POL381H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Kang Youwei, Qing Dynasty, Great Unity
Document Summary
He wrote five classics - later codified as confucian canon. Living at the end of the qing dynasty. Qing supremacy & self-image shattered by military losses to british & others. Kang involved in (unsuccessful) 100 days reform movement in 1898. The world is characterized by an overflowing of jealousies and the clashing of wills (62) And where they"re outdated/ossified, they"re a source of conflict. He spends a lot of time cataloguing suffering. Sages have developed laws and guidance (critique of rigid interpretation of confucianism) "to enjoy being in groups, and to hate solitude, to mutually assist and. Given these characteristics, how do we generate concern for others? (69) Expanding circle of concern, from family to wider groups. Forming groups is an (imperfect) expression of the way, but . The evils of having sovereign states (79: states having been established, patriotisms are born (80) Paradox: need to abolish sovereign states to stop fighting, but until we do, disarmament is illogical.
