40
desires, and demands of other people) that hinder, shape, or encourage it, on the other. In
concrete terms, Zhang‘s advocacy of the self-use of talent indicated his support for the local
political assemblies that nurtured hope for an incipient federalism in early Republican China.
Such assemblies were primary outlets for the unstructured talent of merchants, local gentry and
other agents whose lack of an exam degree systematically excluded them from political
participation and decision-making under the empire. On institutional and conceptual levels,
―talent‖ signifies the always-destabilizing potential of democratic action.
These local transformations of both institutions and attitudes are complemented by
Zhang‘s well-known doctrine of accommodation, or ―appreciation of difference,‖ which I
examine in Chapter 5. Like the mental preparation that enables one to ―self-use talent,‖
accommodation of differences involves a rigorous internal re-orientation, yet derives its
definitive character and purpose from the changes it inspires in the external world. Where the
use of talent acted upon and within local environments, accommodation acts to foster particular
relationships between persons, acknowledging the political world as comprised of interconnected
but differently motivated agents.
―Difference‖ in Zhang‘s work finds personal expression as idiosyncrasy, and political
expression as dissent. Idiosyncrasy recognizes difference across persons as not only inevitable,
but also invigorating for political association. For Zhang, this kind of difference names a
productive gap between individuals that need not provoke hostility; as opposed to ―sameness,‖
difference invites interpretation and engagement that may go far toward explaining how
convergence on a shared vision of community may be possible among disparate, self-aware
individuals. The acceptance of manifold difference facilitates (though, it is worth noting, does
not guarantee) the interpretive acts that render any particular exemplary action—like those of
Convention