Origin of the Concept of Human Rights -- A Historical Philosophy of Rights (Revised Edition)

Author: Xia Yong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-07-01
Features: This book is a historical philosophy of human rights research from the perspective of society and culture within the context of China. In the first three chapters, the author proposes several original insights into major issues such as the meaning of human rights, the origin, foundation, elements, and development patterns of rights, the logical structure of human rights thought, the experience of modern rights theory and the transformation of rights systems, as well as the attributes, elements, and contradictions of modern human rights concepts by interpreting the historical nurturing and growth of the human rights concept. The concluding section explains the value and origins of human rights from an academic perspective and conducts an in-depth comparative study on the relationship between traditional Chinese culture and human rights, proposing the use of a harmonious spirit to reform and unify existing human rights concepts. The appendices include several articles that discuss the origin and foundation of Marx's human rights concept, the moral foundation of human rights, Millen's theory of minimal human rights, and the dissemination and challenges of the human rights concept in modern China. The author advocates for "internal generation and internal pursuit," striving to establish and develop Chinese human rights theory and human rights systems. The book was first published in June 1992, reprinted five times, and partially revised in 1993. It won the 7th "China Book Award" in 1993 and the First Prize for Outstanding Academic Works of Young and Middle-aged Scholars of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1995. Some chapters of the book have been translated into English, German, Japanese, and Korean and published overseas. This revision includes a comprehensive review, the addition of one paper, a postscript after the second edition, selected English and Japanese translations, and important content indexes and name indexes.