Individual Autonomy and Responsibility in Late Imperial China By ...

from Confucian classical scholarship to Neo-Daoist metaphysics. This change was interwoven with the rediscovery of the individual through the contrast between “spontaneity” (ziran 自然) and “teaching of names or Confucian rules” (mingjiao 名教) and between feelings (qing) and ritual (li).⁴⁷ Those literati who aimed at reframing their own image in society sought to deliberately subvert these categories to profess their leisure ideals by (re)inventing their meaning, modifying polarity relations, or resorting to particular aesthetic references. The way the late Ming unconventional scholars displayed their eccentric tastes attests to an attempt to break away from established forms of self-expression.⁴⁸ Yet in many respects, their eccentricity appears to be modelled upon the methods of self-cultivation and the aesthetics discussed earlier. This point is confirmed by Yuan Hongdao who, quoting a famous passage from Lunyu—“[t]he wise finds pleasure in waters; the virtuous finds pleasure in hills”—asserts the true “genuine addiction” (zhenshi 真嗜) and “authentic nature” (zhenxing 真性) showcased by these literati when interacting with things and nature.⁴⁹ This Analect’s passage served as the basis for aesthetic theories, but Yuan has given it a different interpretation, for he stressed that it is “necessary [to nurture] within one’s self the vastness of the heart-mind” (唯於胸中之浩浩) in order to fully appreciate the beauty of nature and throw one’s self deep into the vastness of its oceans and mountains.⁵⁰ This statement was aesthetic but could have broader philosophical and existential implications.

The awareness of individual dignity is also expressed in a passage written by a scholar, Wang Lu 王路, who manifests personal autonomy in dealing with life situations and pursuing self-realization:

[A scholar] can be reclusive, can be visible serving in the public, and can live or die [for important causes]. There is no harm in dying for love, whether one is rich or poor, and no harm in sacrificing oneself for wine and being buried drunk. There are many places to accommodate oneself, and many ways to accommodate one’s nature and feelings. ⁵¹