Of Heroick Virtue and Robinson Crusoe:A Controversy between the Moderns and An-cients Concerning China
Concerning the turbulence in England in the 17th century,William Temple,a repre-sentative of the Ancients,proposed the heroic virtue centered around monarchy with the agri-cultural economy as its foundation,drawing on the republican virtues of the Restoration peri-od.The exemplary heroic virtue in China,rooted in Confucian thought,serves as a paradigm.Around the time of the Glorious Revolution,Temple's praise of Chinese heroic virtue,which violated the constitutional monarchy established in the Glorious Revolution,was opposed by Daniel Defoe,a representative of the Moderns,in his Robinson Crusoe.The agricultural econ-omy,as the foundation of Chinese heroic virtue,also contradicts the mercantilism advocated in Robinson Crusoe.Temple wanted to restore the old monarchy before the Glorious Revo-lution by praising China's heroic virtue,while Defoe hoped to use the portrayal of China in Robinson Crusoe to negate the heroic virtue and defend the Glorious Revolution settlement.Nevertheless,the influence of China can be felt on both sides of the controversy between the Ancients and Modems.
Of Heroick VirtueRobinson CrusoeA Controversy between the Moderns and AncientsChina
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