Limits to Autocracy: From Sung Neo-Confucianism to a Doctrine of Political Rights by Alan T. Wood

ISBN: 9780824817039

University of Hawaii Press 01 August 1995

Hardcover | 282 pages

Alan T. Wood examines the cultural identity of modern China in the context of authoritarianism in the Chinese political tradition. Taking on issues of key importance in the understanding of Chinese history, Wood leads readers to a reconsideration of neo‑Confucian thinkers of the Northern Sung dynasty. Modern scholars have accused Sung neo‑Confucians of advocating a doctrine of unconditional obedience to the ruler — of “revering the emperor and expelling the barbarian” — and thereby inhibiting the rise of democracy in China. Wood refutes this dominant view by arguing that Sung neo‑Confucians intended to limit the power of the emperor, not enhance it, and believed passionately in a moral cosmos governed by universal laws that transcended the ruler and could be invoked to set limits on his power. Wood makes a striking comparison of this view with a similar doctrine of universal morality or natural law that developed in late Medieval Europe, contributing significantly to the wider dialogue on human rights in China and offering fresh philosophical insights. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}