Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-274) and index.

Introduction -- Languages, concepts, and pluralism -- The consequences of pluralism -- The shift toward legitimate desires in neo-Confucianism -- Nineteenth-century origins -- Dynamism in the early twentieth century -- Change, continuity, and convergence prior to 1949 -- Engagement despite distinctiveness -- Conclusions.

What should we make of claims by members of other groups to have moralities different from our own? Human Rights in Chinese Thought gives an extended answer to this question in the first study of its kind. It integrates a full account of the development of Chinese rights discourse - reaching back to important, though neglected, origins of that discourse in 17th and 18th century Confucianism - with philosophical consideration of how various communities should respond to contemporary Chinese claims about the uniqueness of their human rights concepts. The book elaborates a plausible kind of moral pluralism and demonstrates that Chinese ideas of human rights do indeed have distinctive characteristics, but it nonetheless argues for the importance and promise of cross-cultural moral engagement.--Publisher description.