The Long East Asia : The Premodern State and Its Contemporary Impacts

This book brings together a range of studies that aim at illustrating the ideas, institutions, historical patterns, and contemporary relevance of the social-political system that existed in the main part of East Asia during the premodern era. This is most often known as the Confucian literati-bureaucratic state, the imperial Chinese bureaucratic state, or the Confucian-Legalist state, that was established and endured most notably in China, but also in several East Asian societies such as Korea, Vietnam, Japan. That state and sociopolitical system also greatly shaped state making in several kingdoms in the region – such as Ryukyu and Dali – which were later merged into larger polities. Illuminating the significance of these historical patterns for today, this book will interest political scientists, historians, philosophers, and the general public. Contents List of Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 The Long East Asia: The Premodern State and Its Contemporary Impacts The Making and Patterns of the East Asian State Organizing Concept: Minben Meritocracy Contemporary Relevances Structure of the Book References 2 The Edge of Civilizations: The Chinese Civilization and the Development of World Civilizations Key Condition for Civilizational Development: Humans, a Lot of Humans, a Lot of Well-Connected and Leisured Humans The Center, the Peripheral, and the Outside of Civilizations; The Four Great Inventions China as the Sole Continuous Civilization? A New Division of the World Problems of the Chinese Civilization Contributions of the Chinese Civilization to the World Concluding Remarks References 3 War and State Formation in Ancient Korea and Vietnam Introduction The Qin and Han Empires Northeastern vs. Southeastern Frontier Environments State Formation on the Eastern Indochinese Peninsula, First to Seventh Centuries AD State Formation on the Korean Peninsula, First to Seventh Centuries AD Discussion Conclusion References 4 The Sovereign’s Dilemma: State Capacity and Ruler Survival in Imperial China The Argument The Star Network The Bowtie Network Social Terrains Make the State, and Vice Versa Capacity vs. Survival in Chinese History Fiscal Capacity Ruler Duration An Analytical Narrative of Chinese State Development The Star Network Before the Tenth Century State Strengthening and Rule Survival in the Star Network Transition from Star to Bowtie The Bowtie Network After the Tenth Century State Weakening and Ruler Duration Under the Bowtie Why Was the Bowtie Self-Enforcing? Conclusion References 5 “The Great Affairs of the States”: Man, the State and War in the Warring States Period Introduction Leaders, the Winning Coalition and Interstate wars—An Institutional Explanation Analytical Framework: The Dukes, Courtiers, and Wars Empirical Studies: A Quantitative Analysis on Internal Politics and Interstate War in China’s Warring States Period Conclusion: A New Perspective for Understanding Qin’s Unification References 6 Understanding Nation with Minzu: People, Race, and the Transformation of Tianxia in Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries China Introduction Minzu and Minzu Zhuyi: An Etymology Nationalism and the Imagination of a New World Order Nationalism in the Context of Internationalism: A Communist Narrative Nationalism in Chinese Revolution Conclusion Bibliography 7 Unipolarity, Hegemony, and Moral Authority: Why China Will Not Build a Twenty-First Century Tributary System Introduction Hegemony, Unipolarity, and International Order Enduring Premodern Chinese Hegemony: A Trans-dynastic Idea of China Attraction and Emulation, not Compellence China Today—Crafting an Economic, Not Hegemonic Order Conclusion: Can American Moral Authority Continue? 8 East Asian Monarchy in Comparative Perspective Introduction Theories of Monarchy and Its Survival Social and Cultural Integration Limited and Absolute Monarchies A Digression on Succession Political Equilibria Services Rendered: Why Keep a Monarch Around? East Asia China Japan Southeast Asia Thailand Cambodia Laos Vietnam Malaysia and Brunei Conclusion Appendix Bibliography 9 Legalist Confucianism: What’s Living and What’s Dead Confucianism and Legalism: The Main Ideas Conceptions of Human Nature The Ends of Politics The Means of Politics The Family and the State Foreign Policy Legalist Confucianism in History What’s Living and What’s Dead in Legalist Confucianism What’s Dead What’s Living Examples of Legalist Confucianism in Contemporary China The Problem of Drunk Driving COVID-19 Control in China The Anti-Corruption Drive Concluding Thought Bibliography 10 The Minben Meritocratic State’s Impact on Contemporary Political Culture Studying Political Trust in China A Minben-Meritocratic Theory of Political Culture A Minben-Meritocratic Theory of Political Culture Empirical Data Discussion and Conclusion References 11 Conclusion East Asia Regionalism or the Reorganizing of East Asia The “China Model,” Democracy, and Governance Civilizational Dialogues and Mutual Learning Index