This edited volume examines keywords that relate to self-development, though some of those keywords are about resisting self-development, and what counts as self-development itself requires consideration. Alongside an introduction by the editor and an epilogue by the philosopher Jiwei Ci, the volume includes 12 separately authored chapters examining the keywords luohou (lagging behind), fendou (struggle), mengxiang (dreams), qingxu shifang (emotional release), duanlian (exercise), jiaohua (education for transformation), nengli (ability), aixin (loving heart), xinshang (appreciation), yuanfen (fated chance), neijuan (involution) and tangping (lying flat). The volume as a whole raises, without explicitly addressing, several general questions: What is self-development? What is a keyword? What constitutes a keyword analysis? And, finally, why do self-development and keywords matter more in China than in other countries.
In the chapter on “lying flat,” for example, it is clear that discussions of the term revolve around resisting working hard. But is working hard the same as self-development? Does self-development require a transformation of the self, or could earning money or career advancement also count as “self-development”? What if the money enables marriage and raising a family? Should that count as “self-development”? What if one's hard work only benefits one's boss, or other people? And what if, despite one's hard work, one earns no money, learns nothing, and even the company as a whole, including one's boss, loses money and goes bankrupt? Some of the chapters present words that seem to define a particular form of self-development (such as the ability to appreciate art and music), while others seem to focus on questions of striving in general, regardless of whether that striving is for something that could easily be classified as self-development.
The chapters also vary in the extent to which they analyse keywords linguistically. Most barely touch on issues like the linguistic history of the terms, difficulties of translation, or grammatical peculiarities in how the terms are used. Nevertheless, the majority of the words examined at least feel like keywords. They index either hard-to-define ideals or complex social dynamics. The ambiguity and complexity make considerable room for debate and interpretation, and the debate and interpretation make the analysis of the words revealing. But in the case of duanlian (exercise), I found myself asking why this word should be considered a keyword at all. Its meaning seemed transparent, and the author devotes no time to analysis of the word itself, not even bothering to give us the characters alongside the pinyin for the Chinese term. The volume might have benefitted from further discussion of why some words deserve to be singled out as keywords.
The editor begins the volume with a history of self-development of China, from Confucian traditions of self-refinement (xiushen) through Maoist ideals of discipline and serving the people to post-Mao notions of human quality (suzhi). Concern with self-development certainly isn't unique to China, but there is something about Chinese history and society that makes the notion a more important theme there than in most other countries, even if one accepts Jiwei Ci's conclusion in the epilogue, that Chinese authoritarian rule has reduced self-development to an “arrested” form. But I wonder if a similar argument could be made about keyword analysis itself. China has a long tradition of fetishizing written words, of invoking their magical powers, and of linking this power to that of political leaders. This tradition has continued in the modern era, with the focus of propaganda departments on reproducing the written thoughts of top leaders in sacralized volumes, repeating the keywords and slogans the leaders use, as well as censoring the internet and social media through keywords. Again, while these practices are certainly not unique to China, they are perhaps more highly developed in China than elsewhere. This history makes keyword analysis an especially valuable strategy for analysing Chinese politics and society.
While space won't allow a chapter-by-chapter overview, I particularly enjoyed those on yuanfen (by Isabel Heger-Laube) and neijuan (by Linda Qian and Barclay Bram). The chapter on yuanfen (fated chance) not only gives an excellent history of the term's evolution but also details the subtle ways in which thinking about the term affects young people's attitude towards self-development. First, the term can lead people to accept certain relationships as “fated” and therefore do their best to develop by adapting to those relationships rather than resisting them. Second, some youth work to create opportunities for yuanfen to enter their lives and therefore to be able to develop within those fated relationships. Third, some people will reframe failed relationships as “fated” and look for some positive aspect of self-development that resulted from the failed relationship. The chapter on neijuan (involution) actually reframed the way I looked at the term. While I had associated the term primarily with intense competition in various domains of society, this chapter refocuses on uses of the term to refer to the psychological experiences of self-flagellation, burnout and depression that result from this competition.
Overall, the volume is a well-conceived and executed attempt to combine keyword analysis with a focus on self-development. The book could be used as a reference volume for readers curious about the connotations and history of various terms and wanting more detail than given in most dictionaries.
