On the boundaries between good and evil: Constructing multiple moralities in China
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2016
Authors
Weller, Robert P.
Wu, Keping
Version
OA Version
Citation
Weller, R., & Wu, K. (2017). On the Boundaries Between Good and Evil: Constructing Multiple Moralities in China. The Journal of Asian Studies, 76(1), 47-67. doi:10.1017/S0021911816001182
Abstract
This essay discusses three contrasting versions of the relationship between good and evil in contemporary China: a spirit medium who maneuvers between them, a charismatic Christian group that forges an identity by defending the border between them, and an official state and religious discourse of banal goodness and universal love that that seeks to annihilate evil. Each defines good and evil differently, but more importantly, each imagines the nature of the boundary itself differently – as permeable and negotiable, clear and defensible, or simply intolerable. These varied conceptions help to shape alternate views of empathy, pluralism, and the problem of how to live with otherness.
Description
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International