| Chapter 7: | Further Developments |
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When seen from this new perspective, morality is based above all on the development of the original nature of each person, on one’s needs and wishes, desires and interests. As mentioned earlier in this part, Li Zhi’s provocative praise of “selfishness” was the premise for a radical transformation in the perception of the individual sphere in society. Like in the “Peony Pavilion,” where the story of Du Liniang serves to highlight the contrast between natural and cultivated attributes, the passions and desires that every person experiences in their everyday life are equated with true rites and true morality. Although Li Zhi was not interested in institutional and political reforms and did not challenge imperial authority, he expresses his auspices for a state that works toward the development of individual autonomy:
The ideal order is one in which the intervention of the authorities is reduced to the barest minimum. The ideal government is that which you do not notice. The ideal doctrine is that which cannot be heard (至道無為，至治無聲，至教無言).49
This view of an ideal society with limited governance lies at the very core of his thought, where neither the sages nor their doctrines have a monopoly on truth or wisdom: “Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism constitute a single doctrine because at their origin all aim to understand the Dao” (儒、道、釋之學，一也，以其初皆期於聞道也).50 Li Zhi’s Chinese Muslim family background may be another element to reflect on.51 This peculiar tradition probably fostered his tolerant and open-minded attitude.
This part of the volume has proposed different representations of self, floating between the mere psychological construction and the jealous guardian of one’s dignity, between the uniqueness of the individual and an empty relational entity, between heroism and flexibility.
As regards the foregoing, some considerations must finally be made about a few aspects of Confucian history and perspectives that might be useful for the contemporary global world.