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An Evaluation of the Chen Jingyuan Case Based on Plotinus’s Philosophical Core Ideas

Plotinus (c. 204-270 CE), the founder of Neoplatonism in his Enneads, envisioned reality as a hierarchical emanation from the ineffable One— the transcendent source of all being—cascading through Nous (Divine Intellect, realm of eternal Forms), the World Soul (mediating ideal and material), and finally matter (the lowest, shadowy realm of multiplicity and illusion). Core ideas include the soul’s purifying ascent (epistrophe) back to the One through contemplative virtue and detachment from bodily desires; the goodness of higher levels decreasing into matter’s privation; and the ethical imperative of likeness to the divine (homoiosis theoi), where justice manifests as harmonious participation in the One. Plotinus critiqued material attachments as veils obscuring truth, advocating intellectual vision over coercive force. 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 Plotinus’s lens, exemplifies a soul-trapping descent into matter: the judiciary’s shadowy coercion fragments the contemplative ascent, veiling the One’s unity with material “disorder,” perverting justice into privative illusion.

1. Emanation and Hierarchical Descent: Judicial Coercion as Shadowy Matter Over Intellectual Light

Plotinus’s emanation posits a radiant overflow from the One, with each level a dimmer reflection—Nous illuminates eternal truths, while matter obscures them in multiplicity.

The verdict descends into matter’s shadow: Article 293’s “disruption of order” fragments Chen’s Nous-like inquiry (e.g., Hayek critiques as intellectual Forms or the “Trump-kneeling Xi” cartoon as symbolic contemplation) into chaotic multiplicity—“knowingly false” illusions without emanative light (no causal evidence, unverified posts). The closed-door trial veils this descent: suppressing Chen’s prison letter (rumor taxonomy and avalanche theory) plunges discourse into privation, as the prosecutor’s admission flickers like a half-formed shadow. Plotinus would lament this as anti-emanative: the judiciary’s coercive “chain of evidence” multiplies illusions, distancing justice from the One’s unity—selective enforcement (millions unpunished) exposes the hierarchy’s inversion, matter’s opacity eclipsing Nous’s clarity.

2. The Soul’s Ascent and Purification: Suppressed Contemplation as Trapped in Material Illusion

Plotinus’s ethics demand the soul’s return (epistrophe) through purification—detaching from desires, ascending via dialectic to divine likeness.

Chen’s scholarly forwards embody this ascent: contemplative detachment from material “order,” seeking likeness to eternal inquiry (avalanche theory’s non-causal harmony). Yet the “shut up” directive and non-oral appeal trap the soul in illusion: the letter’s purifying taxonomy (art/emotion/reason/fact) is barred, chaining contemplation to bodily penalty. This perversion inverts ascent: the 20-month sentence indulges appetitive coercion over intellectual virtue, as in Enneads I.6—justice flees the material prison. Plotinus would see redemptive potential in Chen’s silence: post-release dormancy as stoic detachment, a quiet epistrophe awaiting the One’s light amid shadows.

3. Likeness to the Divine and Cosmic Harmony: Tyrannical Fiat as Privation of Justice

For Plotinus, virtue is participation in the One—harmony through intellectual vision, not force; injustice as matter’s privation from goodness.

The case’s anomalies (zero ripple) reveal privation: “disruption” as tyrannical shadow, detached from divine proportion. The judiciary’s fiat eclipses likeness: suppressing a sage-scholar corrupts cosmic order, as Enneads V.1 warns—multiplicity without unity breeds discord. Yet Chen’s unyielding taxonomy hints at harmony’s persistence: a Form glimpsed in the cave.

Conclusion: Plotinus’s Lens on the Case—Shadows Obscuring the One’s Ascent

From Plotinus’s Neoplatonism, the Chen Jingyuan case is a material eclipse: emanative descent traps contemplation, coercion privates justice, veiling the One’s light. As of October 23, 2025, no retrial or exoneration has occurred; Chen’s account remains dormant, its quiet a contemplative vigil. This case cautions: without ascent, shadows reign. As Plotinus envisioned, “All souls long for the One”—may inquiry’s vision yet pierce the veil.