The Aesthetics of Nonviolent Resistance in Liu Xiaobo and Mohandas Gandhi

• In Event: Theorizing Resistance, Rebellion, and Refusal

Abstract

The theoretical interest of this paper is motivated by the peculiar obsession with nonviolence in the Sinophone world. To explicate this phenomenon, this paper examines the similarities and differences between two nonviolent theorists and activists, Liu Xiaobo and Mohandas Gandhi. This paper shows that Liu Xiaobo’s devotion toward nonviolent resistance stems from his quest for beauty, whereas Mohandas Gandhi follows the teachings of nonviolence because of his faith in God and Truth. Both of them treat nonviolence not just as a negation of violence but as a thing-in-itself, and their arguments for nonviolence are not derived from logical reasoning. This paper contends that Liu Xiaobo’s aesthetic theory allows for the possibility of following guidance other than nonviolence, which opens the possibility of violent resistance.
First, this paper contributes to the studies of the theories of nonviolent resistance by joining existing literature in critiquing the popular distinction between practical and principled nonviolence. Second, this paper sheds light on the growing awareness of the political effects of aesthetics in the context of nonviolent resistance. Third, it enriches the understanding of Liu Xiaobo’s ideas by utilizing his earlier aesthetic theories to illuminate his political activism and by connecting his ideas with Gandhi.

Author

• Yinguang Zhao, University of Minnesota