From Grasping to Shaping Reality

One of the central yet underexplored debates in Han ethics, politics, and administration concerns the relationship between “titles” (ming 名) and “actuality” (shi 實). This debate laid the foundation for China’s bureaucracy and imperial examination system, also influencing modern administrative theory and meritocratic principles. This paper examines the concept of the proper alignment of names and actualities in the Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁露, specifically focusing on the Statecraft chapters (Chapters 18–22), which discuss governance and political practices. I will explore how this alignment operates within these chapters, focusing on the interplay between language, reality, knowledge, power, and the socio-political order. In particular, I investigate the processual and dynamic nature of naming, framed within a cosmological paradigm. I argue that the act of naming begins with understanding and culminates in shaping reality. I further contend that the authors of the Statecraft chapters identified epistemic hiddenness as a central challenge in the act of naming, but they also proposed solutions to address this issue. Additionally, I highlight the performative role of language in ensuring that names correspond to actualities, asserting that within administrative discourse, language is not merely descriptive but actively shapes and effects change. To illustrate its role as a form of social action, I will link the alignment of names and actualities to contemporary philosophical discourse, particularly the works of John Austin and Judith Butler.