Liberalizing Li Zehou’s Guanxi

AbstractOne element of Li Zehou’s legacy is a defense of guanxi or relational attachment, particularly as this social and ethical formation confronts the challenges of Western liberal individualism. This article reviews Li’s account of guanxi, which includes the traditional Confucian account of the five relationships (wulun), and examines Li’s use of guanxi ethics in his critique of justice as a Western ethical ideal. I consider problems facing Li’s claims that guanxi are central to the good life, and draw on other ideas from Li’s work to offer a modified notion of an ethics of guanxi relationality, one more compatible with those elements of the Western liberal tradition that Li values. Notes1 Li Zehou, “Response to Michael Sandel.”2 Lambert, “The Problem of Individual Freedom in Li Zehou”; Lambert, “The Good Life of Guanxi”; Lambert, “From Ethics to Aesthetics.”3 For an overview of this topic, see Li, Classical Chinese Thought, 311–15.4 For anthropological studies of guanxi in modern China, two useful works are Kipnis, Producing Guanxi, and Yang, Gifts, Favors, and Banquets.5 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1080.6 This is scope for questioning both Li’s account of early Chinese society—such as the role of shamans in the formation of social practices and norms—and whether the features of that society are causally responsible for the subjectivity of later generations in China. For example, Li follows Chen Mengjia’s 陈梦家 account of kings as shamans in early China. See Chen, “Myths and Magic of the Shang Dynasty.” That account has been questioned by scholars. In the present study, however, the historical accuracy of Li’s claims are less important than their implications for understanding ethics and the good life.7 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1093.8 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1095.9 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1093.10 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1080.11 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel,” 1083, 1090, and passim.12 Li, “Response to Michael Sandel.”13 Wang, High Culture Fever, 94.14 See, e.g., Li, Four Essays, 182; Li, Outline of a Philosophy, 65–67.15 On the importance of personal projects to individualist ethics, see Williams, “Persons, Character, and Morality.”16 Mill, On Liberty, 55.17 See Lambert, “Good Life of Guanxi” for a fuller account.18 Nylan, “Politics of Pleasure,” 84.19 Li, Chinese Aesthetic Tradition, 3.Additional informationNotes on contributorsAndrew LambertAndrew Lambert is an Associate Professor of philosophy at City University of New York, College of Staten Island. His research focuses primarily on ethics and Chinese thought. His translation of Li Zehou’s book A History of Classical Chinese Thought (Zhongguo gudai sixiang shilun 中国古代思想史论) was published by Routledge in 2019. He has also published several articles on the work of Li Zehou.