“This is the most comprehensive and intriguing scholarly treatment of the concept of harmony in Confucianism. Li’s arguments are clearly articulated with the support of erudite intellectual history, textual exegesis, and most convincingly, crystal clear conceptual analysis. This book is a must for those students and schol- ars in philosophy, China Studies, and East Asian Studies, who want to understand the core of Confucianism, both classical and modern.” Vincent Shen, Lee Chair in Chinese Thought and Culture and Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto, Canada “The ideal of liberty is central to the liberal tradition, but the value of liberty was not discussed in any systematic way prior to John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty in the nineteenth century. The ideal of harmony is central to the Confucian tradi- tion, but perhaps even more surprising, not a single book-length manuscript has explored its value in the three thousand year Confucian tradition. Chenyang Li’s book finally fills the gap. Westerners tend to think of harmony as synonymous with conformity and uniformity, but Li shows that this view is fundamentally mistaken. Li’s comparative outlook is particularly helpful for helping the reader grasp what makes harmony a precious and unique value and why Confucians tend to think harmony is central to any decent ethical system. This book is a tour de force, a must read for anybody who wants to learn about the ideals that make Confucian-influenced cultures tick.” Daniel A. Bell, author of East Meets West: Human Rights and Democracy in East Asia (2000) and Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context (2006) This page intentionally left blank The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony Harmony is a concept essential to Confucianism and to the way of life of past and present people in East Asia. Integrating methods of textual exegesis, historical investigation, comparative analysis, and philosophical argumentation, this book presents a comprehensive treatment of the Confucian philosophy of harmony. The book traces the roots of the concept to antiquity, examines its subse- quent development, and explicates its theoretical and practical significance for the contemporary world. It argues that, contrary to a common view in the West, Confucian harmony is not mere agreement but has to be achieved and maintained with creative tension. Under the influence of a Weberian reading of Confucianism as “adjustment” to a world with an underlying fixed cosmic order, Confucian harmony has been systematically misinterpreted in the West as presupposing an invariable grand scheme of things that pre-exists in the world to which humanity has to conform. The book shows that Confucian harmony is a dynamic, generative process, which seeks to balance and reconcile differences and conflicts through creativity. Illuminating one of the most important concepts in Chinese philosophy and intellectual history, this book is of interest to students of Chinese studies, history and philosophy in general and eastern philosophy in particular. Chenyang Li is Associate Professor of Philosophy and founding director of the Philosophy program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Routledge Studies in Asian Religion and Philosophy 1 Deconstruction and the Ethical in Asian Thought Edited by Youru Wang 2 An Introduction to Daoist Thought Action, language, and ethics in Zhuangzi Eske Møllgaard 3 Religious Commodifications in Asia Marketing Gods Edited by Pattana Kitiarsa 4 Christianity and the State in Asia Complicity and conflict Edited by Julius Bautista and Francis Khek Gee Lim 5 Christianity in Contemporary China Socio-cultural perspectives Edited by Francis Khek Gee Lim 6 The Buddha and Religious Diversity J. Abraham Velez de Cea 7 Japanese Religions and Globalization Ugo Dessi 8 Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West Between mind and body Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston 9 ‘Yogini’ in South Asia Interdisciplinary approaches Edited by Istvan Keul 10 The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony Chenyang Li 11 Postcolonial Resistance and Asian Theology Simon Shui-Man Kwan The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony Chenyang Li First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Chenyang Li The right of Chenyang Li to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Li, Chenyang, 1956- The Confucian philosophy of harmony / Chenyang Li. p. cm. – (Routledge studies in Asian religion and philosophy; 10) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Philosophy, Confucian. 2. Harmony (Philosophy) I. Title. B127.C65L494 2013 113–dc23 2013011996 ISBN: 978-0-415-84474-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-88661-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Paignton, UK I dedicate this book to my grandparents. Living closely with them during my childhood contributed a great deal to who I am. This page intentionally left blank Contents Foreword xi Preface xiv Acknowledgements xv Abbreviations xvii Introduction 1 PART I Harmony as a philosophical concept 5 1 Harmony with creative tension 7 2 Formation of the ideal of deep harmony: He 23 3 Harmony from the beautiful: Yue 39 4 Harmony with ritual propriety: Li 57 5 Harmony through centrality and equilibrium: Zhong 71 PART II Harmony in practice 87 6 Harmony in the good person 89 7 Home of harmony: the family 101 8 Harmonious society 117 9 Harmonizing the world 134 10 Triadic Harmony in the cosmos 148