Overview

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 Jóhann P. Árnason. 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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ľubomír Dunaj (Research Fellow, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences) ,  Geir Sigurðsson (Professor of Chinese Studies and Transcultural Philosophy, University of Iceland)
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
ISBN:  

9798855804263

Pages:   320
Publication Date:   02 May 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Preface Roger T. Ames Introduction: Broadening Our Way to China Geir Sigurðsson Part I 1. The Chinese Challenge to Historical Sociology Jóhann P. Árnason Part II: Imaginaries, Continuities, and Imaginary Continuities 2. China in Eurasia: Goody, Árnason, 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. Árnason, Modern Confucianism, and the Cultural Conditionality of Modernization Jana S. Rošker 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 Ľubomír Dunaj List of Contributors

Reviews

""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 Australia

Author Information

L'ubomír 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 Jóhann P. Árnason's Macro-Social Theory and, with Kurt Mertel, of Hans-Herbert Kögler's Critical Hermeneutics. Geir Sigurðsson 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.

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