What is “rhetoric” anyway? Briared in words in Early China

Abstract

The present article explores the applicability of the term "rhetoric" in a non-Western context and, in particular, the legitimacy of such an attempt in the case of Early China, where the Warring States period is traditionally considered as the golden age of early Chinese "rhetoric". The pre-imperial and early imperial received literature provides good evidence for the employment of a well-established and clearly defined set of argumentative techniques in everyday political practice in ancient China. No handbook on such techniques has been handed down, and a proper term to define them as part of a broader, more structured activity that could match Western "rhetoric" does not appear until the medieval period. The article argues, however, that by applying a more fluid concept of "rhetoric" and by extending its scope beyond and across cultural boundaries it is not only possible but also legitimate to a certain extent to talk about a rhetorical tradition in the case of ancient China as well.

The Reading of the Mencius by Korean Confucian Scholars: Rhetorical Exegesis and the Dao

“…Applying the Western concept of rhetoric to non-Western texts is a controversial issue. Indraccolo (2014) argues that it is possible to apply the concept of rhetoric only if we keep the meaning of rhetoric fluid. If so, as Weber (2014) insists, though Western scholarship has long tried to provide a clear definition of the term rhetoric, a broader and more abstract definition is needed for cross-cultural research.…”