Lessons in Equality: From Ignorant Schoolmaster to Chinese Aesthetics
Lessons in Equality: From Ignorant Schoolmaster to Chinese Aesthetics

Summary/Abstract: The postponement of equality is not only a recurring topic in JacquesRancière’s writings, but also the most defining feature of modern Chinese aesthetics. Particularlyin the period after 1980’s, when the country opened its doors to Western ideas, Chineseaesthetics extensively played a subordinate role in an imbalanced knowledge transfer, in whichstructural inequality was only reinforced. Aesthetics in China plays an important role and isexpected not only to interpret literature and art, but also to help building a harmonious societywithin globalized world. This is the reason why some commentators – Wang Jianjiang beingone of them – point out that it is of utmost importance to eliminate this imbalance and developproper Chinese aesthetics. Since the key issue in this development is the problem of inequality,an approach developed by Jacques Rancière, “the philosopher of equality”, is proposed. Eventhough Rancière wrote extensively about literature, art and aesthetics, in order to confront theproblem of Chinese aesthetics, it seems that a different approach, found in his repertoire, couldprove to be more fruitful. In 1987, he published a book titled The Ignorant Schoolmaster, whichcontributed to his ongoing philosophical emancipatory project, and focused on inequality andits conditions in the realm of education. The Ignorant Schoolmaster, nonetheless, stretches farbeyond the walls of classroom or even educational system, and brings to the fore politicalimplications that cluster around the fundamental core of Rancière’s political philosophy: thedefinition of politics as the verification of the presupposition of the equality of intelligence.Equality cannot be postponed as a goal to be only attained in the future and, therefore, hasto be considered as a premise of egalitarian politics that needs to operate as a presupposition.

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