The Cultural History of the Chinese Concepts Fengjian (Feudalism) and Jingji (Economy) (Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture)

This book interprets the typical Chinese concepts of fengjian (feudalism) and jingji (economy) by reviewing the mistranslation and mismatching of concepts from ancient to modern times and from a Western language to Chinese and exploring Chinese and Western acculturation, which is in line with Mr. Chen Yinque’s theory―”To interpret a Chinese character is to write a history of culture”. In the coordinates of time and space for the transformation of Chinese concepts from ancient to modern times and their translation from Western languages, this book explores the generation and evolution of Chinese concepts; using the semantic window of Chinese characters, the book reviews the historical and cultural connotations of the semantic changes and the history of the long-lasting culture of Chinese characters. This volume moves from reviewing the semantic changes of fengjian and jingji to elaborating concepts of thought; it makes the study of the history of terms and concepts the study of the history of culture and thought; it analyzes words as part of cultural history to welcome the era of cultural and historical research with a focus on words. This book is both scholarly and readable, satisfying both the academic needs of specialized researchers and the cultural curiosity of those with secondary education or above. Publisher’s Note to “Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture Series” (English Edition) Contents About the Author List of Figures 1 Introduction Part I Fengjian (Feudal) 2 Composition of the Classical Chinese Term “Fengjian” 3 The Zhou Fengjian System of Decentralization and the Qin System of Monarchical Centralization 4 The Concept of Hōken (封建) in Early Modern Japan 5 A Discovery of the Similarities Between Fengjian and Feudalism 6 Establishment of the Concept of Feudalism in Western Europe and Its Encounter with Feudalism in East Asia 7 The New Term “Fengjian” in the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republican Era 7.1 The Abolition of the Han System and Its Replacement by a System of Prefectures in Japan’s Meiji Restoration Changed the Feudal System into the System of Prefectures 7.2 The Zhou Dynasty State System Was the Same as the Feudal Systems of Europe and Japan in the Middle Ages 8 The Alienation of the New Term “Fengjian” 8.1 Chen Duxiu’s Theory that Feudalism Equals Backwardness 8.2 Ignoring the Differences Between China and Japan in the Early Modern Societies 8.3 An Investigation into “Anti-feudalism” During the May 4th Movement and the New Culture Movement 9 Generalization of the Concept of “Feudalism” 9.1 The Communist International’s Generalized View of Feudalism 9.2 Social History Debate Promoted the Generalization of Feudalism 10 The Truth About Marx’s Theory of Feudalism 10.1 The Superficial Understanding of the Doctrine of Social Forms by the Participants in the Social History Debate in China 10.2 The Non-feudal Early Modern Societies of China, India, and Other Eastern Countries 11 Criticism of Generalized Feudalism by Chinese Scholars 12 Patriarchal Landowners’ Authoritarian Society and the Age of Imperial Power 12.1 The Patriarchal System 12.2 The Landlord System 12.3 The Autocratic Monarchy Part II Jingji (Economy) 13 The Classical Meaning of “Jingji”: Governance for the People 14 Jingji as Envisaged in the Studies for Practical Solutions in China and Japan in the Near-Ancient Period: The National Economy and the People’s Livelihood 14.1 Jingji Which Means Governance for the People 14.2 The Use of the Term “経済” (Keizai, Jingji) in Early Modern Japan 14.3 The Presentation of Jingjixue (经济学) 15 The Evolution of Ancient and Modern Meaning of Economy in the West Until It Was Finally Settled 16 Translation of Economy into Keizai in the Late Edo Period and During the Meiji Period 16.1 The Change of the Meaning of the European and American Term “Economy” and the Following by the Japanese 16.2 Staatshuishoudkunde Was Translated as Seisan-Gaku (製産学) and Keizai-Gaku Got Closer to Waseisan-Gaku 16.3 The Japanese Misuse of the Term “经纪” (Jingji) Led to the Change of the Meaning of “经济” (Jingji) 16.4 Establishment of the New Name “Keizai” in Japan 16.5 Fukuzawa Yukichi and Nakae Chōmin Divided Keizai into Four Parts 16.6 Economy Means Being Frugal 17 Modern Japan Doubted About the Translation of Economy as Keizai and Tried Other Alternatives 18 The Rejection of Japan’s Translation of Economy as Keizai by Chinese Scholars in the Late Qing Dynasty and Their New Alternatives 18.1 Various Translations by Protestant Missionaries to China 18.2 Transliterations by the Chinese 18.3 Identifying with and Questioning Keizai, the Japanese Translation of Economy and Replacing It with Zisheng and Jixue 19 The Early Republican Period: Establishment of “Jingji” as the Translation of Economy in China 20 Examination of Jingji in Its Present Sense 20.1 Semantics 20.2 History