Habermas Meets China: The Legacy of the Late Qing/Early Republican “Public Sphere” on the Modern Chinese Social Imaginary

Hu, William Zhengdong

Abstract

The debate over the existence of a “public sphere” in China’s Late Qing/Early Republican era began nearly three decades ago, but it has yet to generate a special socio-cultural review on the “Confucian social imaginary” of the Chinese people. The article builds on existing “economic-political approach” and “idea-communication approach” to argue decisive factors hindering the development of a Habermasian “public sphere.” These includes (1) people’s traditional-collectivist lifestyle, (2) lack of understanding of “universal equality,” (3) conservative self-positioning during social transition, (4) regionalist attitude toward outsiders, (5) lack of access to Enlightenment ideas, (6) disregard for parliamentary systems, and (7) ignorance of the rule of law.

Citation

Hu, W. Z. (in press). Habermas Meets China: The Legacy of the Late Qing/Early Republican “Public Sphere” on the Modern Chinese Social Imaginary. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1177/00483931231208041

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 23, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 23, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2024
• Journal: Philosophy of the Social Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0048-3931
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-7441
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00483931231208041
• Keywords: public sphere, social imaginary, confucianism, enlightenment, modern China
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00483931231208041