The Chinese Political Philosophy of the “Heavenly Rites” (The Heaven, Way, Man-to-maness, and Propriety) and Chinese Diplomatic Strategy

　　Abstract: China needs to establish its own system of discourse in its foreign diplomacy. The narratives provided by Western political theory are completely different from Chinese thinking, which is largely centered on relationships (guanxi). Shaped by the thinking of pre-Qin philosophers, Chinese classical political philosophy takes as its core the customary system of the “Heavenly Rites (The Heaven, Way, Man-to-maness, and Propriety)”. In the Chinese understanding, “Heaven” or “Tian” refers to the origin of earthly existence and all things that be; from the “Heavens” come concepts of “the Way” (Dao), “Man-to-maness” (Ren) and the “Rites” (Li), which collectively relate to the order of human relationships. Through a systematic analysis Chinese political theory and its core concept of “Man-to-maness” (Ren), this article provides a foundation for integrating traditional Chinese thinking into present narratives of the international system. This provides a conceptual frame for Chinese high diplomacy, and might also function to offer intellectual support to theories of world politics and global governance. As China continues to grow in terms of its economic power and material status, deeper engagement with Western social theories, discourses and ontologies as well as empirical practices can prove helpful for China in reshaping narratives of the international political system and in overcoming the bottleneck that it faces in developing its soft power diplomacy. In shaping its relations with great powers, in its regional cooperation and in its involvement in global governance, China should creatively apply this system of political theory.

　　About the Author: Xu Yufei is a PhD Student in the Institute of Political Research of Central China Normal University