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Shall Children Play? Evidence from Arts in Late Imperial China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Hsiung Ping-chen
Hsiung Ping-chen*
Affiliation:
Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
*
Hsiung Ping-chen, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Block 8, 28/F, Royal Ascot, Siu Lek Yuen, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines various positions on whether children should be allowed to play in late imperial China. Demonstrating distinctly different views from Neo-Confucian thinkers, professional genre painters of “Children at Play” (yingxi tu 嬰戲圖), and the emerging pediatric specialists, the article maintains that clearly multi-vocal forces coexisted during the Song Dynasty, including a persuasive child-favoring stance that remains unique in global humanities on this issue.

Keywords

ChildrenPlay
Type
Articles
Information
Diogenes , Volume 64 , Issue 1-2: Global Ethics , February 2017 , pp. 77 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © ICPHS 2022

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