In the early modern period, the Chinese state began to move beyond simple land management and taxation toward a more granular interest in the biological life of its subjects. This shift, often explored in scholarly works like those found in ResearchGate collections , saw the "counting of the psyche" as a method of social control. By categorizing individual behaviors and moral health, the state could more effectively manage the collective body of the nation. Bioethics and the Confucian Framework
Unlike Western biopolitics, which often centers on the clinical or secular, China's early modern bioethics remained deeply rooted in moral philosophy. The "birth of bio-ethics" in this era was not merely about medical procedures, but about the ethical duty to maintain harmony between the physical body and the social self.
The Architecture of the Soul: Biopolitics and Bioethics in Early Modern China
: The health of the individual was viewed as a reflection of the health of the family and the state.