SCCEI Seminar Series (Winter 2026)

Friday, March 6, 2026 | 12:00 pm -1:20 pm Pacific Time
Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way

Enlightenment Under Autocracy: The Origins of Liberalism in China

This paper studies how ideas emphasizing individual moral agency diffuse and shape political behavior under autocracy by tracing the spread of Wang Yangming’s School of Mind in late imperial China. Using a new dataset of over 24,000 historical texts from 1000 to 1900, we measure regional exposure with two indicators: the frequency of core concepts and the count of associated authors. We also introduce a semantic-similarity measure that compares local texts to Yangming’s writings. A difference-in-differences design shows a sharp post-1500 rise in exposure, concentrated in places with stronger lecture influence. Prefectures with higher exposure were more likely to produce reformist leaders in the Donglin Movement (1604–1627). Using contemporary survey data from 2010 and a matched-sample approach, we further document long-run persistence. Residents in historically exposed prefectures express stronger support for the right to discuss public affairs and for limiting government involvement in private affairs. Together, the results link the diffusion of Yangming learning to reformist mobilization among elites and to durable attitudes toward political voice and the appropriate scope of government.

About the Speaker 
 

Professor Melanie Meng Xue is Assistant Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Her research lies at the intersection of political economy, gender, culture, and economic history, with a regional focus on early modern and modern China. Her work explores the rise of women, the persistence of authoritarian regimes, and the long-term impact of affirmative action and cultural values on economic and political inequality.

Her articles examine topics such as folklore and proverbs as sources of cultural transmission, and she is currently working on a book project analyzing cultural values across ethnic groups and regions in China. Professor Xue has published widely, and her research has influenced both academic and public discourse on the role of historical narratives and norms in shaping institutional development. She received her Ph.D. in Economics and has mentored research assistants who have gone on to top Ph.D. and pre-doctoral programs. During the 2025–26 academic year, she will be on sabbatical, spending the fall semester at Yale University.

Questions? Contact Xinmin Zhao at xinminzhao@stanford.edu