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Aristotle becomes latest casualty in China’s narrative war with the West as scholar questions philosopher’s existence
- Chinese politics expert goes viral by claiming ancient Greek’s legacy not supported by written record, but mainstream historians disagree
- The statements reflect growing trend among nationalist intellectuals who argue the world needs a less Western-centric version of history
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Did Aristotle really exist? The provocative question, which was the topic of a viral video by nationalistic Chinese scholar Jin Canrong, has launched yet another battle in the narrative war between China and the West.
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Jin is not a historian but a leading expert on China-US relations at Renmin University in Beijing and an adviser to the Chinese government. He is also an influencer on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where a video clip of his speech on Aristotle went viral last month, generating a tsunami of public debate on the reliability of Western history.
Jin claims there is no written record from before the 13th century that can prove Aristotle’s existence, and the ancient philosopher, if he existed more than 2,000 years ago, could not have written hundreds of books containing millions of words before the arrival of paper in Europe in the 11th century.
“Aristotle just popped up, and what made it more suspicious was that he seems to have an all-encompassing body of knowledge, ranging from optics and ethics to economics and politics,” he said in the video.
Mainstream historians have criticised Jin’s argument as superficial and flawed, noting that similar questions could be raised about China’s ancient philosophers such as Lao Tzu.
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But Jin’s statements reflect a growing trend among some nationalistic intellectuals who argue the world needs a new, less Western-centric version of history as China rises on the world stage and engages in a “war of narratives” with the US and its allies.
Western scholars have raised their own doubts about China’s claim to 5,000 years of history – a history China’s leaders have invoked to inspire “cultural confidence” and pride in the country’s modern development path.
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