The review on The Conceptual Vector of History

The review on The Conceptual Vector of History

纪家举

上海政法学院语言文化学院 上海201701

The Conceptual Vector of History by Fang Weigui is a collection of his studies about conceptual history. It consists of three parts: (1) the theoretical exploration, (2) the empirical research, and (3) the review part. Mr. Fang is a distinguished scholar in the study of conceptual history. His views are surely instructive to those who are engaged in the relevant field; thus it is of great significance to review one of his works here.

The brief introduction of the content

1. The theoretical exploration

There are 4 articles in this part. The author’s reflection on conceptual history, including his thought and understanding in the original and recently published articles, is demonstrated here.

In “The necessity of theories” (The original title is “The introduction to the topic of ‘history of ideas﹒history of concepts﹒key words’”), as a reply to what theory is and what its function is, the author cites Terry Eagleton’s opinion (After Theory, 2004), stating that theory is an indispensable part of human life, and will not be terminated. From the perspective of historical semantics, the author explores different scholars’ understandings of discourses in their research methods, manifests the connection between discourse analysis and conceptual history, and points out that the study of conceptual history cannot be achieved without the application of theories.

The following article in this part is “Historical semantics and conceptual history—on definitions, methods and other relevant issues”. The author explores the definition of historical semantics and conceptual history, retrieves the etymology of “semantics”, discusses the difficulties of the translation of the terms between different languages, and analyzes the relevant research methods. 

In “The ‘saddle period’ and the history of concepts—with a discussion on concepts from East Asia’s transitional period”, the author first introduces the concept of “saddle period”, which, coined by Reinhart Koselleck, refers to the transitional period between the early modern and modern times, running from the late Renaissance to the French Revolution; and offers the evidence to justify why Reinhart Koselleck proposed this concept. Then he talks about the social, empirical and contextual elements in Reinhart Koselleck’s thought about conceptual history. Next he explains the “collective singular” concept, and the conceptual evolution of temporalization, democratization, politicization and ideologicalization proposed by Koselleck in the study of “modernity”. Finally, he discusses the “saddle period” in East Asia and the modernity of concepts.

In “Eight points of conceptual history—on its practice, theory, controversy and influence”, the author first introduces the history of concepts in the preface, then discusses the theory, practice and features of conceptual history in Germany; Koselleck’s reflection: conceptual history and social history; conceptual history and  the “language” & “discourse” of Cambridge thoughts; the “pyramid” theory of Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht; the refusal of metaphors to concepts: conceptual history and metaphoric theory; the recent development and international influence of conceptual history; and the relevant problems and prospects as well.

2. The empirical researchof conceptual history

There are ten articles in this part about the empirical research of conceptual history applied in different fields. The first two are typical research of conceptual history according to the author. He retrieves the western origin of concepts of “parliament”, “democracy”, “republic” and “liberty/freedom” in the first article, and talks about the translation, transmutation and function of these concepts in 19th century China, attempting to explore how they evolve and reveal the relationship among them, such as the relationship between “democracy” and “republic”, “democracy” and “liberty/freedom”. In the second article “The Chinese version of ‘Intellectual’”, the author holds the idea that “Zhishi fenzi” as the translation is not the counterpart of “Intellectual”, and the two concepts denoting “Zhishi fenzi” and “Intellectual” are not well-matched. In the article he reflects on the inspiration the western concept of “Intellectual” brings to China, and elucidates the development, application and characteristics of “Zhishi fenzi” in China as well as its origin and connotation.

The rest of articles discuss specific issues withthe application of the methodology of conceptual history in different fields, such as sociology, literature theory, cultural study, and so on.

“The exploration of concepts of ‘community’ and ‘society’ in Ferdinand Tonnies’s theory” is the example of the methodology of conceptual history applied in sociology. The author introduces Ferdinand Tonnies’s

Community and Society, investigates the origin, evolution, social context, and originality of “community” and “society”, talks about two groups of opposing concepts: “organic community” vs “mechanical society” & “natural will” vs “arbitrary will”, and provides an analysis of how Ferdinand Tonnies’s theory was treated differently in the West.

The next two articles are related to the cultural study. In “The elucidation of ‘transculturality’”, the author centers upon the concept of “transculturality”, discusses how it differs from the other two concepts “multiculture”, “interculturality” in the origins and contexts in which they are applied, highlights the significance of the concept of “transculturality” and its complexity as well. As to “The investigation of the concept of ‘hybrid/zahe’”, the author discusses the origin and evolution of “zahe” and relevant concepts (hybrid, hybridity, hybridization), attempting to understand the appeals of post-colonial theory from the perspective of concepts, and examine the strength and weakness of “hybrid/zahe” in relationship with globalization, transculturality, and ethnicity.

The concepts discussed in the following articles are more or less related to literature. In “What is ‘world literature’?”, the author starts with the argument of “world literature”, retrieves its origin, development and context, then talks about Goethe’s possible understanding as well as the communication, translation and humanity derived from the concept, and finally analyzes the development and tendency of the contemporary world literature.

In “The research of the western concept of ‘literature’ and relevant corrections”, the author holds that the concept of “literature” in 19th century Europe needs to be clarified, since the clear understanding of the concept is the prerequisite of all the discussions in the literature study. He retrieves the history of “literature” as the word and the concept. From its semantic evolution, the word “literature” in today’s understanding was produced in 20

th century. From the perspective of conceptual history, the concept of “literature” was employed by later generations rather than those in pre-modern or medieval age. The author further explains the difference between “poetry” and “literature”, and demonstrates the changing state of the “literature” concept in the 19th century.

In the article “The reinvestigation of Walter Benjamin’s concept of ‘Aura’”, the author discusses the definition of “Aura” proposed by Benjamin, its original and figurative meanings in semantics, its Chinese translation “Guangyun” and application in the art or aesthetics. Then he cites opinions of different scholars to provide a comprehensive analysis of this concept.

“The history of ‘salon’ in Europe” starts with how Chinese began to know “salon”, focuses on how salon and the corresponding concept originated and evolved with specific social contexts in Paris, and other European countries such as Germany, Russia, and introduces how they were related to art criticism and literature as well.

In “On ‘Ressentiment’”, the author talks about different Chinese translations of “Ressentiment”, and puts forward his own version “Xianzeng qingjie” (the complex of envy and resentment). In his opinion, “Ressentiment” is the interwovenness and integration of “xian/envy” and “zeng/resentment”; in western psychology and everyday use, it is a derogatory term, usually considered as a recurring, embarrassing and reluctant “complex”. He retrieves the etymology of the word, introduces the relevant views of scholars such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Max Scheler, reveals what “Xianzeng qingjie” is like in politics, and cites the examples such as A Q (the main character in Lu Xun’s The True Story of A Q) and Jews to explain this complex (qingjie).

3. The review part

The six articles in this part are about the book reviews, prefaces and other writings of exposition and argumentation. In the first article, the author questions Liu He’s interpretation of “Yi/Barbarian” in Liu’s

The Clash of Empires. The Invention of China in Modern World Making, explains the derogatory connotation of “Yi/Barbarian” in China’s culture, and analyzes historical factors in the gradual evolution of this concept.

In the second article, the author expresses his disagreement with so-called “conceptual history of the ‘Cambridge School’”, and explains the origin and development of the study of conceptual history.

Then he talks about the connotation and limitation of the method of keywords in the reevaluation of Raymond Williams’ Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society.

The following two are his preface for Huang Xingtao’s A Cultural History of the Chinese Character “Ta/She”, and his book review “One concept, one book” on Mr. Feng Tianyu’s A Research on “Fengjian/Feudalism”.

In the last article “History resides in particular concepts—on Jin Guantao and Liu Qingfeng’s Study of the History of Ideas: Formation of Modern China’s Important Political Terms”, the author firstly talks about his understanding of “history of concepts” and “history of ideas”, and points out Jin and Liu’s study corresponds to the latter. Then he praises their analysis of the Jiawu War from three different systems of ideas in China, Japan and Korea to have a comprehensive understanding of this war. Given the application of corpus in their study, the author does not deny the “evidence” offered by corpus, but he explains the difference of empirical research in fields of natural science and social science, and analyzes its problem in history of ideas. Lastly he talks about his understanding of “revolution” as to whether “The Revolution of 1911” was a “revolution” or not.

The brief review

This book reflects Mr. Fang Weigui’s views in his study of conceptual history. As the author explains the title of the book in the preface, the word “vector” indicates his understanding of concepts: the epistemological dimension of concepts with the scope, direction and change, the impetus of concepts for historical development, as well as the interpretation in historical experience and the power to manifest and transform facts.

Mr. Fang’s theoretical exploration helps readers have a general understanding of conceptual history: what it is, why it is so, and how it works. The aspect of empirical research teaches readers how to conduct the study on a concept: firstly, analyze the origin, meaning, usage, and semantic change of the word denoting the concept, and how it evolves as a concept; secondly, explain how it is introduced, translated and accepted in different social, political, cultural contexts; then discuss how these contexts are influenced and transformed, and summarize what the significance of the concept is, etc. The review part reveals Mr. Fang’s inquiring mind and rigorous scholarship in the discussion of concepts. It proves necessary to keep exploring the original source of concepts, learn from each other by exchanging the views with other researchers, and correct any mistakes or deviations in the study of conceptual history.

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