Temporal Legitimacy and Civilizational Logic: A Sociological Perspective on the Foundational Principles of Chinese Civilization

Authors

• Yuk Man Cheung, Ritsumeikan UniversityFollow

Keywords

social-scientific analytical framework, civilization logic, temporal legitimacy, Chinese civilization

Abstract

This article departs from the recent social-scientific analytical framework for comparative civilizations proposed by the sociologist Liah Greenfeld (2024a, 2024b, 2025) and puts forward several basic conjectures regarding the analysis of the characteristics of Chinese civilization, with the aim of assisting our understanding, execution, and integration of empirical studies. Precisely because these are conjectures, they differ from conventional academic research–especially the case-study-oriented research style dominant in contemporary Anglophone academia. Accordingly, this article can only be regarded as an attempt that, starting from sociological theory, offers preliminary conjectures and tentatively constructs a theoretical framework within which specialists from different fields may engage in collaborative work.

Recommended Citation

Cheung, Yuk Man (2026) "Temporal Legitimacy and Civilizational Logic: A Sociological Perspective on the Foundational Principles of Chinese Civilization," Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 95: No. 95, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol95/iss95/9