The teachings of ancient Chinese scholars may have still have great significance on today's society, according to several UB professors.
During the semester's last Asia at Noon lecture on Friday, Arabella Lyon, associate English professor, tied classical Chinese texts with philosophy and the Western tradition of rhetoric. Her talk was titled "Why Do the Rulers Listen to the Wild Theories of Speech-Makers? Or, Rhetoric, The Law, and Ancient China."
"As a pseudo-sinologist using Western ways of reading, I'm not claiming the most accurate or truthful reading of China," Lyon said. "Instead I am using classical Chinese philosophy to develop critical readings of Western rhetoric."
Lyon stressed the importance of respecting both Western and Chinese cultures.
"I may be doing violence to both traditions if I'm not consciously and continuously aware of the value of unique resources and the necessity of their conversation," she said.
Lyon discussed the teachings of philosopher Confucius and the less well-known legalist Han Fei, supporting her statements using both classical and modern texts.
"In Confucian thinking, there is a clear discomfort with persuasion and argumentation," she said. "There is instead an emphasis on remonstration within a relationship of trust."
The Confucian method of remonstration is more respectful of others than the usage of persuasion, Lyon said.
"Within The Analects, there is...an open-ended possibility of change in keeping with the harmony of human relationships," she said.
Han Fei, living about 250 years after Confucius, was a legalist who wanted to protect the public good by creating a stable state with a common law, Lyon said.
"Rather than founding society in human relationship or noble status," she said, "(Han Fei) wants decisions made uniformly and fairly by the law."
According to Lyon, Han Fei was interested in speech acts, or actions directly brought about by words.
"Implicit in his writing are three ways of thinking about speech acts: legal or conventional speech acts, non-actions as generative acts, and rhetorical speech acts," Lyon said.
Han Fei's writings, Lyon said, could serve capable rulers with centralized power, but would be less useful for court ministers limited by lack of authority.
The lecture was followed by open discussion with the small but attentive audience.
Lyon asked the audience to consider if Western-style democracy would be appropriate in all countries.
"I think it would be hard to put (the democracy) model in China because the territory's so big," said John Wu, a senior international social studies major, citing different ethnicities and slow communication between regions.
Roger Des Forges, a UB history professor, said that Chinese political theorists often look towards an idealized past instead of towards the West.
"Many of the Chinese thinkers have a vision of an earlier (feudal) order that worked," he said, referring to the fabled Sage Kings.
"Maybe the nature of the Sage Kings has less to do with their temporality and more to do with their idealness," Lyon responded.
The audience was very vocal at the close of the lecture, and seemed to appreciate the event.
"It's important for academics to explore the world outside of their home discipline," Des Forges said. "Professor Lyon is making a major contribution to making Asia and particularly China more accessible to Western society, so that we can begin to realize how relevant it is to our current situation."
John Wu, a senior international studies major, found the discussion worthwhile.
"It was interesting that she compared Chinese traditions with Athenian philosophy," he said. "It was a learning experience."
Thomas Burkman, director of the Asian Studies department, organizer of the Asia at Noon lecture series, was pleased with the event despite the low turnout.
"(The lecture) was on a topic that most people know very little about," he said, "but Professor Lyon made it very understandable, and the discussion brought the issues down to the present, so I thought it was very worthwhile."
Burkman was especially pleased that students had voiced their views.
"The students participated in the discussion along with faculty members, so this was a good meeting," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
