Chang'an rhapsody: towards a graphmatology of writing

Abstract

As a critical response to Heidegger’s claim in The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking (1972) that the end of philosophy signifies Western European thought becoming the foundation of world civilization, philosopher and sinologist François Jullien seeks to re-envision the task of post-European thought. In contrast to Derrida’s project of deconstruction from within, Jullien proposes a “detour” through the Chinese philosophical tradition, offering a form of deconstruction from without. He methodologically contrasts China and Europe as having two distinct philosophical systems, and by attempting to elaborate on these differences, Jullien opens up a new horizon for the emergence of alternative modes of thinking. Beyond suggesting a detour for the West to reflect on its own system through the lens of Chinese thought, Jullien points to the possibility for a non-European mode of thought — one that requires a new language, a new mode of writing, and a new way of articulating objectives and values.

In Writing and Difference (1967), as part of his attempt to overcome the ontology of a phonocentric writing system, Derrida envisions a “graphmetics” inspired by Freud’s psychoanalytic model of a writing machine, using the Chinese script as a metaphor for a writing apparatus yet to come. Taking the Chinese aesthetic and poetic tradition as a starting point, the design research project The Chang’an Rhapsody, aims to develop a “graphmatology” of writing by engaging with Jullien’s critique.

The project challenges contemporary thought on themes such as language, media, environment, technology, and time—areas constrained in this technological epoch by the limitations of existing ontological frameworks.

By reinterpreting the ancient Chinese literary genre of fu (rhapsody, 賦) and extending it beyond its traditional literary confines, The Rhapsody serves as a design-driven, critical speculation within a broader de-ontological framework. It metaphorically reconstructs Chang’an (長安), the ancient Chinese capital, as a writing machine through seven tactical apparatuses. The thesis examines specific rhapsodic moments of creation in China’s history, including: Ban Gu (班固)’s Chang’an Fu (長安賦, 65 AD), the noblewoman Lady Dai (辛追)’s Tomb Banner (168 BC), The Night Baquet of Han Xizai (韓熙載夜宴圖, 10th century AD), Adachi Kiroku’s (足立喜六, 1871-1949) photographic survey of Xi’an, as well as modern literary works like Lu Xun (魯迅)’s Diary of a Madman (狂人日記, 1918) and Gao Xingjian (高行健)’s Between Life and Death (生死界, 1991).

Mediated and curated across both analogue and digital forms, the thesis is driven by a series of design acts, functioning as a means of critical interpretation and creative exploration. It aims to engage with, and contribute to, the established scholarly debate on de-ontology while envisioning its spatial, architectural, and urban implications.