Abstract

This study questions the common premise that individualism was lacking in premodern China and contends that not only was the concept of the individual important in traditional China, but that it existed in interesting ways that are different from modes of individualism in the West. Key terms such as xing ("human nature"), xin ("heart-mind"), and ji ("self") are used to analyze various texts. In addition to weaving together ideas from history, philosophy, art, and literature, especially the literary dimensions of late imperial history (both classical and vernacular), this study also incorporates Western intellectual tradition, including the ideas of thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, and the Romantics. This inquiry into the moral philosophy and ethics of the self-seen in both its public and private dimensions in late imperial China is an important resource for scholars and students in many subfields of Chinese studies, such as history, intellectual history, art history, history of literature, and history of religion.