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Chinese scholars question the Western version of the story.
In China, a new front of the "war of narratives" with the West is flaring up: a well-known scholar and expert on China-US issues, Jin Cangrong, caused a heated debate by questioning the existence of Aristotle, the South China Morning Post newspaper reports . In a viral video on the Douyin platform (China's equivalent of TikTok), Jin claims that there is no written evidence of Aristotle's life before the 13th century, and that the ancient Greek philosopher, who supposedly lived more than 2,000 years ago, could not have written hundreds of books with millions of words before the advent of paper in Europe in the 11th century.
Although not an expert in history, Jin's influence as an adviser to the Chinese government lends weight to his doubts about Aristotle's ability to master such a broad range of knowledge, spanning optics, ethics, economics, and politics. These statements are synchronized with a growing movement among Chinese nationalist thinkers who insist on rethinking history, traditionally interpreted through the prism of Western values.
However, the majority of historians criticize Jin's arguments, calling them superficial and erroneous. They point out that similar questions could be asked about ancient Chinese philosophers such as Lao Tzu.
In response to China's claims about five millennia of its history — a history that the Chinese leadership actively uses to inspire national pride and support "cultural confidence" in the correctness of the chosen path of development — Western researchers expressed skepticism. Especially acute is the question of the Xia Dynasty, which is considered the first in the historical chronology of China and plays an important role in the formation of national identity. Many scholars have considered it a legend, but recent archaeological discoveries have provided evidence of the dynasty's existence.
In a 2019 speech, Zhang Weiwei, a theorist of the Chinese model of political and economic development, called on the Chinese public to challenge their pro-Western biases, arguing that the "West-centric view" still dominates Western social sciences.
Aristotle, born in 384 BC, is considered one of the most prolific and influential figures in ancient Greece, and is credited with authoring between 400 and 1,000 books covering the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. The tradition that followed him marked the beginning of the development of modern science.
Contrary to Jin's claims, several scholars have emphasized that Aristotle most likely wrote on papyrus rather than parchment, which was expensive and difficult to access. Papyrus was the main writing material in ancient Egypt and was widely used by the Greeks and Romans. In addition, the text on papyrus and parchment could be scraped off, which allowed the material to be reused, making its cost "not so exorbitant".
Despite Jin's skepticism, there is plenty of evidence that philosophers interacted with Aristotle's ideas and even quoted his texts as early as the 3rd century BC. e. If you doubt that Aristotle wrote as much as he is credited with, you will also have to doubt the authenticity of the works of many other authors.
Thus, although Chinese scholars initiate the discussion by rejecting Western narratives, the foundations of historical scholarship seem to remain unshakeable.
In China, a new front of the "war of narratives" with the West is flaring up: a well-known scholar and expert on China-US issues, Jin Cangrong, caused a heated debate by questioning the existence of Aristotle, the South China Morning Post newspaper reports . In a viral video on the Douyin platform (China's equivalent of TikTok), Jin claims that there is no written evidence of Aristotle's life before the 13th century, and that the ancient Greek philosopher, who supposedly lived more than 2,000 years ago, could not have written hundreds of books with millions of words before the advent of paper in Europe in the 11th century.
Although not an expert in history, Jin's influence as an adviser to the Chinese government lends weight to his doubts about Aristotle's ability to master such a broad range of knowledge, spanning optics, ethics, economics, and politics. These statements are synchronized with a growing movement among Chinese nationalist thinkers who insist on rethinking history, traditionally interpreted through the prism of Western values.
However, the majority of historians criticize Jin's arguments, calling them superficial and erroneous. They point out that similar questions could be asked about ancient Chinese philosophers such as Lao Tzu.
In response to China's claims about five millennia of its history — a history that the Chinese leadership actively uses to inspire national pride and support "cultural confidence" in the correctness of the chosen path of development — Western researchers expressed skepticism. Especially acute is the question of the Xia Dynasty, which is considered the first in the historical chronology of China and plays an important role in the formation of national identity. Many scholars have considered it a legend, but recent archaeological discoveries have provided evidence of the dynasty's existence.
In a 2019 speech, Zhang Weiwei, a theorist of the Chinese model of political and economic development, called on the Chinese public to challenge their pro-Western biases, arguing that the "West-centric view" still dominates Western social sciences.
Aristotle, born in 384 BC, is considered one of the most prolific and influential figures in ancient Greece, and is credited with authoring between 400 and 1,000 books covering the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. The tradition that followed him marked the beginning of the development of modern science.
Contrary to Jin's claims, several scholars have emphasized that Aristotle most likely wrote on papyrus rather than parchment, which was expensive and difficult to access. Papyrus was the main writing material in ancient Egypt and was widely used by the Greeks and Romans. In addition, the text on papyrus and parchment could be scraped off, which allowed the material to be reused, making its cost "not so exorbitant".
Despite Jin's skepticism, there is plenty of evidence that philosophers interacted with Aristotle's ideas and even quoted his texts as early as the 3rd century BC. e. If you doubt that Aristotle wrote as much as he is credited with, you will also have to doubt the authenticity of the works of many other authors.
Thus, although Chinese scholars initiate the discussion by rejecting Western narratives, the foundations of historical scholarship seem to remain unshakeable.
