Abstract
As mentioned earlier, this book applies the research perspective to the concept of “vigor.” One of the purposes is to overcome the shortage of “transplanted schools” and “experienced schools,” and thereby search for theoretical inspirations from the culture and daily lives of the Chinese. Why does this book find “vigor,” a complicated and rather ambiguous concept at the end, while we could apply related Chinese cultural concepts? What connotation does “vigor” have in Chinese culture and how did this connotation evolve? What is the relationship between “vigor” and contentious politics? What are the similarities and differences between “vigor” and Western social theories? To answer these questions, we need to start with the research on Chinese social activities.
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Notes
- 1.
We follow Weber to apply the meaning of “social conduct” in this book (see Weber 1978).
- 2.
See Yang and Wen (1982) for the origin of the localization in social sciences in the Chinese society in the 1980s.
- 3.
- 4.
Since there are many citations in this book, we will not cite every page number. Readers who are interested could search and check by alphabetic order.
- 5.
The Forbearance has been summarized by ancients (Xu et al. 2007). And Li and Yang (1998) classified perseverance into ten categories: perseverance in desire, perseverance in emotion, perseverance in temper, perseverance in morality, perseverance in conduct, perseverance in opportunities, perseverance in human relationships, perseverance in treatments, perseverance in wealth, and perseverance in issue handling. These categories can also be generalized into three classes: the perseverance in moral quality, the perseverance in interpersonal relationships, and the perseverance in social achievements.
- 6.
There are several discussions on the difference between reputation (lian) and face (mianzi). Due to the limited space, we will omit this point in this book. See Ho (1976), Jin (2006b: pp. 249–269), Zhai (2005: pp. 129–140).
- 7.
See Schwartz (1989) for the Confucian thoughts about fate.
- 8.
See Hinton (1966), Harrell (1987: pp. 90–109), Smith (1894) for an understanding of fate for people living in the bottom of the society.
- 9.
Qian also suggested in the book that “the exclusion of lawsuits and fights all originated from Mo-tse. Mo-tse is neither etiquette nor conflict;” but “Mo-tse’s idea includes love, and Confucians emphasize etiquette, but both are not enough to stop a fight; that which can stop a conflict is law.” However, compared to the Pre-Qin, the Chinese society since the Qin Dynasty has had “significant use of the law and reductions in conflicts,” but fights and revenge still occurred among people occasionally.
- 10.
For the rise and fall of the ancient China revenge regime suggested in Zhao Orphan, see Su (2006: pp. 43–83).
- 11.
Of course, sometimes people will exaggerate in order to gain attention. The proverb “no charge is without a lie” describes such a phenomenon (see Xu 2006: pp. 22–70). But such situations of exaggerating little things and deliberately constructing a sense of injustice do not belong to this type of recognizable politics.
- 12.
In the villages where people of the same nationality live together and have a close relationship; they always refuse to engage in litigation. But the little arguments that were resolved by face and favors can be accumulated day by day and form an account book in their hearts. When they are offended and cannot tolerate anymore, they will no longer confine themselves merely to the facts but use their memory that “injustice has its origin, and debt has its creditor” to solve the cumulative problems between individuals, households, or families (Ying 2001: p. 364). As pointed out by Shuzo (1998a: p. 14), “Chinese people have a tendency to fully and generally consider in their society that they should not isolate the subject matter but overall consider the two opposite sides, sometimes extending to the people in both parties.”
- 13.
Despite the fact that anti-rent and anti-taxation activities have a complex evolution in reality, there is no absolute boundary with riots. But in general, anti-rent and anti-taxation activities do not involve challenges to the legitimacy of state power, while riots directly challenge the legitimacy of state power. See Bernhardt (1992) and Wong (2008).
- 14.
For the differences among food riots, anti-rent and anti-taxation activities, and revolution, see Wong (2008). For the difference between rebellion and revolution, see Perry (1980).
- 15.
In this spectrum, there is another type between the restriction of passion and the outburst of passion: agree outwardly but disagree inwardly (see Zou 1999).
- 16.
However, under the situation in which the country has built effective control over the society and effective mobilization, the conflicts between people and the country are never public rebellions or disturbances but the “rightful resistance” (O’Brien and Li 2006), namely, to resist the local policy by the local government or the illegal actions by grassroots leaders through law and policy or government senior officials. This resistance is public, quasi-institutional, or half-institutional. A petition is a very typical legal contention.
- 17.
In both English of Leviathan published in 1651 and the Latin version published in 1668, we cannot find spiritedness or thymos. The book does use the word “spirit” multiple times, but it refers to a god in a religious sense. The one that is close to “spiritedness” in his book is “passions.” See Hobbes (1991, 1994).
- 18.
According to Hobbes (1996: p. 44), will is the last appetite or aversion immediately adhering to the action, or to the omission thereof.
- 19.
Somebody still considers honor to be one of the elements of passion in Hobbes’ thoughts and believes that those that receive honor and those that suffer from fear can respond with rational reactions towards natural situations. This is a simplistic interpretation of Hobbes’ thoughts (X.F. Liu et al. 2007: pp. 67–79).
- 20.
In Christian thoughts, passions are the soul movements for the lower type animals while affections are the good soul movements for the higher level rational animals.
- 21.
Bunga Fukui (2007: pp. 514–515) lists the following English translations of vigor (气): breath, ether, material force, subtle spirits, air, vapor, stream, vital fluid, temperature, energy, and anger.
- 22.
Of course, the division of collectivism, individualism, is complex and we will not discuss in this book. For more information, please see Z.F. Yang (1994), G.S. Yang (1988: pp. 87–142), and Zhai (2005: pp. 181–205).
- 23.
Though this could be an exaggeration, Schmitt (2008) was keenly aware of Hobbes’s Leviathan, which allowed neutralization, technicalization in the modern countries.
- 24.
As pointed out by Strauss (1953): if the passion of self-preservation is the only source of justice and morality, then the basic morality is not an obligation but a right. All obligations are derived from the fundamental and never abandoned self-preservation rights. Therefore, there is no absolute or unconditional obligation; obligations have a binding effect only when their implementation does not compromise people’s self-preservation. Only the right of self-preservation is unconditional or absolute…the power of the country has an insurmountable boundary in natural rights rather than immoral facts.
- 25.
“Country is the reality of ethics; it’s the ethical spirit of the self-aware entity. This ethical spirit considers itself and knows itself and completes everything and only those it knows” (Hegel 1911).
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Ying, X. (2013). “Vigor” in the Scope of Social Conduct: From Traditional China to Contemporary China. In: A Study of the Stability of Contemporary Rural Chinese Society. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36400-6_2
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