What does this research mean for the field?

The search by modern Chinese intellectuals for indigenous historical precedents for liberal development has driven the most significant expansions in Chinese studies of the late Ming period. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This paper examines how the late Ming period has influenced modern Chinese scholars seeking liberal development references.

April 1, 2011

Modern China's Liberal Muse: The Late Ming

Key Points

This paper examines how the late Ming period has influenced modern Chinese scholars seeking liberal development references.
Analysis of historical texts and intellectual discourse related to the late Ming period.
Review of prominent Chinese scholars' perspectives on modernity and development.
Evaluation of ideological shifts and their impact on contemporary Chinese thought.
The late Ming period is increasingly viewed as a source of liberal inspiration for modern China.
Ideological changes have not deterred scholars from seeking connections between past and present aspirations.
The study of the late Ming has expanded significantly within the field of Chinese studies as a result.

Abstract

This paper illustrates how, since the turn of the Twentieth Century, the late Ming has often served as an encouraging and affirming antecedent for prominent Chinese scholars and public intellectuals who have wished to see indigenous potential for liberal modern development in China's not-too-distant past. Despite much ideological flux, hopes have persisted for a viably modern China that is more open, free, creative, progressive, pluralist, and served by institutions and energies based in individuals and grass-roots social groups. This essay posits that such hopes, in search of native historical referents, have accounted for the most significant and fruitful expansions to date in Chinese studies of the late Ming period.

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