A Religious Critique of Modernity: Duan Zhengyuan and the Moral Learning Society

Date(s)： 2026/08/20

Time： 10:00~12:00

Venue： Archives 2nd Conference Hall

Host： Prof. Xie Xin-Zhe (Assistant research fellow, IMH, AS)

Speaker：Dr. Felix Erdt（Postdoctoral research, IMH, AS）

Disscussant： Prof. Huang Ko-wu (Distinguished research fellow, IMH, AS)

Organizer： IMH

Abstract,
In this paper, I examine the writings of Duan Zhengyuan (1864–1940), one of the leaders of the largest redemptive society of the Republican period—the Moral Learning Society (Daode Xueshe)—as an example of a religious critique of the modern notion of politics. In particular, I argue that Duan's emphasis on the unity of morality and politics should not merely be read as a continuation of a longstanding Confucian topos, but rather as a response to a conceptual shift in the understanding of politics that had been underway in China since at least the end of the nineteenth century. Duan neither viewed politics as an autonomous sphere of life nor placed much faith in institutional reform as a means of realizing an ideal society. Instead, he regarded the power of retribution and cosmic resonance as the foundation for a new China—an idea deeply rooted in popular religious belief.