Guilt and Sin in Traditional China

Well known for his earlier studies in sociology, sinology and folklore, Mr. Eberhard here draws on his knowledge of all three fields, marshalling fresh data and insights with characteristic originality. Some social-psychologists distinguish between human societies that employ concepts of guilt to cope with non-conformist or deviant behavior and other societies that employ concepts of shame for this purpose. In this sense, China has usually been regarded as a "shame society." However, Mr. Eberhard finds that, although shame appears to have played an appreciable role in the socialization of children in traditional China and may retain its importance to the present day, its significance has apparently differed from one social class to another. Mr. Eberhard examines several types of Chinese literature (including notably the shan-shu) that have been popular for at least 1500 years, and draws on them to show how concepts of sin and retribution have changed during this time. He also analyzes a representative collection of short stories, spanning some 800 years, in order to determine how the moral values held by their educated authors differed from those of the more popular writers. His findings along the way not only offer new insights into the value system that was inculcated among the lower classes in traditional China but also suggest implications regarding values characteristic of contemporary China.