Imaginary Worlds and Imperial Power
The Case of China
Published on 2. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
979-8-8558-0426-3 (ISBN)
Description
New and ambitious approaches to contemporary China, informed by perspectives taken from civilizational analysis and the specific concept of social imaginaries.
This collection of essays by some of today's most prominent scholars on Chinese society, culture, and philosophy offers unusually comprehensive perspectives on contemporary China-a "broad way to China." Most of the essays are informed by the ambitious and erudite approaches of civilizational analysis developed in the theoretical and empirical lifework of Johann P. Arnason. Some authors explore China's long history and enduring philosophical and political traditions, revealing their continued influence on contemporary social imaginaries. Others critique the narrow limitations of most Euro-American views and discussions of China, highlighting how these can be an obstacle to a fruitful dialogue between China and "the West." Additionally, some essays present new perspectives on the potential value of Chinese social, political, and philosophical insights, suggesting they could inspire improvements in social, political, and philosophical dialogue within Euro-American cultures themselves.
This collection of essays by some of today's most prominent scholars on Chinese society, culture, and philosophy offers unusually comprehensive perspectives on contemporary China-a "broad way to China." Most of the essays are informed by the ambitious and erudite approaches of civilizational analysis developed in the theoretical and empirical lifework of Johann P. Arnason. Some authors explore China's long history and enduring philosophical and political traditions, revealing their continued influence on contemporary social imaginaries. Others critique the narrow limitations of most Euro-American views and discussions of China, highlighting how these can be an obstacle to a fruitful dialogue between China and "the West." Additionally, some essays present new perspectives on the potential value of Chinese social, political, and philosophical insights, suggesting they could inspire improvements in social, political, and philosophical dialogue within Euro-American cultures themselves.
Reviews / Votes
"Presenting a variety of perspectives on China, its imaginaries, its Axial Age, and its modernity, Imaginary Worlds and Imperial Power brings a unique approach to a crowded field of East Asian studies and is a significant contribution to the large English-language audience in search of more in-depth studies of China." - Jeremy C. A. Smith, Federation University AustraliaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
1 Figures
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-8558-0426-3 (9798855804263)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2025
State University of New York Press
€36.99
Available for download
Persons
L'ubomir Dunaj is Research Fellow at the Department of Political Philosophy and Globalization Research, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences. He is coeditor, with Jeremy Smith and Kurt Mertel, of Civilization, Modernity, and Critique: Engaging Johann P. Arnason's Macro-Social Theory and, with Kurt Mertel, of Hans-Herbert Koegler's Critical Hermeneutics. Geir Sigur?sson is Professor of Chinese Studies and Transcultural Philosophy at the University of Iceland. He is the author of Confucian Propriety and Ritual Learning: A Philosophical Interpretation, by SUNY Press, and coeditor, with Tze-ki Hon, of Contemporary Interpretations and Readings of the Yijing: The Changes in Our Times.
Content
Preface
Roger T. Ames
Introduction: Broadening Our Way to China
Geir Sigur?sson
Part I
1. The Chinese Challenge to Historical Sociology
Johann P. Arnason
Part II: Imaginaries, Continuities, and Imaginary Continuities
2. China in Eurasia: Goody, Arnason, and Imaginaries of the Landmass
Chris Hann
3. Early Modern Periodizations and Their Philosophical Consequences: Figuring the Seventeenth-Century Ming-Qing Transition as a Philosophical Problem
Leigh Jenco
4. The Preconceived Empire: China's Imperial Experience and Its Current Relevance
Yuri Pines
Part III: Civilization, Modernization, and Normativity
5. China's Path to Modernization: Implications for Global Governance
Ting-mien Lee
6. Arnason, Modern Confucianism, and the Cultural Conditionality of Modernization
Jana S. Rosker
7. Multiple Modernities - A Legitimate Heir to the Axial Age?
Heiner Roetz
Part IV: Toward Constructive Engagements
8. Chinese Civilizational Identity: Ideological Models of the World and the Sacralization of a Confucian Huaxia Identity
Daniel Sarafinas
9. The Politics of Sincerity, or Why Is the Legacy of Pre-Qin Confucianism Worth Fighting For?
Guanjun Wu
10. Tribunals, Trials, and Windows: De-Orwellizing Western Perspectives on China
Lubomir Dunaj
List of Contributors
Roger T. Ames
Introduction: Broadening Our Way to China
Geir Sigur?sson
Part I
1. The Chinese Challenge to Historical Sociology
Johann P. Arnason
Part II: Imaginaries, Continuities, and Imaginary Continuities
2. China in Eurasia: Goody, Arnason, and Imaginaries of the Landmass
Chris Hann
3. Early Modern Periodizations and Their Philosophical Consequences: Figuring the Seventeenth-Century Ming-Qing Transition as a Philosophical Problem
Leigh Jenco
4. The Preconceived Empire: China's Imperial Experience and Its Current Relevance
Yuri Pines
Part III: Civilization, Modernization, and Normativity
5. China's Path to Modernization: Implications for Global Governance
Ting-mien Lee
6. Arnason, Modern Confucianism, and the Cultural Conditionality of Modernization
Jana S. Rosker
7. Multiple Modernities - A Legitimate Heir to the Axial Age?
Heiner Roetz
Part IV: Toward Constructive Engagements
8. Chinese Civilizational Identity: Ideological Models of the World and the Sacralization of a Confucian Huaxia Identity
Daniel Sarafinas
9. The Politics of Sincerity, or Why Is the Legacy of Pre-Qin Confucianism Worth Fighting For?
Guanjun Wu
10. Tribunals, Trials, and Windows: De-Orwellizing Western Perspectives on China
Lubomir Dunaj
List of Contributors