Ethnic Identity in Imperial China

An Online Sourcebook

Annotated translations of primary sources for the study of ethnicity in Chinese history, from the ancient dynasties to the nineteenth century

Future chapters

Chapter 6: Inner Asian immigrants

Chapter 7: Foreign religions

Chapter 8: “Barbarian” emperors

Chapter 9: “Han” identity

Chapter 10: The Qing empire

3.13 Lü Nan, Jingyezi neipian (The Inner Chapters of Master Jingye), ca. 1542

On Lü Nan and the Jingyezi neipian, see source 2.20.

The first passage below illustrates how qi cosmology could be used to rationalize a combination of anthropocentrism, ethnocentrism, sexism, and classism in the literati elite. The second passage illustrates how the discourse of ethnocentric moralism made the literati’s sense of superiority contingent on constant effort in moral self-cultivation on the path to sagehood, while associating moral backsliding with a descent into barbarism.

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Li Jizu of Jining was studying at the Yunhuai Academy1 and asked a question about the literati (shi 士). Master [Jingye] said, “The literati are superior in five ways. The qi 氣 of heaven and earth is equitable in bringing things into being, but it favors the literati most of all. Therefore:

The literatus is first of all superior in being a human being rather than a plant or animal.

Second, he is superior in being a person of the Central Lands (Zhongguo) rather than a barbarian (Yi-Di).

Third, he is superior in being a man of the Central Lands rather than a woman of the Central Lands.

Fourth, he is superior in being a literatus among the men of the Central Lands, rather than a peasant, an artisan, or a merchant.

Fifth, he is superior in that he can become [a sage like] Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius, or can at least be [a disciple to a sage, like] Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi, or Mencius.”

Jizu said, “From now on, how could I dare not to value my superiority, lest I sink to the level of animals?”

…

Master [Jingye] said, “Studying is about making the effort to preserve one’s honest and sincere inclinations. It’s just a question of not stopping. If you can go without stopping for one night, then you will be a sage for one night. If you can go without stopping for one day, then you will be a sage for one day. If you go without stopping at all times, then you will be a sage at all times. If you stop, then you will enter the state of barbarism (Yi-Di).”

  1. A private Neo-Confucian academy in the outskirts of Xi’an, founded by Lü Nan. ↩︎