Learning To Be Humane:a New Confucian Reading Of J. M. Coetzee’s Dusklands And Age Of Iron

John Maxwell Coetzee is, by common consent, one of the most distinguished authors at the present time, who attracts academic attention from all over the world for his well-crafted, innovative and thought-provoking novels as well as his special cultural backgrounds and life experiences. To have a brief view of the current studies on Coetzee and his works, however, it is obvious that most of the critical reviews remain within the limits of the Western critical theories. In order to broaden the horizon of Coetzee study in the broader context of Chinese philosophy, this thesis would like to read Dusklands and Age of Iron, the two early novels by Coetzee, from the perspective of Confucian humanism, which is reinterpreted by the modern New Confucians.Recent years have seen the increasing research on Coetzee’s ethical views and his philosophical reflection on human nature. Therefore, this thesis is dedicated to exploring Coetzee’s humanistic ideal from the Confucian idea of "true person", namely human with all-embracing humanity, and the Confucian way to learn to be humane. By employing the Confucian concepts and propositions, it will be clear that in the aforementioned novels Coetzee not only rethinks profoundly the cultural bases of the enlightenment project in the modern West, but also defines his ideal humanity beyond the enlightenment mentality and provides the possible way to achieve the all-embracing humanity in the racially segregated South Africa.