Barthes introduced and expanded the concept of "neutrality" from structural linguistics in his late period, constructing discourse ethics to eliminate ideology and power in discourse. He drew inspiration from Chinese Zen philosophy and Western skepticism, but his theory ultimately failed due to misinterpretation, misuse, and inherent issues with the concept of "neutrality". Nevertheless, his critique of the ideology and power hidden in discourse holds significant value. Bart has a special connection with China. Although he was limited by language and cultural barriers during his visit to China in 1974, his interest in Chinese culture grew stronger in his later life, and he criticized Western culture by reflecting on Chinese culture. His' cross lingual practice 'is an important component of his theory, but there has been little research attention paid to it.

Creating Discourse Ethics

Roland Barthes' discourse theory in the late period focuses on the relationship between power and discourse, believing that power universally exists in all discourse, whether it is top-down forces, ideologies, or dominant forces. In his inaugural speech at the French Academy, Barth proposed that language is fascist and emphasized the close connection between discourse and power. In "What Dominates a Discourse?", he explores the dual meaning of "domination" and analyzes how dominant discourse can put others in a passive position through strategic elements, using examples from Proust's works. In "Neutrality," Barthes aims to establish a discourse ethics that eliminates threats and arrogance in discourse, achieves equal communication, but discovers that language itself carries fascist undertones. He discussed the aggregation relationship in language structure and pointed out that the value inequality in this binary opposition is an ideology in language. In order to eliminate this ideology, Barth proposed using "neutrality" to dissolve the aggregation relationship, that is, introducing a third term between opposing terms to achieve non selective silence. Barthes' theory has a wide range of resources, including skepticism in late Greece and Zen philosophy in China, both of which emphasize the value of remaining silent in the face of opposing propositions.

Embezzlement of Chinese Zen and Taoist philosophy

Roland Barthes admitted in his paper that his understanding of Chinese Zen philosophy, Buddhism, Taoism, negative theology, and skepticism is limited and he is not proficient in these fields. Nevertheless, he still attempted to integrate these philosophical ideas into his discourse theory construction, but often found it far fetched due to a lack of in-depth understanding. Barthes has already demonstrated a "forced interpretation" of Chinese Zen philosophy in "The Empire of Symbols", which means interpreting his philosophical ideas according to his own intentions. He dislikes the excessive worship of meaning in the West and attempts to empty the referent of symbols by limiting and dissolving meaning. In "Neutrality," Barth discusses the discourse form of answering, believing that questioning itself implies power, and his proposed solutions include traveling, silence, avoidance, and deviation, among which deviation involves Zen's answer of irrelevant questions. Balt regards the answer to non questions in Zen Buddhism as a language art that breaks free from ideological constraints, but this is actually a misreading, because the answer to non questions in Zen Buddhism is not for freedom, but for not violating the general meaning of Buddhism. Barthes also misinterpreted the silence of Buddhism and the language view of Taoism, interpreting them as a complete silence of skepticism, while in reality, the language views of Zen and Taoism are both between speech and non speech. Although Barthes had a strong interest in Chinese Zen philosophy, cultural barriers and preconceived positions led to a large number of misunderstandings and misuses. His goal is not to truly understand Chinese Zen philosophy, but to use it as a tool to solve his own problems and to use China as a medium to bypass Europe.

Towards quietism

Explored Roland Barthes' discourse theory constructed through skepticism, pointing out that his theory cannot effectively dissolve power because power not only exists in language structures, but also permeates various groups, organizations, and interpersonal relationships in society. Balt ignored these external factors, which led to his theory falling into a predicament. Compared with Foucault's viewpoint, Barthes' theory appears to be limited. Foucault believed that the factors that influence discourse include internal, external, and subjective factors, involving the principles of commentary, dilution, and discipline. Barthes' skeptical thinking led his theory towards quietism, which rejects desire and conflict, and tends towards a life attitude of silence and inaction. He misunderstood the Taoist concept of 'non action' as' exemption of will ', which means extinguishing one's inner thoughts and being indifferent. This misunderstanding is consistent with his skeptical goals, but it leads to the collapse of his discourse theory and becomes the exclusive language of the world weary. Barthes' ideas of quietism are also reflected in his life and academic history. He attempted to eliminate ideology in language through "neutral writing," but ultimately failed. Nevertheless, his critique of the rampant ideology in discourse still holds value.