Machiavelli in Northeast Asia

Analyzing the multifaceted receptions of Machiavelli from early modernity to the present history of Northeast Asia, this book explores a better East-West dialogue through which Machiavelli's political philosophy can be appropriated properly in Northeast Asian practices. First, comparing the receptions of Machiavelli in Europe with the early introduction of his texts in Northeast Asia, it investigates what has been missing from the reception of his ideas in Northeast Asia. Second, examining the imperative issues which haven't been construed appropriately even in recent reinterpretations of Machiavelli's political philosophy in Northeast Asia, it searches for a direction of East-West dialogue through which Machiavelli's political philosophy is not inordinately contextualized within the sociopolitical demands of Northeast Asian societies in accordance with time and place. Third, given the continuing interest in Machiavelli's political realism, it examines the different conjunctions of his political realism with diverse traditional and contemporary political thinking in Northeast Asia. This book will be attractive to scholars in political philosophy, history, political theory, comparative philosophy, and area studies focused on East Asia, as well as scholars working in the field of comparative literature.

Jun-Hyeok Kwak is Professor of Philosophy (Zhuhai) at Sun Yat-sen University, China.

Part I: General Overview. 1.Machiavelli and Northeast Asia. Part II: Three Imperative Issues in Northeast Asia. 2.Machiavelli's Republicanism. 3.Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Prudential Political Realism. 4.The Book of Lord Shang Compared with Machiavelli and Hobbes. Part III: Receptions of Machiavelli, West & East. 5.Machiavelli's Fortune Lines of Reception of his Works in Europe. 6.The Introduction of Machiavelli's Works and Thoughts into China. 7.Machiavelli and the Intellectuals of Modern Japan. Part IV: Reinterpreting Machiavelli in the Northeast Asian Context. 8.Machiavelli and Han Fei Zi - A Comparison. 9.The Prince between Confucianism and Machiavellianism: Inoue Kowashi on Statecraft and Political Morality. 10."Seek Harmony but not Uniformity"-Machiavelli's Political Thought in the Chinese Context