Max Weber and China
A defense
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13011383 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Krishan Kumar (0000-0001-9429-3147, University of Virginia Hospital, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Cultural Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2049-7113 • E-ISSN: 2049-7121 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41290-025-00257-9 |
| OpenAlex | W4409651941 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 63 |
While Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism has received extensive discussion, it is only recently that attention has turned to his later work, The Religion of China , even though for Weber the two studies were intrinsically linked. This article seeks to put the two in dialogue with each other, but the weight of the account is on Weber’s analysis of Chinese culture and society, and especially his argument that it was the ethic of Confucianism that was principally responsible for China’s failure to develop an indigenous capitalism, despite a promising start. How well does Weber’s account stand up to recent work on the subject by Chinese and Western scholars? The article argues that whatever criticisms scholars may have of The Religion of China , it remains an inspiring work for approaching the study of non-Western cultures and civilizations
China · Economic geography · Epistemology · Geography · Political science · Sociology · Sociology of culture · Anthropology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
Oriental despotism
Hankow
The wealth and poverty of nations
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The grand titration
Reflections on Multiple Modernities
The European Miracle
The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation
The Great Divergence
Economy and Society
Oriental Despotism
Max Weber
From Max Weber
Max Weber’s Orient
TWO • Early Civilization in China
Five • The Confucian Tradition in Chinese History
History in Communist China
China, the West, and World History in Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China
Comparative Civilizations and Multiple Modernities
Confucius and Capitalism
The real question about China
The Anthem Companion to Max Weber
The Qing Formation in World-Historical Time
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Axial Civilizations and World History
Rethinking Civilizational Analysis
Max Weber's Comparative-Historical Sociology Today
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Confucianism and the Chinese Self
Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic
Max Weber on Confucianism versus Protestantism
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Max Weber and the Religions of China
Chinese Religion
The Problem of Thematic Unity in the Works of Max Weber
Weber's Last Theory of Capitalism
The Role of Religious Ideas and the Use of Models in Max Weber's Comparative Studies of Non-Capitalist Societies
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Agricultural Revolution and Elite Reproduction in Qing China
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Max Weber'sThe Religion of China
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |