As improbable as it may sound, an illuminating way to understand today鈥檚 China and how it views the West is to look at the astonishing ways Chinese intellectuals are interpreting鈥攐r is it misinterpreting?鈥攖he Greek classics. In Plato Goes to China, Shadi Bartsch offers a provocative look at Chinese politics and ideology by exploring Chinese readings of Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and other ancient writers. She shows how Chinese thinkers have dramatically recast the Greek classics to support China鈥檚 political agenda, diagnose the ills of the West, and assert the superiority of China鈥檚 own Confucian classical tradition.
In a lively account that ranges from the Jesuits to Xi Jinping, Bartsch traces how the fortunes of the Greek classics have changed in China since the seventeenth century. Before the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the Chinese typically read Greek philosophy and political theory in order to promote democratic reform or discover the secrets of the success of Western democracy and science. No longer. Today, many Chinese intellectuals use these texts to critique concepts such as democracy, citizenship, and rationality. Plato鈥檚 鈥淣oble Lie,鈥� in which citizens are kept in their castes through deception, is lauded; Aristotle鈥檚 Politics is seen as civic brainwashing; and Thucydides鈥檚 criticism of Athenian democracy is applied to modern America.
What do antiquity鈥檚 鈥渄ead white men鈥� have left to teach? By uncovering the unusual ways Chinese thinkers are answering that question, Plato Goes to China opens a surprising new window on China today.
Awards and Recognition
- A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year
"A revelatory look at how China uses, and sometimes abuses, classical thought. . . . Like Plato鈥檚 dialogues themselves, [this book] breathes with drama."鈥擲ean Durns, Washington Examiner
"A valuable volume."鈥擱ana Mitter, Times Literary Supplement
"Bartsch鈥檚 work is especially fitting for our time."鈥擩esse Russell, The Federalist
"Masterful. . . .There is so much to unpack in Bartsch鈥檚 deeply researched book."鈥擬ichael Sheridan, Engelsberg Ideas
"Original and penetrating."鈥擯aul Cartledge, Classics for All
"A critical, highly relevant journey into China through scholars’ interpretations of the ancient Greeks."鈥�Choice Reviews
"Bartsch’s careful research ought to be of interest to philosophers, rhetoricians, and historians of the domestic and international variety."鈥擟hristopher Giofreda, Thoughtfox
鈥淚n China, the classics are alive, shaping how people think about contemporary society and politics. The revival of Chinese classics has been well-documented. Surprisingly, the Greek classics also provide inspiration for Chinese intellectuals, political reformers, and, more recently, defenders of the status quo. Shadi Bartsch鈥檚 masterful study illuminates this fascinating cross-cultural encounter. It鈥檚 impossible not to learn from her strikingly original book.鈥濃�擠aniel A. Bell, author of The China Model
鈥淎 stirring book, Plato Goes to China reflects the complexities that occur as different societies regard one another鈥攁nd themselves鈥攖hrough the lens of great ideas. The book will be rewarding for anyone interested in the debates about ancient ideas now unfolding in China and the West.鈥濃�擩oshua Cooper Ramo, author of The Seventh Sense
鈥淭his brilliant study tells the story of how, throughout the twentieth century, Chinese political, cultural, and intellectual leaders used ancient Greek texts, especially Plato, to understand China鈥檚 past weaknesses and to bring about its future greatness. Anyone interested in the problems of intercultural transmission, and of the understandings and misunderstandings that permeate the epidemiology of ideas, will have much to learn from this startlingly original analysis. For those concerned with any aspect of policymaking as China grows its global power and influence, this book is required reading.鈥濃�擥.E.R. Lloyd, University of Cambridge
鈥淭his is a fascinating account of the uses and abuses of ancient texts by public intellectuals in China and the United States. Bartsch shows the banality of using ancient texts to make a case for or against contemporary political practices, but she also illustrates the timelessness of the human desire to discover means by which political power can be allied with virtue and wisdom instead of corruption and self-interest.鈥濃�擲hadia Drury, author of The Bleak Political Implications of Socratic Religion
鈥淭his is a riveting exploration of modern Chinese political commentary by a distinguished scholar of ancient Roman and Greek thought. Going far beyond the comparative study of Greek and Chinese philosophy, Bartsch offers a meditation with multiple themes, including how enshrining ancient works as classical is worked into modern identities in China and the West and how contemporary Chinese antidemocracy ideologues reshape their readings of Aristotle and Plato (as well as Mencius and Xunzi) to serve their purposes.鈥濃�擯amela Kyle Crossley, author of What Is Global History?
鈥淚n China, origins are destiny, and Chinese intellectuals have long considered Greco-Roman antiquity a key to understanding the present-day Western world. In this original and engaging book, Shadi Bartsch shows how the Chinese over the past century and more have used classical antiquity to define the nature of Western civilization and to distinguish the special characteristics of their own. An important book that every student of the cultural rivalry between East and West should read.鈥濃�擩ames Hankins, author of Virtue Politics
