Orthodoxy, Chineseness and Chinese Identity
Author: Chi-Shen Chang
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
This article aims to present a new way of analyzing the abundant documents in Chinese intellectual history regarding the issue of orthodoxy. I argue that the criteria of orthodoxy upheld by thinkers of various ages could be interpreted as proposing three elements of Chineseness, namely the cultural, the geographical and the ethnic. Based on these elements, thinkers in each age constructed their respective ideas about the essence of China, thus forming their own versions of Chinese identity. Statements by thinkers from the fifth to eighth centuries are presented as examples for analysis. In the modern context of the political rivalry between the ROC and the PRC, the intertwining relationship between orthodoxy, Chineseness and political legitimacy still has its effects on both players, as the concluding section suggests.