Bringing Chinese Law in Line with Western Standards? Problematizing “Chinese” and “Western” in the Late Qing Debate over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing

This article examines the intense debates over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing (Da-Qing xin xinglü) in the National Assembly (Zizheng yuan) during the Qing empire’s New Policy Reform (1901–11). The focus is on the conflict between those who drafted and supported the new code and those who expressed reservations, especially over reform of the laws on filial piety and fornication. The issue of reconfiguring the family and social order through law was closely related to the overarching agenda of twentieth century legal reform in China—making an empire that “ruled through the principle of filial piety” into a modern nation-state that had direct relationships with its citizens. More importantly, an analysis of the late Qing debate over family law enables this article to problematize such concepts as “Chinese” and “Western” during this crucial moment of China’s empire-to-nation transformation. It showcases the paradox of China’s modern-era reforms—a contradiction between imposing Western-inspired order with a largely indigenous logic and maintaining existing sociopolitical order in the name of preserving national identity.     

The philosopher,the ordinary believer,and their piety: Spinoza’s philosophical religion

This paper explores the nature and working of Spinoza’s philosophical religion. In doing so, it critically engages with Carlos Fraenkel’s study of the tradition of philosophical religions and Spinoza’s place in it. Spinoza can be said to be part of this tradition because the relation of his philosophical conception of God to the conceptions of God of some popular religions (especially Christianity) can be construed as that of the universal versus the particular, in which the particular expresses something of the universal, in an inadequate yet more readily accessible way. The account of Spinoza’s philosophical religion provided is kindred to Fraenkel’s, but it also explicitly discusses a crucial issue which Fraenkel only sparingly addresses, viz. the question how we must envisage the transition from a confused, imaginary to a more rational conception of God. A related issue the paper addresses concerns the question whether – and, if so, how – the dogmas of the universal faith can be reinterpreted philosophically. These discussions underpin a critical assessment of Fraenkel’s claim that Spinoza’s philosophical religion project is, ultimately, flawed.     

辽金人的忠孝观

忠孝是中国古代伦理的重要内容 ,中国传统文化的组成部分。契丹、女真早期本无忠孝观念。辽金建立后 ,随着社会的发展 ,儒学的传播 ,统治者的倡导 ,民族的融合等 ,忠孝观念逐渐形成和发展起来。忠孝在辽金及后来元人那里 ,超越了民族、地区和国别的畛域 ,人们对外族、邻国、敌国乃至前朝的忠臣孝子同样表现出尊重和崇敬。 1 0 - 1 3世纪 ,忠孝已成为汉、契丹、女真、蒙古等各民族一致认同的伦理道德观念和行为规范 ,从而体现了中国传统文化的历史继承性和强大凝聚力。     

“家族国家观”的悖论

日本儒教中的家族孝主义是家族国家观的重要基础。但是作为幕藩体制下封建武士之间的道德,它无法直接为明治近代化的目标服务甚至形成阻碍。因此家族国家观虽然植根于传统的儒教家族主义,但又是对其不适应时代课题的部分进行修正后,重新建构起来的一种意识形态。因此带有两面性,不是简单的“复古”,也不是儒教家族主义道德的简单复活。虽然家族国家观在统合民众方面发挥了巨大作用,但由于其原理与近代国家原理之间存在抵触,致使家族国家观自身蕴含着重大的悖论。     

语语珠玉 如闻如视——郑珍《母教录》品析

清代诗人郑珍的《母教录》是在其母永诀之时摹其母生前之音容笑貌记之。其文立意殊俗,虽自然平实,却生动真切,娓娓道来,如闻其声,如见其人;至情至理,语语珠玉,真实感人。细细品来,一位勤俭仁厚,聪慧贤德,爱子至深,教子有方的贤母形象鲜明地伫立于读者心目,生动地体现出母贤子孝的深刻道理。     

“偃师邢渠孝父画像石”研究

"偃师邢渠孝父画像石"是流失海外、现藏美国波士顿美术馆的一块东汉画像石。该石图文内容丰富、画像精美生动,从当朝民间孝行事迹的记述,到函谷关关楼建筑结构的绘制,皆是难得珍贵的史料。本文解读了画像石上五则孝行故事和关楼图像,对画像石镌刻年代、用途性质、装配位置、墓主身份、关楼及出行图与人物的关系、画像石的出土时间和地点作了初步探讨。     

On the Degeneration of Public Philosophy in America: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Mark Blitz’s Plato’s Political Philosophy is reviewed in this article with special attention to two recurring themes. The first is the relation of parts to wholes and, especially, how the knowledge of parts and wholes in general and of political parts and wholes in particular relate to the philosophic attempt to know the whole itself. The second theme is that of philosophy’s relation to piety and, in particular, how the attempt to know the whole, as understood by Blitz, relates to the fundamental opposition between piety and philosophy. Attention to these themes, the author argues, helps to explain peculiarities of Blitz’s approach, especially his greater emphasis on articulating the entire “realm of political philosophy” than on explicating individual dialogues and his tendency to connect and divide Platonic thoughts, themes, and problems rather than to bore into individual Socratic problems.     

论魏晋士人“孝先于忠”的观念

"忠"、"孝"是中国古代两种最重要的道德观念,二者都是维护封建统治的伦理基础。通常统治者往往更重视忠,但魏晋时期却由于种种原因,忠孝关系倒错,形成了"孝先于忠"的观念。     

The limitation of human knowledge: Faith and the empirical method in John Wesley's medical holism

In his medical and scientific works John Wesley provided an interpretation of the universe that was structured, though not pre-ordained, by God. The empirical method he adopted was measured in terms of efficacy and judged according to rationalistic standards. Its practical success, however, was used by Wesley to underpin his vocation of practical piety, which developed out of a holistic view of nature inspired by the spiritualism of Primitive Christianity. Accordingly, the providential ordering of Man and nature meant that safeguarding physical health became a spiritual act, though Wesley separated the discourse of religion and terminology of medicine. This distinction was essential because it ensured intellectual integrity whilst leaving a protective space for religious faith. He made this move on the one hand but saw no contradiction in bringing the discourses of religion and medicine together to serve his mission. For Wesley, social and personal improvement did not rely exclusively on enlightened thinking or religious faith. Rather it depended on showing how rationalism and faith could display separate strengths within an overall framework of holism.