Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the Chinese-speaking World: Reorienting the Political

Jul 6, 2026

An edited academic volume examining how Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss are received, critiqued, and recontextualized in Chinese-speaking settings. It frames the shift in global political conditions after the Cold War and explores transcultural critique of liberalism, with chapters analyzing Schmitt in China and broader global constitutionalism. The book also develops a Sinophone perspective on Strauss’s critique of the political, modernity, tyranny, crisis, and prospects for cultural renaissance. Includes references and index.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages291

Reading Time12 h 13 min

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Transcultural critique of liberalism

PART I: CRITIQUE OF LIBERALISM FROM A TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Three Strategies for Criticizing Liberalism and Their Continued Relevance

Toward a Radical Critique of Liberalism: Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in Contemporary Chinese Discourses

PART II: CARL SCHMITT IN THE CHINESE-SPEAKING WORLD

From “Carl Schmitt on Mao” to “Carl Schmitt in China”

The Tyranny of Values: Reflections on Schmitt and China

Reading the Temperature Curve: Sinophone Schmitt-fever

Carl Schmitt Redux: Law and the Political in Contemporary Global Constitutionalism

Carl Schmitt in Taiwanese Constitutional Law

PART III: LEO STRAUSS IN THE CHINESE-SPEAKING WORLD

Leo Strauss’s Critique of the Political in a Sinophone Context

Modernity, Tyranny, and Crisis

On Leo Strauss as Negative Philosopher

Mirror or Prism for Chinese Modernity?

Toward a Taiwanese Cultural Renaissance

References Index

About the Contributors

Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the ChineseSpeaking World Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the ChineseSpeaking World Reorienting the Political Edited by Kai Marchal and Carl K. Y. Shaw LEXINGTON BOOKS Lanham • Boulder • New York • London Published by Lexington Books An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 [www.rowman.com](www.rowman.com) Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB For the cover photos: Carl Schmitt, © Carl-Schmitt-Gesellschaft e.V.; Leo Strauss, courtesy of Jenny Strauss Clay. Copyright © 2017 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Marchal, Kai, editor. | Shaw, Carl K. Y., 1961-editor. Title: Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the Chinese-speaking world : reorienting the political/[edited by] by Kai Marchal and Carl K.Y. Shaw. Description: Lanham : Lexington Books,[2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016050832 (print) | LCCN 2017000751 (ebook) | ISBN 9781498536264 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781498536271 (Electronic) Subjects: LCSH: Schmitt, Carl, 1888-1985—Political and social views. | Strauss, Leo—Political and social views. | Schmitt, Carl, 1888-1985—Influence. | Strauss, Leo—Influence. | Political science—China—Philosophy. | Political science—Taiwan—Philosophy. Classification: LCC JC263 .S34 C38 2016 (print) | LCC JC263 .S34 (ebook) | DDC 320.0951—dc23 LC record available at [https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050832](https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050832) ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39 .48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Kai Marchal and Carl K. Y. Shaw PART I: CRITIQUE OF LIBERALISM FROM A TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 15 1 Three Strategies for Criticizing Liberalism and Their Continued Relevance 17 Harald Bluhm 2 Toward a Radical Critique of Liberalism: Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in Contemporary Chinese Discourses 37 Carl K. Y. Shaw PART II: CARL SCHMITT IN THE CHINESE-SPEAKING WORLD 59 3 From “Carl Schmitt on Mao” to “Carl Schmitt in China”: Unsettled Issues and Unsettling Continuities 61 Thomas Fröhlich 4 The Tyranny of Values: Reflections on Schmitt and China 81 Mario Wenning 5 Reading the Temperature Curve: Sinophone Schmitt-fever in Context and Perspective 103 Charlotte Kroll vi Contents 6 Carl Schmitt Redux: Law and the Political in Contemporary Global Constitutionalism Han Liu 7 Carl Schmitt in Taiwanese Constitutional Law: An Incomplete Reception of Schmitt’s Constitutional Theory Shu-Perng Hwang PART III: LEO STRAUSS IN THE CHINESE-SPEAKING WORLD 8 Leo Strauss’s Critique of the Political in a Sinophone Context Christopher Nadon 9 Modernity, Tyranny, and Crisis: Leo Strauss in China Kai Marchal 10 On Leo Strauss as Negative Philosopher Jianhong Chen 11 Mirror or Prism for Chinese Modernity? A Reading of Leo Strauss Kuan-Min Huang 12 Toward a Taiwanese Cultural Renaissance: A Straussian Perspective Chuan-Wei Hu References Index About the Contributors 121 137 149 151 173 197 211 231 243 269 279 Acknowledgments This volume is the result of the “International Conference on Political Philosophies across National Contexts: Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the Sinophone World,” organized by and held at the Center for Political Thought, Research Center for Humanities and Socia

FAQs

What is the central focus of the volume edited by Kai Marchal and Carl K. Y. Shaw?

The book investigates how Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss are reoriented and discussed in the Chinese-speaking world, emphasizing transcultural perspectives on political thought and liberalism.

How does the book structure its analysis of Schmitt?

It gathers chapters on Schmitt’s reception in China and the broader implications for law and the political, including discussions of constitutionalism and Taiwanese constitutional theory.

What themes guide the chapters on Strauss in the Sinophone context?

The volume addresses Strauss’s critique of the political, relationships among modernity, tyranny, and crisis, and interpretations of Chinese modernity, including prospects for cultural renewal.

Jul 6, 2026

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