuals,noraretheycontaineddefinitivelywithinanyparticularexchanges.Rather,theyareproducedandconsumedovertimeandbylargenumbersofpeople,makingfaithfulnessorcorrelationwithsomestandardofinterpretationordeploymentaconstituentpartofthelearningorborrowingprocess.Tan’sanalysisthussuggestshowauthenticitycanhelpusarticulateasetofnewand,Ibelieve,productivedilemmasforculturalexchangethatextendbeyondsimplyes-sentialistidentity:namely,whichcriteriaandstandardsholdforculturalproduction,whereandbywhomaretheymediated,andhowmustwholecommunitieschangetoapply them?Thesedilemmasdemandnot somuchadefinitive responseasanaccountofhowmeanings—semioticsystemsgeneratedfrombutirreducibletothepluralityofdiscreteindividualexchangesthatcomprisethem—canbetransportedacrosscommunities.
Notethewaythesetwodefinitionsof“authentic”fromtheOxford English Dic-tionaryinsomewayscontradicteachother:
4.Original,first-hand,prototypical;asopposedtocopied.Obs.
5.Real,actual,‘genuine.’(Opposedtoimaginary,pretended.)arch.47
Thefirstdefinitionclaimsthatinorderforsomethingtobeauthenticorgenuine,itmustbechosenorfeltspontaneouslyandthusbe“first-hand,”nothavinganypriororiginormotive(agenuinefeelingofregret,anauthenticreligiousexperience).Thisishowthetermisusedinmuchcontemporarydiscourse,atendencysomeattributetothepowerandinfluenceofProtestantChristianityanditsemphasisonsincerein-dividualchoiceinsecuringreligiousbelief.48Theseconddefinition,however,deemssomethingauthenticinthesenseof“genuine”ifitaccordswithsomeexternalstan-dardorquality,likeanauthenticdiamond,“thegenuinearticle,”or“therealthing.”Infact,thelattertwophraseshavebeenappropriated—correctly,itisworthnoting—byarangeofcompaniessellingmass-producedgoods(bluejeans,carbonatedbever-ages)thatareidenticaltoeachotherbutpresumablymeaningfullydistinctinsomewayfromotherwiseverysimilarproducts.Itisonlybybeingpartofagrouporseriesofitemsrecognizableasthatthingthatsomethingcanbeconsideredtobe“really”thatthing.Howelsewouldweknowtocallit—andevenmoretothepoint,uponinspectionconfirmit—assuch?Authenticityandgenuinenessimplyanaccountoforigins,buttheydonotrequirethatsomethingbeanorigininitself;itneedsimplybesomethingthathassprungfromoriscloselyconnectedtosomevaluedorigin.
Consider these definitions of “genuine” from the Oxford English Dictionary(whichexplicitlyidentifythewordwith“authenticity”):
3.Reallyproceedingfromitsreputedsourceorauthor;notspurious;=AUTHENTIC.49
4.a.Having thecharacterororigin represented; real, true,notcounterfeit,unfeigned,unadulterated.(the) genuine article.50
By thesedefinitions, it isonly through faithful reproductionand transmission thatsomething can come to be called authentic. Firsthand creation or individualized
LeighK.Jenco 105
flourisheswould implyheterodoxy,abastard lineage—inotherwords, somethingspurious and profoundly inauthentic. CharlesTaylor indicates some of this sensewhenhepointsoutthat“authentic”commitmentsneednot,andinfactcannot,berootedonlyinsubjective,personalvalue;rather,theirsignificancemustbeindepen-dentofusandourdesiresasapreconditionof theirmaking sense.51These sameconcernsdrovethescholarsoftheHanLearningmovementofthelateQingdynasty,whichsoughttoestablishauthenticlineagesforConfuciantextsthattheybelievedhadbeencorruptedbyforgeries.Ironically,intheirquestforagenuineortruesourceof Confucianism unclouded by generations of (particular) textual mediation, theymimicked the very people whose influence they sought to eradicate: the daoxueNeo-Confucianists, who believed that internal self-ordering and reflection ratherthanexcessiverelianceontextswouldrevealthetrueprinciple(li)obscuredbeneathlayersofmaterialexistence(qi2).Bothwererejecting(different)formsoftextualcon-vention to revealamoreauthenticConfucian learning, inwhichauthenticitywasconstitutednotbyanactofspontaneousandoriginalcreativitybutbythefaithfulreplicationofwhattheancientsreallymeant.ForthescholarsofHanLearning,thismeant establishing an authentic lineage of transmission from the ancients to thepresent;fortheNeo-Confuciandaoxueadvocates,thisdemandedconformitytoanexternallyverifiableprinciple(li).
Onthisbasis,wecanrecognizethatauthenticityneednotmeanashamelessoremptyrip-offofsomeputativelydiscretepractice,norneeditpresumeexhaustiveknowledgeofthesubjectofimitation.FormanythinkersofHanLearning,suchasTan’sassociateKangYouwei,authenticatingtextswasameansofadvancingquiteradicalinterpretationstoreclaimaheritagetheybelievedhadbeenlostamidstthesubjectivistemphasisofNeo-Confucianlixue.52Forothers,suchasGuYanwu,thesearchforauthenticityencouragedacriticalengagementwiththepastsoradicalthatitthreatenedtodemolishtheveryclassicallearningitwasmarshaledtosupport.53Regardlessoftowhatextentsuchauthenticationaimedtochangewidelyacceptedstandardsofwhatconstitutedthe“real”Confuciandao, itneverthelessdemandedintelligiblestandardsexternaltotheactofappropriationitself:whatconstitutesau-thenticity,andwhowillaccepttheevidencesupportingsuchaclaim?Whatkindsofcommunitiescanbeconfiguredorbuilttosustainthisnewfamilyofstandards,andhowcanthesestandardscometobemeaningfulforthem?
Oneofthecounterintuitiveresultsofthisanalysisisthatauthenticity,farfromtyingtheselfineradicablytoitsownculturalorigins,actuallyoffersawayforcom-munities toreplicateforeignwaysof lifebypointingtotheexternalpracticesandstandards, rather than the inscrutable interpretations of individuals, that sustainmeaningandintelligibility.This iswhy, forTan,authenticity is linked toqi,whichgeneratesbutdoesnotdefinitivelydeterminethestandardsofintelligibilitythatwouldmakeparticularWesternformsbothworkandmakesensewithinaforeigncommu-nity.Theprocessbeginswiththe(re-)creationofexternallyobservablepracticesandinstitutions,andfromtherecallsintobeingacollectiveratherthanmerelyanindi-vidual senseofhowagiven institution functionsas the thing itactually, really, issupposedbyitsdiverseparticipantstobe.Authenticqiandinnovativedaobothmarkandgivelifetothetensionbetweenoriginalcreationandfaithfulreplicationatthe
106 PhilosophyEast&West
heartofalllearning,cross-culturallearninginparticular.Readinthisway,theimita-tionofWestern“qi”canbeseennotasmindlesscopyingbutasaprofoundinsightintothecollectivelysustainednatureofpoliticalinstitutions,values,andpractices.LiketheantiquityoflateImperialkaozhengscholars,theculturalsubjectsofsuchimitationsdonot present themselves toborrowers as “finishedproducts.”Rather,theyhavetobe“rediscoveredandreconstructed.”54
Iwouldliketosuggestthataspiringtosuch(chastened)authenticityisaneces-sarypartofanyattempttoextendfoundationalprinciplestomeetnewchallenges,tolearnorbeconvertedtoanewwayofthinkingthatimpliesaseriesofinterconnectedandembeddednetworksofmeaning,ratherthandiscreteconceptssomehowheldtobeintelligibleinisolationfromeachotherandfromthelogical,social,andintellec-tualmatrices that embody theirmeaning.Whateverone’sviewson the futilityornecessityofauthenticityincross-culturalexchange,itisclearthatsuchissuespersis-tentlyreturn—itseemsthatthe(self-conscious,atleast)pointoftheexerciseisnottoreinforcewhatisknownoreventosyncretizefragmentedandhalf-understoodcul-turalformsbuttolearnsomethingnewandcompletethatisradicallytransformative.
Anotionofauthenticityisnecessary,moreover,ifwearetoavoidconfoundingthecomparisonofindividualexpressionsorworldviewswiththecomparisonof“cul-tures.”Inanattempttoavoidessentialism,theoristsofthemutual-intelligibilityap-proachleaveopenthequestionofwhetherthedifferencebeingcrossedortheformsbeingborrowedare“cultural”ormerelyidiosyncratic.Byreducingcomparativephi-losophyandtheorytoanexchangebetweensituatedinterlocutors,whetheractual(as indifferencepolitics)orreconstructed(fromcanonical textsandothermedia),theseapproachesallmodelcross-culturalinfluenceorexchangeasaperformancebyindividuals.Thenegotiationofculturaldifferenceactseithertointerrogateself-identity(thegoalsofhybridityorcosmopolitandiscourse)ortogainintelligibilityofforeignwaysoflifeasameanstogreatermutualunderstanding.Forthosehopingtocraftaviablepoliticaltheoryfromcross-culturalexchange,theissueiscommensura-bility and its goal or resolution is mutual understanding, often in the form of ahermeneutical intervention from a self-conscious vantage point.55 Individuals areprimarytargetsandparticipantsinthisformofinteraction:it isthroughindividualactsofcomprehension,psychologicaladjustment,commitment,andexpressionthatmutual intelligibility ismadepossible.Thepossibilityof groundinganalysis inanalternative set of theoretically self-sufficient categories,whichpotentially offer aninternal diversity of interpretations and resources, is never broached because theanalysisremainscenteredonthetropeoractualperformanceofinterpersonalcom-munication(inthecaseofdialogicandtranslationmodels)orself-awarenessofone’spositionorculturalconstitution(aswithhybridityandcosmopolitanism).Howevermuch each individual may share his knowledge with others, the performance ofcross-cultural thinking remains irreducibly individual; it is not a matter of socialtransformation,sharedpractices,orinstitution-building.
ManyWesternLearningthinkers,incontrast,hopedtosetintomotionculturallydistinctinstitutionsandwaysoflifethatare,bydefinition,sociallydistributedandperformedratherthanpersonallyaccessible.Thisdifferenceingoalproducesadif-
LeighK.Jenco 107
ferenceinmethod,revealingtowhatextentthemutual-intelligibilityapproachfailstoaddressboththeinstitutionalizedandinterconnectedmultiplicityofsociallifeandculturalmeaningaswellastheneedtoaddressandengagecommunitiesratherthanindividualsinthesearchforcross-culturalknowledge.Applyingsuchaviewoflearn-ing to cross-cultural borrowing, asTan does, dynamizes across space rather thansimplyacrosstimeananthropologicalorsocial-scienceviewofculturalpractices.Borrowinga“culture”oroneof its forms, then,mustsomehowpreservethisplaybetweensharedsymbols,ontheonehand,andcreativedeploymentoforcriticalresistancetothem,ontheother.
Tan’s elaboration of the mutually constitutive qi/dao relationship offers onemeansthroughwhichwecanbegintomoveculturalpracticesacrossspaces(andnotmerelythroughtime).Byshowingthattheyarelearned—thatis,learnable —practicesthatbothproduceandinformalooselycoherentsemioticsystem,Tanmaintainsthetension between tradition and innovation that marks all cultural production.Theproblemthisintroduces,ofcourse,isthatbyadoptingasemioticsystemthatendowsactionsandinstitutionswithmeaning,suchlearningpointstosocietyratherthantheindividualasthesiteoftransformation.Themereunderstandingofhowgivensys-temsworkbyoneindividualisofnodirectuse.
The Path Forward
Tanhasbynomeansresolvedallthedilemmasofcross-culturalborrowing,buthehassetthemonaproductivenewtrack.Specifically,herefutespresumptionsoftheintractability(ifnottheintelligibility)ofculturaldifferenceamidstaworldbereftofobjectivepointsofadjudication.Whilemanycurrentcomparativetheoristsandphi-losophersseektocounterfalseuniversalismbytyingclaimstoparticular,negotiatedcontexts,theunfortunateresultisthatculturaldifferences—whetherornotseentobederivedfromandreducibletoethnicdifferences—arerenderedifnotunintelli-giblethenunusableto“outsiders.”Accordingtothisview,onlymutualintelligibilityorahybrid,emerginguniversaldiscourse(notconversionorthedevelopmentofthe“other’s”categoriesfromtheinside)ispossible.RoxanneEuben,forexample,explic-itlyjustifiesthetaskofcomparativepoliticaltheoryonthebasisofsharedconcernsthatinformbutdonotsupplantWesterndiscourses:“non-Westernperspectivesmayprovidenew(newtotheWest,thatis)answerstoouroldquestions”56—apparentlyleavingthecapacityforposingquestionsfirmlywithinalready-developedWesternmodesofinquiry.57
“Authenticity”begins to refute these assumptionsbypointing to the external,replicablepractices,objects,andinstruments,orqi,thatdrawuponand/orconstituteaconstellationofshiftingandhermeneuticallyopensociety-widevalues,commit-ments,andcharacteristics(dao),suggestinginturndilemmasthataremorecomplexthanthosethatattendtranslation,cross-culturaldialogue,oridiosyncraticperceptionsofselfandother.Forone,readingcross-culturalexchangeastheacquisitionofdaosbytheimplementationofqisuggeststhatourgoalcanbetogainfacilityinwhollynewmodesof inquiryrather thansimplytoacquiresubstantiveideas.Scholarsof
108 PhilosophyEast&West
particulardaosaffirmthetheoreticalintegrityofthosedaosbyactuallyfosteringtheirinternaldevelopment—“goingon”astheydo—ratherthansimplydocumentingthetraditionsorphilosophiesexistingwithinagivencontextorterritory.Althoughthismodelsetsnolimitonwhocanmeaningfullypursuesuchdevelopments,itdoesre-quireaggressivereproductionofwhatareperceivedtobefoundationalpremises,aswellastheinstitutionsthatgroundparticularcommunitiesofinquiry.Themodelthusaccountsforthepossibilitythatculturalfoundations—asconceptionsthatbothinter-pretandareinterpreted—mayexceedtheirexpressioninanyparticulartextorsetoftexts,mayfurnishalternativecounter-discoursesandinternalcritique,andmaydrawfromhithertounseenculturallyembeddedbutnotessentializedlogicsthatcanbefurtherdevelopedtoformanewresearchprograminavarietyofculturalcontexts.
InsomewaysTan’smodelresemblesAlasdairMacIntyre’sargumentabouthowwegainaccesstoerstwhileforeignwaysofthought.ForMacIntyre,learningaforeigndaowouldinvolvelearninga“secondfirst language”that involvesdeepacquain-tancewithnotonlybodiesoftheorybutalso“theculturalandhistoricalcontextsinandthroughwhichtheyoriginallyderivedtheirintelligibilityaspartofasequenceconstitutingthatkindoftraditionofinquirywhichisthebearerofadevelopingthe-ory.”58ButwhereMacIntyrepresumesatightandnearlyinsurmountableconnectionbetweendistinctlifeforms(orcultures)anddistinctbodiesoftheory,59Tanunder-scoresthesometimesunevenascriptionof“cultural”differencetovariouslifeexperi-ences that may or may not have direct relationships to the intellectual concernsunder scrutiny,oreven toculturally situatedwaysof thinkingat all.Withcarefulcultivationofcertainqi,Tanclaims,largeparcelsofWestern“thinking”canbefaith-fullyreproducedanddevelopedinfuturewaysbyChinesescholars,buthedoesnotprescribeinadvance,orever,thedaothatsuchqiultimatelybringsforth.
ThegreatstrengthofTan’sideaisthathegivesusentrypointsintowhatisulti-matelyacomplexentitysubjecttointerpretationandonlylimitedhumancompre-hension.Daointhisviewisnotacircumscribed,graspableobject,liketheideaof“culture”onemaygleanfromatouristguidebook,butthisdoesnotmeanitistrac-tableonlythroughinteractionswith,orthearticulatedself-identityof,situatedindi-viduals.Asaninterlockedseriesofinteractionsandknowledgeproducedbycountlessindividuals,thesedaosaremultilayeredandrich.Reproducingtheirpremisesdoesproducesomethingmeaningful,evenifnecessarilypartial.Tan’snotionofaradicallyopen-endeddao enables a formofborrowing focused lesson identifyingdistinctideasthatcanbecontributionstoalreadyexistingdiscoursesthanitisoninaugurat-ingnewfieldsofinquiry,aswellasnewwaysoflifeinacommunityoflike-mindedothers.
Notes
IwouldliketothankGuyAlitto,SteveAngle,MarkBevir,PerryCaldwell,JackDon-nelly,BenjaminElman,LiWanquan,TalLewis,LoyHui-Chieh,JenLondon,EmilyNacol,TanSorHoon,LisaWedeen,TimWeston,andthetwoanonymousreviewers
LeighK.Jenco 109
ofthisessayfortheirhelpinsharpeningtheideasIexplorehere.IpresentedsomeoftheideasinthisessayattheDepartmentofEastAsianStudies,PrincetonUniversity;theDepartmentofChineseStudies,NationalUniversityofSingapore;andtheInsti-tuteofModernHistory,AcademiaSinica.Ithankalloftheseaudiencesfortheirhelpandquestions.
1–Idiscussthisargumentinmoredetailbelow,butseeLeighJenco,“‘WhatDoesHeaven Ever Say?’A Methods-CenteredApproach to Cross-Cultural Engage-ment,”American Political Science Review 101(4)(November2007):741–755,forfurtherelaborationofhowconcernsaboutequalityinformthemethodologyofmuchcontemporarycross-culturaltheory.
2–Thereare,ofcourse,notableexceptions,suchasStephenC.Angle,Sagehood: The Contemporary Significance of Neo-Confucian Philosophy(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2009).Ileavemoredetailedargumentforlaterintheessay.
3–Lisa Wedeen, “Conceptualizing Culture: Possibilities for Political Science,”American Political Science Review96(4)(2002):717.
4–CharlesTaylor,“InterpretationandtheSciencesofMan,”inPhilosophy and the Human Sciences: Philosophical Papers,2 (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1985),p.36.
5–WangXianming,infact,pointsoutthatdao/qiandrelatedformulations(suchasben/zhi[root/branch])precededtherelativelylate(ca.1895)developmentofti/yong as constitutive of Western Learning discourse. See Wang Xianming,“Zhongtixiyong:Jindaixinxuedewenhuamoshi,”inJindai xinxue: Zhongguo chuantong xueshu wenhua de shanbian yu chonggou (Beijing:ShangwuYin-shuguan,2000),p.252.
6–Tze-kiHonhasrecentlyarguedthatZhang’sstancewasnotstarklyconservativesomuchasiturgedcooperationbetweenextremistsonbothsidestopromote“a critical evaluation of [China’s] traditional institutions as well as a globalvision.”SeeHon,“ZhangZhidong’sProposalforReform:ANewReadingoftheQuanxuepian,”inPeterZarrowandRebeccaKarl,eds.,Rethinking the 1898 Reform Period(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityAsiaCenter,2002),p.88.Itremainsthecase,however,thatZhanginterpretsthestudyofWesternLearn-ingasproperlysubsequentto,andinformedby,foundationalChineselearning(p.90).
7–ZhangZhidong, “QuanxuePian,” inZhang Zhidong quanxue pian, ed. LuoBingliang(Beijing:HuaXiaChubanshe,2002),p.34.
8–Hon,“ZhangZhidong’sProposalforReform,”p.82.
9–FengGuifen,“CaiXixueyi,”inJiao bin lu kang yi(Taibei:WenhaiChubanshe,1971),p.152.
10–WangTao,Tao Yuan wen lu wai bian,ed.ZhangDainian,Zhongguoqimengsixiangwenku(Shenyang:LiaoningRenminChubanshe,1994),pp.22–23.
110 PhilosophyEast&West
11–ZhengGuanying,Shengshi weiyan,2vols.,Zhongguoshixuecongshu(Taibei:TaianXueshengShuju,1965),pp.26–27.
12–JohnKingFairbankandMerleGoldman,China: A New History (Cambridge,MA:BelknapPress,1998),p.217;JosephR.Levenson,Confucian China and Its Modern Fate: A Trilogy(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1958).
13–LukeS.K.Kwong,“TheT’i-YungDichotomyandtheSearchforTalentinLateCh’ingChina,”Modern Asian Studies27(2)(1993).
14–Todaytheterm“WesternLearning”inscribesabroadrangeofdebatescenteredon themeaninganddesirabilityofWesternization inChineseacademicandsocial life, articulated largely by reference to this earlier discussion and itscategoriesofti/yong.See,forexample,FangChaohui,“Zhongxue” yu “Xixue”: Chong xin jie du xian dai Zhongguo xueshu shi(Baoding:HebeiDaxueChu-banshe,2002).
15–YanFu,“Yu‘Waijiaobao’zhurenlunjiaoyushu,”inYan Fu xuanji,ed.ZhouZhenfu(Beijing:RenminWenxueChubanshe,2004),p.146.
16–TanSitong,Tan Sitong quanji,ed.CaiShangsiandFangXing,1sted.,2vols.(Beijing:ZhonghuaShuju,1981),p.197.Hereafter,allreferencestothisworkwillbecitedasQuanjifollowedbythepagenumber.
17–AccordingtoStevenPlatt,TanbelievedthatthetrueteachingsofConfuciusandMencius were preserved in the work of Wang Fuzhi and fellow Hunanesescholarsalone.Tansawitashisresponsibilitytoperpetuatethe“blood”ofhisancestorWangbyemphasizingpracticallearningthat“servedrealconditions”(Platt,Provincial Patriots: The Hunanese and Modern China[Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2007],p.72).
18–ImakenoclaimshereabouthowandtowhatextenttheessaysunderscrutinyherefitinwithTan’smorewell-knownRenxue,writtenlaterandafterTanbe-cameconvincedofthesupremacyofBuddhismasasourceofreligiousguid-ance.Therearesignificantcontinuities,however,specificallytheemphasisonmaterialforcesorobjects(inRenxue,“ether”oryitai)asconstituentembodi-ments of moral and social values, and the affirmation of “names” (ming) aspower-saturated,sociallyconstructedlabelsratherthanindicatorsofaninde-pendentlyexistingreality;seeRenxue,1sted.(Beijing:ZhonghuaShuju,1958),pt.1,chaps.1,5,8.(FormoreonTan’sstatusasamaterialist,seeLiZehou,“LunTanSitongdezhexuesixiangheshehuizhengzhiguandian,”inKang You-wei Tan Sitong sixiang yanjiu [Shanghai:RenminChubanshe,1958],sec.2.)One explanation for Tan’s return to Chinese rather than explicitly Westernframeworksmaybehisdiscovery,alludedtoinhisearlierworkssuchasSi pian(On thinking) (Quanji, pp. 122–152), thatChina alreadypossessedmuchofwhatheformerlytooktobenovelWesterninventions(qi).Inthiscase,hedoesnotcontradicthisdao/qitheorysomuchaschangehisevaluationofhowmuchWesternqiChinaneededtoborrowinordertoproduceWesterndao.
LeighK.Jenco 111
19–InalettertohisfriendTangFuchen,Tannotedthataroundthetimeofhisthir-tiethbirthday,his thoughtunderwent“anenormous transformation” (Quanji,pp.259–260).
20–Notethattheqiofdao/qiandtheqiofli/qiaredifferentcharactersandmean-ings,despitetheiridenticalromanization.Iwillindicatethelatterasqi2.
21–Zhang Dainian, Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy, trans. Edmund Ryden(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,2002),pp.224–225;ChenDianyun,“WangFuzhilun‘dao’he‘qi’,”inWang Fuzhi bianzheng fa sixiang yinlun,ed.XiaoShafu(Wuhan:HubeiRenminChubanshe,1984),pp.162–163.
22–LukeK.S.Kwong,T’an Ssu-T’ung, 1865–1898: Life and Thought of a Reformer(Leiden:E.J.Brill,1996),p.110;Tu-kiMin,National Polity and Local Power: The Transformation of Late Imperial China(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1989),pp.80–85.
23–IntheSi pian,section2,Quanji,p.123,Tanconnectsqiastheuniquekeytoboth“fundamentals”(ben)anddao.
24–ComparethistoWangFuzhi’sclaimthat“knowledge”(zhi)and“faculty”(neng)are the two“uses” (yong) thatcomplete ti (WangFuzhi,Zhou yi wai zhuan(Beijing:ZhonghuaShuju,1977[1655]),p.157).
25–Feng,“CaiXixueyi.”
26–This philosophical implication was identified and more fully questioned byothers,includingBiFucheng,asWangXianmingnotes,inWang,“Zhongtixiyong:Jindaixinxuedewenhuamoshi,”pp.253–254.
27–MarkCsikszentmihalyi,Readings in Han Chinese Thought(Indianapolis:Hack-ett,2006),p.65.
28–HellmutWilhelm,Heaven, Earth, and Man in the Book of Changes (Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,1977),pp.32–33.IntheRenxue, TanaffirmsthatthechangesasinterpretedbyWangFuzhispeakonlyofvisibility,notofabsolutenotionsofexistence(whichTanpresumesareinscrutableand/ornon-existentintheBuddhistsense).SeeTan,Renxue,pt.1,sec.12.
29–Wilhelm,Heaven, Earth, and Man in the Book of Changes,p.34.
30–Yan,“Yu‘Waijiaobao’zhurenlunjiaoyushu.”
31–Hans-GeorgGadamer,Truth and Method,trans.JoelWeinsheimerandDonaldG.Marshall,2ndrev.ed.(NewYork:Continuum,1989).
32–CharlesTaylor,“ThePoliticsofRecognition,”inMulticulturalism and “The Poli-tics of Recognition” (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1992);FredDall-mayr,“BeyondMonologue:ForaComparativePoliticalTheory,”Perspectives on Politics4(2)(2004).
33–RoxanneEuben,Enemy in theMirror: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Limits of Modern Rationalism: A Work of Comparative Political Theory (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1999),p.13.
112 PhilosophyEast&West
34–Forexample,Euben,Enemy in the Mirror;FredR.Dallmayr,Beyond Oriental-ism: Essays on Cross-Cultural Encounter (Albany:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,1996);StephenC.Angle,Human Rights and Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002); Daniel A.Bell,East Meets West: Human Rights and Democracy in East Asia(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,2000).
35–FredDallmayr,Alternative Visions: Paths in the Global Village (Lanham,MD:RowmanandLittlefield,1998),p.7.
36–RaimundoPanikkar,“What IsComparativePhilosophyComparing?” in Inter-preting across Boundaries, ed. Gerald Larson and Eliot Deutsch (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1988),pp.127–129.Foramorethoroughcritiqueofthedialogicmodel,specificallytheEurocentrismofitsowncategories,seeLeighJenco,“‘WhatDoesHeavenEverSay?’”
37–JeremyWaldron,“MinorityCulturesandtheCosmopolitanAlternative,”Uni-versity of Michigan Journal of Law Reform25,no.751(1992):785.
38–PratapBhanuMehta, “Cosmopolitanismand theCircleofReason,”Political Theory28(5)(2000):630.
39–AlasdairC.MacIntyre,“Incommensurability,Truth,and theConversationbe-tweenConfuciansandAristoteliansabouttheVirtues,”inCulture and M odernity: East-West Philosophic Perspectives,ed.EliotDeutsch(Honolulu:UniversityofHawai‘iPress,1991),pp.114–115;MacIntyre,Whose Justice? Which Rational-ity?(NotreDame:UniversityofNotreDamePress,1988),p.327.
40–JeremyWaldron,“WhatIsCosmopolitan?”Journal of Political Philosophy8(2)(2000):242.
41–WillKymlicka,Liberalism, Community and Culture(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1989).
42–Mehta,“CosmopolitanismandtheCircleofReason,”p.620.
43–MacIntyre,Whose Justice? Which Rationality? pp. 374–375, 382–383, 394–395.
44–Forexample,LydiaH.Liu,Translingual Practice: Literature, National Culture, and Translated Modernity —China, 1900–1937 (Stanford: StanfordUniversityPress,1995).
45–For example, Uma Narayan, Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third-World Feminism: Thinking Gender(NewYork:Routledge,1997),chap.4.
46–CharlesLindholm,Culture and Authenticity (Malden,MA:Blackwell,2008),p.2.
47–Oxford English Dictionaryonlineedition,q.v.“authentic.”
48–AdamB.Seligmanetal.,Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2008),p.9.
LeighK.Jenco 113
49–The relevant definition provided by the OED for “authentic” reads: “Reallyproceeding from its reputed sourceor author;ofundisputedorigin, genuine(Opposedtocounterfeit, forged, apocryphal ).”
50–Oxford English Dictionaryonlineedition,q.v.“genuine.”
51–CharlesTaylor,The Ethics of Authenticity(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1992),pp.82etpassim.
52–KangYouwei,Kongzi gai zhi kao(Taibei:TaiwanShangwuYinshuguan,1968).
53–BenjaminA.Elman,From Philosophy to Philology: Intellectual and Social As-pects of Change in Late Imperial China,2ndrev.ed.(LosAngeles:UCLAAsianPacificMonographSeries,2001),pp.32–34.
54–Ibid.,p.35.
55–Suchinterventionsdonotalwaystaketheexplicitformofdialogue,thoughtheyofteneffectivelyimitateitinsuchmattersastheselectionandexegesisoftextsforstudy.SeeGadamer,whopointsoutthesimilaritybetweenreadingatextandreachinganunderstandinginaconversation:“Justaseachinterlocutoristryingtoreachagreementonsomesubjectwithhispartner,soalsotheinter-preter is trying to understand what the text is saying” (Gadamer, Truth and Method,p.370).
56–Euben,Enemy in the Mirror,p.11.
57–EubennotesfurtherthatinaworlddominatedbyWesternhegemonyandcolo-nialism, “questionswe take tobeourshaveceased tobe soexclusively ...becausetheyhavecometoframethesensibilitiesofnon-Westernersaswell”(ibid.,p.10).
58–MacIntyre,“Incommensurability,Truth,andtheConversationbetweenConfu-ciansandAristoteliansabouttheVirtues,”pp.114–115.
59–Forexample,inWhose Justice? Which Rationality? MacIntyreoftenconstruestraditionsasconstitutedbyasharedcoreofessentialbeliefsgroundedinall-encompassingwaysoflife(pp.355–356),whichhelaterspecifiesasdistinctlyunchosen(“Incommensurability,”p.116).