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An Evaluation of the Chen Jingyuan Case Based on Friedrich Nietzsche's Philosophical Core Ideas

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), the iconoclastic philosopher of vitalism and critique, dismantled traditional morality in works like *On the Genealogy of Morality* (1887) and *Thus Spoke Zarathustra* (1883-85). His core ideas include the will to power (*Wille zur Macht*) as life's fundamental drive for self-overcoming and creative affirmation; the Dionysian-Apollonian duality—ecstatic chaos balanced by ordered form—from *The Birth of Tragedy* (1872); master morality (noble, affirmative values) versus slave morality (ressentiment-driven, reactive negation); and eternal recurrence as the ultimate test of amor fati (love of fate), embracing life's repetitions without regret. Nietzsche scorned nihilistic "last men" who cling to security, urging the Übermensch (overman) to affirm chaos and create values amid the death of God. The Chen Jingyuan case—a doctoral scholar sentenced to 20 months for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" (PRC Criminal Law Article 293) over Twitter forwards—through Nietzsche's lens, exemplifies slave morality's triumph: the judiciary's reactive "order" negates the Dionysian will to power in inquiry, imposing ressentiment on the affirmative spirit, yet Chen's resilient taxonomy hints at eternal recurrence's defiant amor fati.

#### 1. The Will to Power and Dionysian Affirmation: Suppressed Inquiry as Reactive Negation of Creative Vitality

Nietzsche's will to power is life's affirmative force—self-overcoming through Dionysian ecstasy, not Apollonian stasis—where creation trumps preservation.

Chen's forwards (e.g., Hayek critiques or the "Trump-kneeling Xi" cartoon) embody Dionysian vitality: chaotic, creative surges of intellectual power, affirming life's multiplicities. Yet the verdict reacts with slave negation: "high education implies discernment" pathologizes this will as "disruptive," imposing Apollonian rigidity to preserve "order." The closed-door trial and "shut up" directive crush the surge—Chen's prison letter, Dionysian in its taxonomy (art/emotion/reason/fact) and avalanche theory, is silenced as "malice." Nietzsche would decry this as last-man cowardice: the judiciary's ressentiment negates power's affirmation, turning the scholar's Übermensch potential into nihilistic conformity. Anomalies like unverified posts expose the negation's frailty—will to power swerves eternally, unquenched.

#### 2. Master vs. Slave Morality: Judicial "Order" as Ressentiment's Reactive Inversion

In *Genealogy*, Nietzsche contrasts master morality (noble, life-affirming "yes") with slave morality (weak, vengeful "no" born of ressentiment, inverting values to vilify strength).

The sentence inverts values reactively: Chen's masterful inquiry—affirmative strength in forwarding symbolic chaos (e.g., the cartoon's Dionysian irony)—is slave-moralized as "quarrelsome threat," elevating "social order" as vengeful good against noble "disruption." Selective enforcement (millions unpunished) reveals ressentiment's cowardice: the weak judiciary resents the strong intellect, as the prosecutor's unverified admission confesses impotence. Nietzsche would mock this as priestly inversion: the non-oral appeal, barring Chen's affirmative taxonomy, perpetuates slave ethics—equating power's yes with sin. Yet the case's fissures (evidentiary voids) signal master resurgence: Chen's amor fati endures, scorning the "no" of conformity.

#### 3. Eternal Recurrence and Amor Fati: The Sentence as Test of Affirmative Defiance

Nietzsche's eternal recurrence demands affirming life's eternal return—amor fati as joyful yes to all, testing the spirit's strength.

The 20-month ordeal tests this: Chen's silence post-release—dormant account as eternal pause—affirms recurrence without regret, his letter's defiant taxonomy a yes to inquiry's return. The judiciary's "order," however, flees fate: reactive negation dreads repetition, imposing stasis over joyful flux. Nietzsche would hail Chen's spirit: the case's absurd "disruption" (zero ripple) becomes fated comedy, amor fati transmuting punishment into eternal affirmation.

#### Conclusion: Nietzsche's Lens on the Case—A Ressentiment Eclipse of Dionysian Power

From Friedrich Nietzsche's vitalist critique, the Chen Jingyuan case is ressentiment's eclipse: slave negation suppresses Dionysian will, inverting values in reactive stasis, yet eternal recurrence gleams in defiant amor fati. As of October 23, 2025, no retrial or exoneration has occurred; Chen's account remains dormant, its quiet a Zarathustrian overman's laugh. This case cautions: affirm chaos, or nihilism devours. As Nietzsche thundered, "What does not kill me makes me stronger"—may the spirit yet dance.