Historical materialism in medieval China: The cases of Liu Zongyuan (773-819) and Li Gou (1009-1059)

It is commonly assumed that historical materialism was first developed by Karl Marx, whose philosophy is often equated with this idea. The following paper challenges this opinion by showing that historical materialism, understood as a general position within the philosophy of history, can be traced...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian philosophy
Main Author: Rogacz, Dawid 1992- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Carfax 2021
In: Asian philosophy
Further subjects:B Liu Zongyuan
B Historical materialism
B Neo-confucianism
B Li Gou
B Feudalism
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:It is commonly assumed that historical materialism was first developed by Karl Marx, whose philosophy is often equated with this idea. The following paper challenges this opinion by showing that historical materialism, understood as a general position within the philosophy of history, can be traced back to two generally unheralded Chinese thinkers: Liu Zongyuan (773–819) and Li Gou (1009–1059). Historical materialism is here understood as a standpoint built on three tenets: (1) a belief in the dependence of culture on the material fundaments of social life; (2) the interpretation of human history through the prism of structural transformations; and (3) understanding political and economic relationships in terms of antagonism between social groups. After elaborating upon the presence of these tenets in the thought of Liu and Li, the paper analyzes the influence of their ideas and, finally, points out the main differences between the premodern and modern forms of historical materialism.
ISSN:1469-2961
Contains:Enthalten in: Asian philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2021.1924437