The Limit of People's Sovereignty (A New Discussion on Huang Zongxi's Political Thought)

Author: Zhang Shiwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Modern society began with the start of global integration in the 16th century. Did Chinese modern society also begin in the 16th century? As a typical figure in the intellectual circles of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Huang Zongxi's thought is sufficiently representative in answering the question of whether traditional China had internal factors for modernization. Huang Zongxi's political thought consists of an organic whole made up of political philosophy and a political ideal state. This book systematically analyzes the many inevitable propositions in Huang Zongxi's political philosophy and comprehensively explores his political ideal state plan. The author argues that Huang Zongxi was a "man of principle" dedicated to "mending the sky" in traditional society, rather than a so-called "gravedigger" of the traditional political system; his political philosophy remained a Confucian orthodox political philosophy serving the traditional monarchy.