Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Powers, Martin

Title China and England : the Preindustrial Struggle for Justice in Word and Image
Published Milton : Routledge, 2018

Copies

Description 1 online resource (287 pages)
Contents Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of figures; Preface; Glossary; 1 Introduction; 2 Cultural politics; 3 Political authority; 4 The polity; 5 The people: China; 6 The people: England; 7 Equality: China; 8 Equality: England; 9 Speech: China; 10 Speech: England; 11 Envisioning speech; 12 A common struggle; Selected bibliography; Index
Summary This book examines egalitarian social ideals and institutions that arose in preindustrial China and England, and in the process, uncovers China's forgotten role in the history of social justice debate and legislation during the eighteenth century. Drawing on a wide range of visual and documentary evidence, the author shows that many prominent individuals in both England and China adopted comparable strategies as a logical response to excesses of privilege and arbitrary power, with educated but non-noble persons taking advantage of print culture, a more literate population, an expanded art market, public spaces and other familiar 'early modern' developments to interrogate the system of inherited privilege and promote a more meritocratic society. This shared experience created common ground for transformative exchange between the two great traditions during the eighteenth century. By providing a more global account of what we call Western values, the book shows that early modern China and England had far more in common than is normally supposed, and thus challenges claims on the right and the left that the people of China lacked a concept of social justice and that China's cultural legacy should be treated as exceptional in regard to human rights
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Human rights -- China -- History
Human rights -- England -- History
Social justice -- China -- History
Human rights.
Social justice.
Human Rights
Social Justice
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Sociology -- General.
administrative theory.
assumption.
China.
coffee houses.
documents.
England.
early modern.
early modern China.
early modern England.
educated.
egalitarian social ideals.
inherited privilege.
institutions.
justice.
literate population.
Martin Powers.
picturing.
political theory.
print culture.
public spaces.
social justice.
social practice.
structural approach.
translingual practice.
visual materials.
Human rights
Social justice
China
England
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781351381734
1351381733
9781351381727
1351381725
9781351381710
1351381717
9781315145754
1315145758