Argumentation (Bian 辯)

Abstract

The article explores the characteristics and the use of the Classical Chinese rhetorical technique of argumentation (bian 辯) in early Chinese philosophical literature, with focus on “Masters texts” (zhishu 子書). It aims at providing a basic though accurate introduction into one of the most relevant argumentative strategies employed by early Chinese persuaders in the late pre-imperial and early imperial period. It contextualizes the use of argumentation, providing a historical and literary overview of the cultural background that produced the kind of argumentative texts in which this technique was employed. The article also touches upon issues such as the semantic scope and early definitions of the term bian in the received literature, and alleged criticism of the misuse of this technique and of the moral integrity of the persuaders that resorted to argumentation to win an argument. Through pertinent examples drawn from early Chinese philosophico-argumentative texts, the article illustrates the distinctive features of this rhetorical technique with particular attention paid to paradoxes, and briefly analyses the most famous case of argumentation in the history of Classical Chinese thought, the so-called “white horse” (baima 白馬) argument.