Tianxia in Comparative Perspectives: Alternative Models for a Possible Planetary Order

Tianxia—conventionally translated as “all-under-Heaven”—in everyday Chinese parlance simply means “the world.” But tianxia is also a geopolitical term found in canonical writings that has a deeper historical and philosophical significance. Although there are many understandings of tianxia in this literature, interpretations within the Chinese process cosmology generally begin with an ecological understanding of intra-national relations that acknowledge the mutuality and interdependence of all economic and political activity.

This volume contextualizes the tianxia vision of geopolitical order within a variety of strategies drawn from a broad spectrum of cultures and peoples: Buddhist, Islamic, Indian, African, Confucian, European. The conversation among the contributors is guided by several central questions: Is tianxia the only model of cosmopolitanism? Are there ideas and ideals comparable to tianxia that exist in other cultures? What alternative perspectives of global justice have inspired Western, Indian, Islamic, Buddhist, and African cultural traditions? The fundamental premise here is that in order for a planetary tianxia system to be relevant and significant for the present time and for our vision of the future, it must acknowledge the plurality of moral ideals defining the world’s cultures while at the same time seek practical ways to formulate a minimalist morality that can provide the solidarity needed to bring the world’s people together.

• Roger T. Ames, Editor

  Roger T. Ames is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University, cochair of the Academic Advisory Committee at Peking University Berggruen Research Center, and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i.

• Sor-hoon Tan, Editor

  Sor-hoon Tan is professor of philosophy at Singapore Management University.

• Steven Y. H. Yang, Editor

  Steven Y. H. Yang is Tianxia Project Consultant at the Berggruen China Center.

• Roger T. Ames, Series Editor

  Roger T. Ames is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University, cochair of the Academic Advisory Committee at Peking University Berggruen Research Center, and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i.

• Peter D. Hershock, Series Editor

  Peter D. Hershock is director of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center, Honolulu.

Contributors

• Roger T. Ames
• Rajeev Bhargava
• Peter D. Hershock
• Liam C. Kelley
• Xinfeng Kong
• Viren Murthy
• Takahiro Nakajima
• Mustapha Kamal Pasha
• Qin Yaqing
• Mogobe Bernard Ramose
• Sor-hoon Tan
• Christian Uhl
• Ban Wang
• Binfan Wang
• Wang Qingxin
• Jun-Hyeok Kwak