The Charisma of Philosophers: A Global Gathering of “Junzi”
Time has gone by, and on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, Professor Xue Xiaoyuan from Tongji University ventured to enact a new “gathering” with his book.
China has a long tradition of portrait painting. Portraits have long been used in ritual contexts, for example, in the worship of ancestors. China’s tradition of self-portraits is also strong. Literati of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) enjoyed depicting themselves, a trend that resulted in a famous self-portrait by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799). It inspired numerous depictions of him as a recluse, poet, and sage, and even as enthroned Buddha by other artists.
But depicting oneself can be traced back much further. A popular practice over a millennium ago was artists depicting themselves as part of celebrated literary meetings. The best known example is the Lanting (“Orchid Pavilion”) gathering launched by the renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303-361). This style of literary gathering was well-known by the 14th century. Literary and social garden meetings in later times sought to replicate this archetypal garden party. A single scholar seated under trees hearkens to the pre-tang idea of reclusion whereas a group of them among trees and mountain streams inevitably owes credit to the Orchid Pavilion gathering.
By compiling this book, Professor Xue Xiaoyuan sought to reenact a gathering of 100 philosophers from all over
the world. The May Fourth Movement caused an awakening in China characterized by discarding the country’s tradition and canceling Confucius in favor of celebrating Western intellectuals, philosophers, and literati, and scientists, as captured in portraits and photographs in periodicals like La Jeunesse (The New Youth) and translations by Yan Fu (1854-1921), Guo Moruo (1892-1978), Cai Yuanpei (18681940), and others.
A hundred years after the May Fourth Movement, Professor Xue, who teaches at Tongji University, sought a new gathering. His book The Charisma of Philosophers depicts an intercultural gathering of the most influential Chinese and Western philosophers. Taking the concept beyond portraying them with words like Jürgen Habermas (1929- ) did in Philosophical-political Profiles published more than 40 years ago, Xue added traditional Chinese-style ink portraits capturing the uniqueness of eminent figures ranging from early Greek philosophers such as Thales (624-546 B.C.) and Anaximander (610-546 B.C.) to contemporary thinkers such as Habermas and Derrida (19302004). The work is a veritable tour de force across the ages of the history of thought. Moreover, The Charisma of Philosophers is another manifestation of the Chinese tendency to translate, read, and discuss philosophers from the West while at the same time commemorating and preserving the core Chinese
traditions of thought and philosophical discourse.
The postscript reveals that at a 2017 conference in Berlin, Professor Xue delivered a speech in German entitled “Images of Philosophy and Philosophy of Images” and presented two of his portraits of philosophers. One depicted Jürgen Habermas, who was present at the conference, and was gifted to the German philosopher, while the other depicting Jean-jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was handed over to Professor Heinrich Meyer, a Rousseau expert and president of the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation.
The portraits include scattered lines in Chinese absent from the short textual characterizations of each individual philosopher, demanding deeper reflection.
The Charisma of Philosophers presents a fresh look at these
philosophers, many of whom, I must admit, are hardly studied anymore in their native lands.
Professor Xue’s fresh visualizations of key representatives of major philosophical schools and traditions revive the practice of gathering eminent thinkers from all over the world and from all ages, seeking to kindle new discourse in the spirit of a new humanism.
A sinologist naturally associates the number “100” with the Hundred Schools of Thoughts. Now, The Charisma of Philosophers, which portrays the world’s 100 greatest philosophers, presents a new reference for the number and a new global vista fostering hope for mutual respect and understanding in an increasingly connected world.
In the English title, “charisma” was chosen as translation of the Chinese word “Shencai,” which could also be translated as “expression” or “posture.” Yet “Shencai” encompasses much more than any of these words and prompts new discourse on what makes a philosopher “great.” Such discussions quickly lead to questions around the status of a “Junzi” (noble gentleman), a topic inviting you to deliberate at a gathering with the world’s 100 greatest philosophers.