Are There Political Resources for Democratic Institutions in Chinese History?

Pierre-Étienne Will visits Princeton to discuss some historical facts and observations that under proper reinterpretation could be used (or have already been used) as resources for a democratic transformation of the Chinese political system.

Pierre-Étienne Will holds the chair of History of Modern China at Collège de France, Paris

It is heard in many quarters—from the people presently in power in China to academic specialists of “political culture”—that the notion of China evolving democratic institutions, at least as we understand this notion, runs counter “Chinese tradition”. Without attempting to guess what the actual political future of China might be, this talk will discuss some historical facts and observations that under proper reinterpretation could be used (or have already been used) as resources for a democratic transformation of the Chinese political system. The focus will be, first, on certain comments on Chinese civil society made by nineteenth-century observers, and then on the nature of late-Ming political life.