Direct links between Taiwan and China have been re-established since the end of 2008. At present, regular direct flights between airports in Taiwan and China are in operation. This reality is the culmination of negotiations between China and Taiwan. A number of obstacles in ideology and politics existed throughout the negotiations. Particularly salient to these obstacles were the discourse of the one-China principle, as well as the political strategies and ideologies of the Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan. In addition, the influence of the media with regard to the resolution of ideological and political conflict was an important factor. Different news media outlets in Taiwan and China developed their own narratives of the development of cross-strait relations and negotiation of the Three Links. An analysis of news media perspectives offers insight into the complex nature of political communication in Taiwan and China.

In an effort to explore how hermeneutic reason functions in cultural crises, and more specifically, how a Ming loyalist Wang Fuzhi dealt with the political and cultural crises at the Ming-Qing dynastic transition, this dissertation critically examines his commentaries on Confucian classics and historical writings as well as his criticism toward other Confucian scholars and heretical schools. My conclusion is that, unlike his peers’ iconoclastic criticism of Neo-Confucianism, Wang’s uniqueness consists in that he attempted to reconstruct it through such criticism. Through this reconstruction, he tried to provide a solution to the political and cultural crises of his time by promoting universal harmony/he and humanity/ren. In his opinion, humanity originated from the harmonious qi in the universe, was identical with human nature, and demonstrated in the humane governance. Thus, he established a comprehensive system that incorporated cosmology, human nature, and political governance. Wang insisted that human beings’ destruction of the universal harmony caused the rise of perverse qi that gave rise to natural disasters and social conflicts. In order to decrease the amount of perverse qi and in turn the number of bad people and conflicts generated, Wang thought that man could cultivate his own harmonious qi or humanity and thus increase the universal harmonious qi through self-cultivation. Individually, the measures were dependent upon complying with ritual propriety and awakening one’s innate knowledge. Politically, it depended upon the ruler’s humane governance—the cultivation and extension of humanity to the people. Wang’s motivation of reconstruction was also powered by his arrogance. From his slogan, “the Six Classics require me to start a new phase”, he tacitly assumed himself to be on par with Confucius, justifying his criticism of others. Regrettably, his criticism of other non-Confucian schools was often impertinent and biased although his criticism of Neo-Confucianism was to the point.

This dissertation examines the effects of jingjie 境界 discourse on the development of Neo-Confucianism in 12th-18th century China and Korea. Jingjie, a multilayered term whose meanings include “territory,” “spiritual realm,” and “poetic landscape,” has largely been studied as a philosophical idea and aesthetic trope. These investigations, however, often overlook the connection between jingjie’s diverse meanings and the term’s role in the production of territorial knowledge. Using the method of discourse analysis, this study explores jingjie as a discourse of territoriality that constructed and represented forms of space, power, and identity through the process of horizontal and vertical territorialization, traversing geopolitics, philosophy, and poetry. The development of Neo-Confucianism can be traced through the intricate interplay of the multiple discourses of jingjie, particularly in the conception of sagely learning and living. The “jingjie of the sages,” proposed by Neo-Confucians as a new subject of inquiry and goal of learning, was conceived as a moral and spiritual territory to be claimed and reached, a poetic territory to be experienced, and a geopolitical territory to be restored. The most pronounced expression of Neo-Confucian jingjie discourse is found in the discursive development of Wuyi Mountains and its Nine Bends Stream (Wuyi Jiuqu 武夷九曲). Well-known because of its association with Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200 AD), Wuyi Nine Bends jingjie as a geopolitical territory developed into both the physical and symbolic centre of Cheng-Zhu learning, and was recreated throughout China and Korea as a sign of legitimate orthodoxy and as a base for factional expansion. As a poetic territory, Wuyi emerged as an important site of shared cultural memory, forging bonds between Neo-Confucians across generations. The discussion of Wuyi as a philosophical jingjie revolved around the interpretation of Zhu Xi’s poem “The Boat Song of Wuyi’s Nine Bends 武夷九曲櫂歌,” which became the source of hermeneutic debate that lasted for several centuries and contributed to an important philosophical literature. On the whole, by examining the development of Neo-Confucianism in light of the traditional discursive context of jingjie, this study reveals how the philosophical, political, and cultural movement was conceived and understood by the Neo-Confucians themselves as the joining together of different modes of territoriality, thus providing a richer, more nuanced and complex picture of the development of Neo-Confucianism in China and Korea from 12th-18th centuries.

Direct links between Taiwan and China have been re-established since the end of 2008. At present, regular direct flights between airports in Taiwan and China are in operation. This reality is the culmination of negotiations between China and Taiwan. A number of obstacles in ideology and politics existed throughout the negotiations. Particularly salient to these obstacles were the discourse of the one-China principle, as well as the political strategies and ideologies of the Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan. In addition, the influence of the media with regard to the resolution of ideological and political conflict was an important factor. Different news media outlets in Taiwan and China developed their own narratives of the development of cross-strait relations and negotiation of the Three Links. An analysis of news media perspectives offers insight into the complex nature of political communication in Taiwan and China.

In an effort to explore how hermeneutic reason functions in cultural crises, and more specifically, how a Ming loyalist Wang Fuzhi dealt with the political and cultural crises at the Ming-Qing dynastic transition, this dissertation critically examines his commentaries on Confucian classics and historical writings as well as his criticism toward other Confucian scholars and heretical schools. My conclusion is that, unlike his peers’ iconoclastic criticism of Neo-Confucianism, Wang’s uniqueness consists in that he attempted to reconstruct it through such criticism. Through this reconstruction, he tried to provide a solution to the political and cultural crises of his time by promoting universal harmony/he and humanity/ren. In his opinion, humanity originated from the harmonious qi in the universe, was identical with human nature, and demonstrated in the humane governance. Thus, he established a comprehensive system that incorporated cosmology, human nature, and political governance. Wang insisted that human beings’ destruction of the universal harmony caused the rise of perverse qi that gave rise to natural disasters and social conflicts. In order to decrease the amount of perverse qi and in turn the number of bad people and conflicts generated, Wang thought that man could cultivate his own harmonious qi or humanity and thus increase the universal harmonious qi through self-cultivation. Individually, the measures were dependent upon complying with ritual propriety and awakening one’s innate knowledge. Politically, it depended upon the ruler’s humane governance—the cultivation and extension of humanity to the people. Wang’s motivation of reconstruction was also powered by his arrogance. From his slogan, “the Six Classics require me to start a new phase”, he tacitly assumed himself to be on par with Confucius, justifying his criticism of others. Regrettably, his criticism of other non-Confucian schools was often impertinent and biased although his criticism of Neo-Confucianism was to the point.

This dissertation examines the effects of jingjie 境界 discourse on the development of Neo-Confucianism in 12th-18th century China and Korea. Jingjie, a multilayered term whose meanings include “territory,” “spiritual realm,” and “poetic landscape,” has largely been studied as a philosophical idea and aesthetic trope. These investigations, however, often overlook the connection between jingjie’s diverse meanings and the term’s role in the production of territorial knowledge. Using the method of discourse analysis, this study explores jingjie as a discourse of territoriality that constructed and represented forms of space, power, and identity through the process of horizontal and vertical territorialization, traversing geopolitics, philosophy, and poetry. The development of Neo-Confucianism can be traced through the intricate interplay of the multiple discourses of jingjie, particularly in the conception of sagely learning and living. The “jingjie of the sages,” proposed by Neo-Confucians as a new subject of inquiry and goal of learning, was conceived as a moral and spiritual territory to be claimed and reached, a poetic territory to be experienced, and a geopolitical territory to be restored. The most pronounced expression of Neo-Confucian jingjie discourse is found in the discursive development of Wuyi Mountains and its Nine Bends Stream (Wuyi Jiuqu 武夷九曲). Well-known because of its association with Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200 AD), Wuyi Nine Bends jingjie as a geopolitical territory developed into both the physical and symbolic centre of Cheng-Zhu learning, and was recreated throughout China and Korea as a sign of legitimate orthodoxy and as a base for factional expansion. As a poetic territory, Wuyi emerged as an important site of shared cultural memory, forging bonds between Neo-Confucians across generations. The discussion of Wuyi as a philosophical jingjie revolved around the interpretation of Zhu Xi’s poem “The Boat Song of Wuyi’s Nine Bends 武夷九曲櫂歌,” which became the source of hermeneutic debate that lasted for several centuries and contributed to an important philosophical literature. On the whole, by examining the development of Neo-Confucianism in light of the traditional discursive context of jingjie, this study reveals how the philosophical, political, and cultural movement was conceived and understood by the Neo-Confucians themselves as the joining together of different modes of territoriality, thus providing a richer, more nuanced and complex picture of the development of Neo-Confucianism in China and Korea from 12th-18th centuries.

In the last decades of the 19th century an interdenominational missions group emerged from within Anglo-American Protestantism: the SVM. This organization sought to broadcast the gospel to the entire world and through this message establish a version of modernity based on Christian belief. This work examines the presence of this evangelical movement in Korea and will consider the implications of its brand of Christianity on the exchange between missionaries and Korean nationalist. Towards this end, this paper will examine missionary discourses produced by leading evangelicals within the church apparatus and consider the writings of James Gale, one of the organization’s missionaries stationed in Korea. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that, although outsiders to the Japanese colonial regime, the evangelicals' exchange with Koreans was still shaped by Orientalist assumptions and broader compromises made between the interlocking ideologies of Capitalism, Social Darwinism and Christian doctrine.

In the last decades of the 19th century an interdenominational missions group emerged from within Anglo-American Protestantism: the SVM. This organization sought to broadcast the gospel to the entire world and through this message establish a version of modernity based on Christian belief. This work examines the presence of this evangelical movement in Korea and will consider the implications of its brand of Christianity on the exchange between missionaries and Korean nationalist. Towards this end, this paper will examine missionary discourses produced by leading evangelicals within the church apparatus and consider the writings of James Gale, one of the organization’s missionaries stationed in Korea. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that, although outsiders to the Japanese colonial regime, the evangelicals' exchange with Koreans was still shaped by Orientalist assumptions and broader compromises made between the interlocking ideologies of Capitalism, Social Darwinism and Christian doctrine.

Warriors are a less visible topic in the study of imperial China. They did not write history, but they made new history by destroying the old. The fall of the first enduring Chinese empire, the Han, collides with the rise of its last warriors known as the â talons and fangs.â Despite some classical or deceptive myths like the Chinese ideal of bloodless victories and a culture without soldiers, the talons and fangs of the Eastern Han warlords demonstrated the full potential of military prestige in a Confucian hierarchy, the bloodcurdling reality of dynastic rivalry, as well as a romantic tradition infatuated with individual heroism.

Warriors are a less visible topic in the study of imperial China. They did not write history, but they made new history by destroying the old. The fall of the first enduring Chinese empire, the Han, collides with the rise of its last warriors known as the â talons and fangs.â Despite some classical or deceptive myths like the Chinese ideal of bloodless victories and a culture without soldiers, the talons and fangs of the Eastern Han warlords demonstrated the full potential of military prestige in a Confucian hierarchy, the bloodcurdling reality of dynastic rivalry, as well as a romantic tradition infatuated with individual heroism.