Details

Shuwu’s Tragedy : Rethinking Mencius’ Arguments on the “Right of Rebellion”
ID Tao, Max Junbo (Author)

.pdfPDF - Presentation file, Download (1001,16 KB)
MD5: DBAA8F2BBC2322542CD06C8B4DF2942E
URLURL - Source URL, Visit https://journals.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/23103 This link opens in a new window

Abstract
Justin Tiwald’s reinterpretation of Mencius’ “right of rebellion” as a moral framework critical of tyrannical forms of rule instead of an “open mechanism” for bottom-up revolts has been agreed upon and supported by a range of scholars’ recent reflections. However, this new perspective still awaits further development due to the scarcity of textual sources and other empirical evidence in pre-Qin history. In the interests of specifying and sub­stantiating historical Confucian views about political legitimacy and rebellion, this article focuses on a unique case called “Shuwu’s Tragedy” from Zuozhuan and Gongyangzhuan with a rich corpus of Neo-Confucian commentaries and debates on a minister’s “right” to denounce the monarch for brutality. Shuwu was a virtuous prince of the state of Wey who temporarily assumed the monarchical duties of his fleeing elder brother, Duke Cheng of Wey, and he successfully resolved a military conflict with the state of Jin in 632 BCE. However, Duke Cheng murdered Shuwu when Shuwu planned to return the throne to him. Wey’s minister, Yuan Xuan, thus escaped from Wey and accused Duke Cheng in front of the hegemon, Duke Wen of Jin, which eventually triggered further bloody killings and chaos in Wey’s court and family. After reviewing the Neo-Confucian com­mentaries, I argue that Shuwu’s case strongly supports Tiwald’s new thesis on Mencius’ “right of rebellion”. Furthermore, I discuss a fundamental question in Mencius’ political ethics: which takes priority, chastening the tyrant or restoring order?

Language:English
Keywords:Mengzi (Mencius), political ethics, resistance to tyranny, responsibility
Work type:Article
Typology:1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:FF - Faculty of Arts
Publication status:Published
Publication version:Version of Record
Publication date:09.01.2026
Number of pages:Str. 301-330
Numbering:Vol. 14, no. 1
PID:20.500.12556/RUL-178346 This link opens in a new window
ISSN:2232-5131
eISSN:2350-4226
DOI:https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2026.14.1.301-330 This link opens in a new window
Publication date in RUL:23.01.2026
Views:412
Downloads:147
Metadata:XML DC-XML DC-RDF
:
Copy citation
Share:Bookmark and Share

Record is a part of a journal

Title:Asian studies
Publisher:Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
ISSN:2232-5131
COBISS.SI-ID:265206272 This link opens in a new window

Licences

License:CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Link:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Description:This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

Language:Slovenian
Title:Shuwujeva tragedija : ponovni razmislek o Mencijevih argumentih o »pravici do upora«
Abstract:
Justin Tiwaldova reinterpretacija Mencijeve »pravice do upora« kot moralnega okvira, ki je kritičen do tiranskih oblik vladanja in stoji nasproti »odprtemu mehanizmu za upore od spodaj navzgor«, je bila sprejeta in podprta v nedavnih razmišljanjih številnih teor-etikov in teoretičark. Vseeno pa ta nova perspektiva še vedno čaka na nadaljnji razvoj zaradi pomanjkanja besedilnih virov in drugega empiričnega gradiva iz obdobja pred di-nastijo Qin. Da bi natančneje opredelili in utemeljili zgodovinska konfucijanska stališča o politični legitimnosti ter uporu, se članek osredotoča na edinstveni primer, imenovan »Shuwujeva tragedija«, iz del Zuozhuan in Gongyangzhuan, ki vsebujeta bogat korpus neokonfucijanskih komentarjev ter razprav o »pravici« ministra, da obsodi monarha zara-di krutosti. Shuwu je bil krepostni princ države Wey, ki je začasno prevzel monarhove dolžnosti svojega pobeglega starejšega brata, vojvode Chenga iz Weya, in leta 632 pr. n. št. uspešno razrešil vojaški spopad z državo Jin. Kljub temu je vojvoda Cheng umoril Shuwuja, ko mu je ta nameraval vrniti prestol. Yuan Xuan, minister države Wey, je zato pobegnil in obtožil vojvodo Chenga pred hegemonom, vojvodo Wenom iz Jina, kar je na koncu povzročilo nadaljnje krvave poboje ter kaos na dvoru in v družini Wey. Po pregledu neokonfucijanskih komentarjev trdim, da Shuwujev primer močno podpira Ti-waldovo novo tezo o Mencijevi »pravici do upora«. Poleg tega pa v članku obravnavam temeljno vprašanje v Mencijevi politični etiki: ali ima prednost kaznovanje tirana ali obnova reda?

Keywords:Mencij, politična etika, odpor proti tiraniji, odgovornost

Similar documents

Similar works from RUL:
Similar works from other Slovenian collections:

Back