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| Title: | 賣身買得千年名－論中國人的自殺與名欲 |
| Other Titles: | Transitory Life for Eternal Fame: On Chinese Suicide |
| Authors: | 林元輝
Lin, Yuan-Huei |
| Contributors: | 新聞系 |
| Date: | 1992.03 |
| Issue Date: | 2014-09-18 14:04:28 (UTC+8) |
| Abstract: | Though love of fame is human nature, buying fame at the price of one`s life is by no means common in Western society. Yet, men dying for fame are found commonly in the course of Chinese history. This reflects the unusual weight carried by the notion of fame in Chinese culture. This article focuses on this subject and analyzes the correlation of suicide and fame in Chinese society.With the exception of the Taoists, the concern for reputation is a common sentiment among the Chinese, regardless of social class, gender, profession, or career. The only difference is that the higher one`s social status is, the more pronounced this fixation becomes. To attain widespread fame is even included in a larger Confucian moral project.There are many means by which the Chinese achieved fame. However, in the main stream of Chinese culture, there is an endorsed formula for the establishment of reputation through either of the ”three fulfillments,” namely, the fulfillment of virtue, the fulfillment of merit, and the fulfillmentof doctrines. Suicide has nothing to do with the fulfillment of doctrines, and seldom has it to do with the fulfillment of merit. But it does frequently have to do with the fulfillment of virtue.Among the Chinese suicides who died virtuously and attained everlasting fame are those who sought fame by fulfilling virtues. What they were concerned about is renown rather than virtue itself. However, what is the inner logic supporting the idea that a good name outweighs physical life? One possible explanation is that it might have something to do with the belief in the sympathetic magic of names, which have prevailed from the Chinese antiquities. Its most conspicuous characteristic is the notion that a person`s name constitutes part of his soul. The ancient Chinese believed in the immortality of the soul provided that the name of the dead person is frequently evoked.From the age of ”philosophic breakthrough” onward, the superstitious correlation between name and soul faded away from the rational minds. Instead, belief in ”spiritual immortality” took place. Immortality can be attained only if one`s virtue is remembered and celebrated by the whole society. In this sense, it can be said that those who acted suicidally for the sake of fame were in fact exchanging a transitory life for an eternal one. |
| Relation: | 中國文哲研究集刊, 2, 423-451 |
| Data Type: | article |
| Appears in Collections: | [Department of Journalism] Periodical Articles
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Files in This Item:
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Size | Format | |
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| 423-451.pdf | | 3306Kb | Adobe PDF2 | 866 | View/Open |
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