Confucianism Books

Book SynopsisPresents a rogues' gallery of treacherous regicides, impious monks, cutthroat underlings, ill-bred offspring, and disloyal officials. This book plumbs the dark matter of the human condition, placing front and center transgressive individuals and groups traditionally demonized by Confucian annalists and largely shunned by modern scholars.

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Book SynopsisMakes available in English the seminal treatises in Korea’s greatest interreligious debate of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. ‘On Mind, Material Force, and Principle’, ‘An Array of Critiques of Buddhism’ and ‘Exposition of Orthodoxy’ are presented here with extensive annotation.

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable group of Japanese Buddhists who traveled to Chicago's Columbian Exposition to participate in the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions combined religious aspirations with nationalist ambitions. Their portrayal of Buddhism mirrored modern reforms in Meiji, Japan, and the historical context of cultural competition on display at the 1893 World's Fair. Japan's primary exhibit, the Ho-o, or phoenix, Pavilion, provided an impressive display of traditional culture as well as apt symbolism: for Japan's modern rise to prominence, for Buddhist renewal succeeding devastating Meiji persecution, for Mahayana revitalization following withering attacks of Western critics, and for Chicago's own resurrection from the ashes of the Great Fire. This book examines the Japanese delegates' portrayal of Mahayana Buddhism as authentically ancient, pragmatically modern, scientifically consistent, and universally salvific. The Japanese delegates were active, and relatively successful agents who seiTrade Review«Conversations among representatives of the world’s religions surely do not take place within a vacuum; the push and pull of global politics usually influences what gets said. So it is now and so it was as well in 1893 when some deeply concerned persons designed and attended the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. John S. Harding’s account of Japan’s Buddhist representation at that confab puts not only what was religious but also what was geo-political and even downright promotional into a fascinating narrative and very valuable analysis. Chicago was recovering from a terrible fire, Japan’s Buddhists from criticisms at home, Japan as a whole from a period of self-isolation, and America from an image of being religiously parochial. A lot was at stake in 1893. This book deftly describes how these agendas converged during a unique, sometimes almost unimaginably bold meeting in mid-America in the late nineteenth century.» (William R. LaFleur, University of Pennsylvania)

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Book SynopsisDespite famously small numbers, Christians have had a distinctive presence in modern Japan, particularly for their witness on behalf of democracy and religious freedom. A translation of Kenâi to FukujÅ: Kindai Nihon ni okeru RÅma-sho JÅsan-sho (2003), Authority and Obedience is a personal pre-history of the postwar generation of Japanese Christian intellectuals deeply committed to democracy. Using Japanese Christiansâ commentary on Paulâs injunction in Romans 13: 1-7, the counsel to let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from Godâ , Miyata offers an intellectual history of how Japanese Christians understood the emperor-focused modern state from the time of the first Protestant missionaries in the mid-nineteenth century through the climax and demise of fascism during the Pacific War. Stressing verse 5âs admonition to conscience as the reason for obedience, Miyata provides a clear and political perspective grounded in his lifelong Trade Review«This book not only provides an interesting history of Church and State in Japan, but it also helps all Christians to understand what is involved in believing in Romans 13 in Japanese culture. It shows that, by the end of the war, Japanese Christians had exhausted most of their efforts in adapting to the Emperor system, which was authority demanding only obedience. But now they are doing genuinely creative work in the understanding of government and God that may prove to be in advance of what is taking place in Europe and America. The author is an historian of modern German thought who is working for peace by making ‘conscience’ the basis of action.» (Yasuo Furuya, Professor Emeritus, International Christian University, Tokyo, Editor and co-author, ‘A History of Japanese Theology’) «Over the ages Christians around the world have faced the central issue of how to deal with the authority of the secular state. There has always been a fine line dividing what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God. Moreover, as the power of the state dramatically expanded in the Twentieth Century, and as the ideologies supporting such states adopted quasi-religious forms, these lines became more difficult to maintain. The great strength of transcendence, the ability to reject secular authority in the name of a higher value, be it God or Conscience, was sometimes weakened and even lost. And yet, even under the most adverse circumstances, Christianity continued to produce a small core of believers who were willing to criticize the state and existing order in the name of higher authority and a more perfect kingdom. Prof. Miyata’s book examines the development of modern Japanese Christianity from the perspective of ‘authority’ and ‘obedience’. It is both a personal reflection on the theological issues that Japanese wrestled with in confronting the state as well an a unique work of intellectual history that speaks profoundly to all who are interested in defending democracy and human rights against the power of authoritarian forces. Miyata feels that the question of what stance Japanese Christians were to take towards and Emperor system, which he sees as a political religion tied to Shinto nationalism, was ‘the most significant and most difficult issue that faced Christian evangelism in modern Japan’. Miyata shows us how an ‘early critical energy’, that challenged the state, gave way to compliance and the desire on the part of Japanese Protestants to align themselves with the nation-state. By the late 1930s and the outbreak of the Pacific War the Church, much to its later regret, found itself fully in support of Japan’s military expansion and imperial conquest of Asia. And yet, in the midst of such tragic conformity, there were a few rare voices who ran counter to the mainstream and retained a critical perspective on the Imperial state. Miyata remains hopeful for Japanese Christianity and the post-World-War-II years seeing it once again taking up its role as the ‘leaven’ of a society in which the remnants of a former ‘divine’ order remains heavily entrenched. The translator of Miyata’s book, Gregory Vanderbilt, should be commended for taking a difficult and sometimes convoluted text and turning it into a book of readable and often flowing prose.» (F.G. Notehelfer, Emeritus Professor of Japanese History, UCLA)

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Book SynopsisThe main theme of this book is how newly excavated texts have provided new energy and perspectives to allow us to renew our understanding of ancient Chinese thought, especially that of Confucianism. Through an analysis of texts from the Guodian, Shanghai Museum, and other collections of excavated manuscripts, this book undertakes a wide-ranging analysis of Confucian thought in itself and also its influence on other trends of thought in ancient China. It focuses on such topics as morality, virtue, and self-cultivation, political philosophy, circumstance, and the relationship between human beings, others, and the natural world. It rethinks core Confucian concepts such as ren or benevolence and shendu or maintaining one's moral nature as well as great Confucian notions on circumstance and political philosophy. This book also illustrates the influence that Confucian philosophy had during the Warring States period showing that elements of its moral philosophy informed the cTable of ContentsThe “Ren” of the “Unity of Mind and Body” and Confucian Virtue Ethics— the Structure of Confucian Benevolence and the Guodian Manuscript’s Character of “Ren” – The Model of Human Nature and View on the Way of Humanity in the Xing zi Ming Chu— an Explanation of the Concepts of “Xing,” “Qing,” “Xin,” and “Dao” – The Concept of “De” in the Bamboo and Silk Wuxing – The Early Confucian “Theory of Shendu,” “Moral Study for Oneself,” and “Public Concern” – The Confucians’ Theory of Moral Autonomy, View on Circumstance, and Qiongda yi Shi – The Origin of the Confucian Hermeneutics of the Classics – A New Understanding of the Shanghai Museum’s Shizhuan and the Confucian Education of the Shi – Kongzi’s “Delighting in the Yijing,” Explaining the Yijing, and the Search for “Virtue and Meaning”— Centering on the Phrase “the Master Said” in the Silk “Commentaries to the Yijing” – Tang Yu zhi Dao and the Multifaceted Transference of Kingly Power – The Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Manuscript Weili zhi Dao and the Confucian Style Political Ethics in the State of Qin.

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates how Buddhism gradually integrated itself into the Chinese culture by taking filial piety as a case study because it is an important moral teaching in Confucianism and it has shaped nearly every aspect of Chinese social life. The Chinese criticized Buddhism mainly on ethical grounds as Buddhist clergies left their parents' homes, did not marry, and were without offspringactions which were completely contrary to the Confucian concept and practice of filial piety that emphasizes family life. Chinese Buddhists responded to these criticisms in six different ways while accepting good teachings from the Chinese philosophy. They also argued and even refuted some emotional charges such as rejecting everything non-Chinese. The elite responded in theoretical argumentation by (1) translations of and references to Buddhist scriptures that taught filial behavior, (2) writing scholarly refutations of the charges of unfilial practices, such as Qisong's Xiaolun (TreatisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments – Abbreviations – List of Tables – Foreword by Professor Timothy H. Barrett – Introduction – Filial Piety in Early Buddhism – Early Buddhist and Confucian Concepts of Filial Piety: A Comparative Study – The Spread of the Buddhist Teaching of Filial Piety during the Six Dynasties: A Study Based on the Shanzi Jing and the Yulanpen Jing – Buddhist Responses to Confucian and Daoist Criticisms of Filial Piety – "Filial Piety are the Precepts": Chinese Buddhist Reinterpretation of the Precepts – A Study of the Apocryphal Text: Fumu Enzhong Jing – A Study of Repaying the Four Kinds of Compassion – Qisong’s Xiaolun (Treatise on Filial Piety): A Study and Critical Translation – Conclusion – Bibliography – Index.

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Book SynopsisA consideration of Confucian ethics as a living ethical tradition with contemporary relevance.This thought-provoking work presents Confucianism as a living ethical tradition with contemporary relevance. While acknowledged as one of the world''s most influential philosophies, Confucianism''s significance is too often consigned to a historical or solely East Asian context. Discussing both the strengths and weaknesses of Confucian ethics, the volume''s contributors reflect on what this tradition offers that we cannot readily learn from other systems of ethics. Developing Confucian ethical ideas within a contemporary context, this work discusses the nature of virtue, the distinction between public and private, the value of spontaneity, the place of sympathy in moral judgment, what it means to be humane, how to handle competing values, and the relationship between trust and democracy. For all those concerned with ethics, this book offers both new perspectives and resources for the ongoing consideration of how we should live.

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Book SynopsisExplores the resources for contemporary ethics found in the work of the Cheng brothers, canonical neo-Confucian philophers.Yong Huang presents a new way of doing comparative philosophy as he demonstrates the resources for contemporary ethics offered by the Cheng brothers, Cheng Hao (1032?1085) and Cheng Yi (1033?1107), canonical neo-Confucian philosophers. Huang departs from the standard method of Chinese/Western comparison, which tends to interest those already interested in Chinese philosophy. While Western-oriented scholars may be excited to learn about Chinese philosophers who have said things similar to what they or their favored philosophers have to say, they hardly find anything philosophically new from such comparative work. Instead of comparing and contrasting philosophers, each chapter of this book discusses a significant topic in Western moral philosophy, examines the representative views on this topic in the Western tradition, identifies their respective difficulties, and discusses how the Cheng brothers have better things to say on the subject. Topics discussed include why one should be moral, how weakness of will is not possible, whether virtue ethics is self-centered, in what sense the political is also personal, how a moral theory can be of an antitheoretical nature, and whether moral metaphysics is still possible in this postmodern and postmetaphysical age.

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Book SynopsisA reconsideration of Zhu Xi, known as the "great synthesizer" of Confucianism, which establishes him as an important thinker in his own right.Zhu Xi (1130?1200), the chief architect of neo-Confucian thought, affected a momentous transformation in Chinese philosophy. His ideas came to dominate Chinese intellectual life, including the educational and civil service systems, for centuries. Despite his influence, Zhu Xi is known as the "great synthesizer" and rarely appreciated as a thinker in his own right. This volume presents Zhu Xi as a major world philosopher, one who brings metaphysics and cosmology into attunement with ethical and social practice. Contributors from the English- and Chinese-speaking worlds explore Zhu Xi''s unique thought and offer it to the Western philosophical imagination. Zhu Xi''s vision is critical, intellectually rigorous, and religious, telling us how to live in the transforming world of li-the emergent, immanent, and coherent patternings of natural and human milieu.

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Book SynopsisEmploys Robert Bellah's notion of civil religion to explore East Asia's Confucian revival. Can Confucianism be regarded as a civil religion for East Asia? This book explores this question, bringing the insights of Robert Bellah to a consideration of various expressions of the contemporary Confucian revival. Bellah identified American civil religion as a religious dimension of life that can be found throughout US culture, but one without any formal institutional structure. Rather, this civil form of religion provides the ethical principles that command reverence and by which a nation judges itself. Extending Bellah's work, contributors from both the social sciences and the humanities conceive of East Asia's Confucian revival as a habit of the heart, an underlying belief system that guides a society, and examine how Confucianism might function as a civil religion in China, Korea, and Japan. They discuss what aspects of Confucian tradition and thought are being embraced; some of the social movements, political factors, and opportunities connected with the revival of the tradition; and why Confucianism has not traveled much beyond East Asia. The late Robert Bellah's reflection on the possibility for a global civil religion concludes the volume.

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Book SynopsisConfucian philosopher Xunzi''s moral thought is considered in light of the modern focus on self-realization.Self-Realization through Confucian Learning reconstructs Confucian thinker Xunzi''s moral philosophy in response to the modern focus on self-realization. Xunzi (born around 310 BCE) claims that human xing ("nature" or "native conditions") is without an ethical framework and has a tendency to dominate, leading to bad judgments and bad behavior. Confucian ritual propriety (li) is needed to transform these human native conditions. Through li, people become self-directing: in control of feelings and desires and in command of their own lives. Siufu Tang explicates Xunzi''s understanding of the hierarchical structure of human agency to articulate why and how li is essential to self-realization. Ritual propriety also structures relationships to make a harmonious communal life possible. Tang''s focus on self-realization highlights how Confucianism can address the individual as well as the communal and serve as a philosophy for contemporary times.

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Book SynopsisLooks at the Daoist Zhuangzi''s critique of Confucianism.The Daoist Zhuangzi has often been read as a mystical philosopher. But there is another tradition, beginning with the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian, which sees him as a critic of the Confucians. Kim-chong Chong analyzes the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, demonstrating how Zhuangzi criticized the pre-Qin Confucians through metaphorical inversion and parody. This is indicated by the subtitle, "Blinded by the Human," which is an inversion of the Confucian philosopher Xunzi''s remark that Zhuangzi was "blinded by heaven and did not know the human." Chong compares Zhuangzi''s Daoist thought to Confucianism, as exemplified by Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. By analyzing and comparing the different implications of concepts such as "heaven," "heart-mind," and "transformation," Chong shows how Zhuangzi can be said to provide the resources for a more pluralistic and liberal philosophy than the Confucians.

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Book SynopsisPresents a twenty-first-century, progressive, liberal Confucianism.Building on his long-standing work in metaphysics and Asian philosophy, Robert Cummings Neville presents a series of essays that cumulatively articulate a contemporary, progressive Confucian position as a global philosophy. Through analysis of the metaphysical and moral traditions of Confucianism, Neville brings these traditions into the twenty-first century. According to Confucianism, rituals define most of our relations with other individuals, social institutions, and nature, and while rituals make possible the positive institutions of high human civilization, they may also lead to harmful behaviors, including racism, xenophobia, and sexism. Neville argues that the amendment of rituals that institutionalize oppression is a positive task, which should be undertaken from within a skillfully ritualized life rather than in the form of external criticism. Confucianism, in Neville''s hands, is a left-wing, progressive, liberal political philosophy, one that can address institutionalized oppression and suggest a path for moving forward.

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Book SynopsisExplores the rich potential of Confucianism in American and Chinese classrooms of the twenty-first century. This is one of the first books to explicitly address twenty-first-century education from a Confucian perspective. The contributors focus on why Confucianism is relevant to both American and Chinese education, how Confucian pedagogical principles can be applied to diverse sociocultural settings, and what the social and moral functions of a Confucianism-based education are. Prominent scholars explore a wide-range of research areas and methods, such as K12 and college teaching; conceptual comparisons; case studies; and discourse analysis, that reflect the depth and breadth of Confucian ideas, and the divergent contexts in which Confucian principles and practices may be applied. This book not only enriches the research literature on Confucianism from an interdisciplinary perspective, but also offers fresh insights into Confucianism's continuing relevance and its compatibility with the latest research-based pedagogical practices.

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Book SynopsisDraws on two different but strikingly similar streams in our world tradition to argue for the contemporary philosophical relevance of "culture."In A Philosophical Defense of Culture, Shuchen Xiang draws on the Confucian philosophy of "culture" and Ernst Cassirer''s philosophy of symbolic forms to argue for the importance of "culture" as a philosophic paradigm. A defining ideal of Confucian-Chinese civilization, culture (wen) spans everything from natural patterns and the individual units that make up Chinese writing to literature and other refining vocations of the human being. Wen is thus the soul of Confucian-Chinese philosophy. Similarly, as a philosopher who bridged the classical age of German humanism and postwar modernity, Cassirer implored his and future generations to think of humankind in terms of their culture and to think of the human being as a "symbolic animal." The philosophies of culture of these two traditions, very much compatible, are of urgent relevance to our contemporary epoch. Xiang describes the similarity of their projects by way of their conception of the human being, her relationship to nature, the relationship of human culture to nature, the importance of cultural pluralism, and the role of the arts in human life, as well as the metaphysical frameworks that gave rise to such conceptions. Combining textual exegesis in classical Chinese texts and an exposition of Cassirer''s most important insights against the backdrop of post-Kantian philosophy, this book is philosophy written in a cosmopolitan mode, arguing for the contemporary philosophical relevance of "culture" by drawing on and bringing together two different but strikingly similar streams in our world tradition.

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Book SynopsisDraws on two different but strikingly similar streams in our world tradition to argue for the contemporary philosophical relevance of "culture."In A Philosophical Defense of Culture, Shuchen Xiang draws on the Confucian philosophy of "culture" and Ernst Cassirer''s philosophy of symbolic forms to argue for the importance of "culture" as a philosophic paradigm. A defining ideal of Confucian-Chinese civilization, culture (wen) spans everything from natural patterns and the individual units that make up Chinese writing to literature and other refining vocations of the human being. Wen is thus the soul of Confucian-Chinese philosophy. Similarly, as a philosopher who bridged the classical age of German humanism and postwar modernity, Cassirer implored his and future generations to think of humankind in terms of their culture and to think of the human being as a "symbolic animal." The philosophies of culture of these two traditions, very much compatible, are of urgent relevance to our contemporary epoch. Xiang describes the similarity of their projects by way of their conception of the human being, her relationship to nature, the relationship of human culture to nature, the importance of cultural pluralism, and the role of the arts in human life, as well as the metaphysical frameworks that gave rise to such conceptions. Combining textual exegesis in classical Chinese texts and an exposition of Cassirer''s most important insights against the backdrop of post-Kantian philosophy, this book is philosophy written in a cosmopolitan mode, arguing for the contemporary philosophical relevance of "culture" by drawing on and bringing together two different but strikingly similar streams in our world tradition.

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Book SynopsisOffers a comparative and deconstructive reading of the cross-cultural encounter between the Jesuits and their Confucian hosts in late Ming China.The Jesuit mission to China more than four hundred years ago has been the subject of sustained scholarly investigation for centuries. Focusing on the concepts of friendship and hospitality as they were both theorized and practiced by the Jesuit missionaries and their Confucian hosts, this book offers a new, comparative, and deconstructive reading of the interaction between these two vastly different cultures. Dongfeng Xu analyzes how the Jesuits presented their concept of friendship to achieve their evangelical goals and how the Confucians reacted in turn by either displaying or denying hospitality. Challenging the hierarchical view in traditional discourse on friendship and hospitality by revealing the irreducible otherness as the condition of possibility of the two concepts, Xu argues that one legacy of the Jesuit-Confucian encounter has been the shared recognition that cultural differences are what both motivated and conditioned cross-cultural exchanges and understandings.

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Book SynopsisOffers a comparative and deconstructive reading of the cross-cultural encounter between the Jesuits and their Confucian hosts in late Ming China.The Jesuit mission to China more than four hundred years ago has been the subject of sustained scholarly investigation for centuries. Focusing on the concepts of friendship and hospitality as they were both theorized and practiced by the Jesuit missionaries and their Confucian hosts, this book offers a new, comparative, and deconstructive reading of the interaction between these two vastly different cultures. Dongfeng Xu analyzes how the Jesuits presented their concept of friendship to achieve their evangelical goals and how the Confucians reacted in turn by either displaying or denying hospitality. Challenging the hierarchical view in traditional discourse on friendship and hospitality by revealing the irreducible otherness as the condition of possibility of the two concepts, Xu argues that one legacy of the Jesuit-Confucian encounter has been the shared recognition that cultural differences are what both motivated and conditioned cross-cultural exchanges and understandings.

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Book SynopsisOffers three neo-Confucian understandings of broadening the Way as broadening oneself, through an ongoing process of removing self-boundaries.Persons Emerging explores the renewed idea of the Confucian person in the eleventh-century philosophies of Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai. Galia Patt-Shamir discusses their responses to the Confucian challenge that the Way, as perfection, can be broadened by the person who travels it. Suggesting that the three neo-Confucian philosophers undertake the classical Confucian task of "broadening the way," each proposes to deal with it from a different angle: Zhou Dunyi offers a metaphysical emerging out of the infinitude-finitude boundary, Shao Yong emerges out of the epistemological boundary between in and out, and Zhang Zai offers a pragmatic emerging out of the boundary between life and death.Through the lens of these three Song-period China philosophers, the idea of "transcending self-boundaries" places neo-Confucian philosophies within the global philosophical context. Patt-Shamir questions the Confucian notions of person, Way, and how they relate to human flourishing to highlight how the emergence of personhood demands transcending metaphysical, epistemological, and moral self-boundaries.

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Book SynopsisOffers three neo-Confucian understandings of broadening the Way as broadening oneself, through an ongoing process of removing self-boundaries.Persons Emerging explores the renewed idea of the Confucian person in the eleventh-century philosophies of Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai. Galia Patt-Shamir discusses their responses to the Confucian challenge that the Way, as perfection, can be broadened by the person who travels it. Suggesting that the three neo-Confucian philosophers undertake the classical Confucian task of "broadening the way," each proposes to deal with it from a different angle: Zhou Dunyi offers a metaphysical emerging out of the infinitude-finitude boundary, Shao Yong emerges out of the epistemological boundary between in and out, and Zhang Zai offers a pragmatic emerging out of the boundary between life and death.Through the lens of these three Song-period China philosophers, the idea of "transcending self-boundaries" places neo-Confucian philosophies within the global philosophical context. Patt-Shamir questions the Confucian notions of person, Way, and how they relate to human flourishing to highlight how the emergence of personhood demands transcending metaphysical, epistemological, and moral self-boundaries.

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Book SynopsisQuestions universities'' increasing reliance on market-oriented metrics to determine their strategic directions and gauge faculty productivity.Teaching, Tenure, and Collegiality espouses the concept of relationality-the idea that people''s activities necessarily emerge through contextual engagement with others-as an alternative to the "publish or perish" ethos in higher education. Building on research by comparative philosophers, Mary K. Chang constructs a concept of Confucian relationality and engages it to question universities'' increasing reliance on market-oriented metrics to determine their strategic directions and gauge faculty productivity. Using a process-oriented approach that features change, the embodied connectedness of people, and the extensive impact of personal cultivation, Chang situates higher educational institutions as continually constructed by people''s actions in ways that cannot be wholly described or quantified-and need not be. Values are powerful in educational contexts because they direct how administrators, faculty, and students focus limited energy. Teaching, Tenure, and Collegiality reevaluates what universities normatively value and offers a holistically expansive view that positions faculty as experts and learners whose activity is inseparable from the contexts constructed by the relationships from which they emerge.

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Book SynopsisQuestions universities'' increasing reliance on market-oriented metrics to determine their strategic directions and gauge faculty productivity.Teaching, Tenure, and Collegiality espouses the concept of relationality-the idea that people''s activities necessarily emerge through contextual engagement with others-as an alternative to the "publish or perish" ethos in higher education. Building on research by comparative philosophers, Mary K. Chang constructs a concept of Confucian relationality and engages it to question universities'' increasing reliance on market-oriented metrics to determine their strategic directions and gauge faculty productivity. Using a process-oriented approach that features change, the embodied connectedness of people, and the extensive impact of personal cultivation, Chang situates higher educational institutions as continually constructed by people''s actions in ways that cannot be wholly described or quantified-and need not be. Values are powerful in educational contexts because they direct how administrators, faculty, and students focus limited energy. Teaching, Tenure, and Collegiality reevaluates what universities normatively value and offers a holistically expansive view that positions faculty as experts and learners whose activity is inseparable from the contexts constructed by the relationships from which they emerge.

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Book SynopsisExplores the aesthetic theory of one of China''s most important and influential contemporary philosophers.This is the first book on the role of cognition in the aesthetic theory of Li Zehou (1930?2021), one of China''s most important and influential contemporary philosophers. The cognitive dimension and its integration with practice is discussed by examining one of Li''s pivotal concepts: "subjectality," a human subject shaped by the world in which they live, including beauty and aesthetic experience. Li''s theory is also contextualized in the threefold inspiration coming from Confucian, Kantian, and Marxist philosophies, which differently conceptualize the aesthetic and cognitive dimensions in humans. By referring to different aesthetic theories and interdisciplinary approaches to cognition, the book aims to show how Li''s cognitively oriented project can contribute to contemporary research into aesthetics. Although primarily written for philosophers working in aesthetics, Chinese, and comparative philosophy, the book is also addressed to anyone interested in contemporary Chinese thought.

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Book SynopsisExplores the aesthetic theory of one of China''s most important and influential contemporary philosophers.This is the first book on the role of cognition in the aesthetic theory of Li Zehou (1930?2021), one of China''s most important and influential contemporary philosophers. The cognitive dimension and its integration with practice is discussed by examining one of Li''s pivotal concepts: "subjectality," a human subject shaped by the world in which they live, including beauty and aesthetic experience. Li''s theory is also contextualized in the threefold inspiration coming from Confucian, Kantian, and Marxist philosophies, which differently conceptualize the aesthetic and cognitive dimensions in humans. By referring to different aesthetic theories and interdisciplinary approaches to cognition, the book aims to show how Li''s cognitively oriented project can contribute to contemporary research into aesthetics. Although primarily written for philosophers working in aesthetics, Chinese, and comparative philosophy, the book is also addressed to anyone interested in contemporary Chinese thought.

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Book SynopsisOffers a renovated form of Confucian liberalism that forges a reconciliation between the two extremes of anti-Confucian liberalism and anti-liberal Confucianism.Does Confucianism conflict with liberalism? Confucian Liberalism sheds new light on this long-standing debate entwined with the discourse of Chinese modernity. Focusing on the legacy of Mou Zongsan, the book significantly recasts the moral character and political ideal of Confucianism, accompanied by a Hegelian retreatment of the multiple facets of Western modernity and its core values, such as individuality, self-realization, democracy, civilized society, citizenship, public good, freedom, and human rights. The book offers a culturally sensitive way of reevaluating liberal language and forges a reconciliation between the two extremes of anti-Confucian liberalism and anti-liberal Confucianism. The result-Confucian liberalism-is akin to civil liberalism, in that it rests the form of liberal democracy on the content of "Confucian democratic civility." It is also comparable to perfectionist liberalism, endorsing a nondominant concept of the common good surrounded by a set of "Confucian governing and civic virtues."

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Book SynopsisOffers a renovated form of Confucian liberalism that forges a reconciliation between the two extremes of anti-Confucian liberalism and anti-liberal Confucianism.Does Confucianism conflict with liberalism? Confucian Liberalism sheds new light on this long-standing debate entwined with the discourse of Chinese modernity. Focusing on the legacy of Mou Zongsan, the book significantly recasts the moral character and political ideal of Confucianism, accompanied by a Hegelian retreatment of the multiple facets of Western modernity and its core values, such as individuality, self-realization, democracy, civilized society, citizenship, public good, freedom, and human rights. The book offers a culturally sensitive way of reevaluating liberal language and forges a reconciliation between the two extremes of anti-Confucian liberalism and anti-liberal Confucianism. The result-Confucian liberalism-is akin to civil liberalism, in that it rests the form of liberal democracy on the content of "Confucian democratic civility." It is also comparable to perfectionist liberalism, endorsing a nondominant concept of the common good surrounded by a set of "Confucian governing and civic virtues."

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Book SynopsisPresents Li Zehou''s culminating views on ethics in a series of works that highlight the importance of Confucian philosophy today.Li Zehou''s thought has achieved wide popularity and influence among both academic readers and the broader Chinese-reading public. His culminating views on ethics are collected here in a series of essays that highlight the importance of Confucian philosophy today. Li''s groundbreaking ethics presents a powerful contemporary theory-one that inventively reconciles longstanding oppositions between relativism and absolutism, emotions and rationalism, and relationality and individuality. Seeing ethical values and principles as embedded in human psychology, society, and history, Li affirms their relativity; he also affirms the objective rightness and wrongness of beliefs, norms, and acts through their contribution to human progress and flourishing. Li thereby endorses modern Enlightenment liberal values, including individualism, rights, and freedoms, but from an original philosophical foundation. By drawing on classical Confucianism to prioritize the situated, relational, emotional constitution of human life, this concrete brand of humanism offers unique modern conceptions of the nature of reason, the source of morality, selfhood, virtue, and much more.

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Book SynopsisPresents Li Zehou''s culminating views on ethics in a series of works that highlight the importance of Confucian philosophy today.Li Zehou''s thought has achieved wide popularity and influence among both academic readers and the broader Chinese-reading public. His culminating views on ethics are collected here in a series of essays that highlight the importance of Confucian philosophy today. Li''s groundbreaking ethics presents a powerful contemporary theory-one that inventively reconciles longstanding oppositions between relativism and absolutism, emotions and rationalism, and relationality and individuality. Seeing ethical values and principles as embedded in human psychology, society, and history, Li affirms their relativity; he also affirms the objective rightness and wrongness of beliefs, norms, and acts through their contribution to human progress and flourishing. Li thereby endorses modern Enlightenment liberal values, including individualism, rights, and freedoms, but from an original philosophical foundation. By drawing on classical Confucianism to prioritize the situated, relational, emotional constitution of human life, this concrete brand of humanism offers unique modern conceptions of the nature of reason, the source of morality, selfhood, virtue, and much more.

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Book SynopsisAddresses the question of China''s rise and what it portends for the future.The Future of China''s Past examines how China''s traditional culture is being reinvented and manipulated for political purposes. Like no time before in its recent history, and certainly at no time in the history of the People''s Republic, China is being shaped in terms of its past, but which past-Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, Buddhism-or combination of pasts is being held up as the model? Given its growing economic, political, and cultural significance, it is incumbent upon us to take China''s rise seriously, yet perspectives involving modern and contemporary geopolitical and intrastate dynamics are insufficient, on their own, for understanding China''s rise, and the same holds true for economic analyses, however pertinent. Instead, this book looks at current engagements with models of China''s past, introducing the four traditional lenses of Chinese thought and reflecting on their potential relevance for China''s-and the world''s-future.

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Book SynopsisAddresses the question of China''s rise and what it portends for the future.The Future of China''s Past examines how China''s traditional culture is being reinvented and manipulated for political purposes. Like no time before in its recent history, and certainly at no time in the history of the People''s Republic, China is being shaped in terms of its past, but which past-Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, Buddhism-or combination of pasts is being held up as the model? Given its growing economic, political, and cultural significance, it is incumbent upon us to take China''s rise seriously, yet perspectives involving modern and contemporary geopolitical and intrastate dynamics are insufficient, on their own, for understanding China''s rise, and the same holds true for economic analyses, however pertinent. Instead, this book looks at current engagements with models of China''s past, introducing the four traditional lenses of Chinese thought and reflecting on their potential relevance for China''s-and the world''s-future.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the philosophy of the Yijing in comparison to modern Western philosophies.In The Philosophy of Change, the distinguished scholar of Chinese philosophy Chung-ying Cheng advances our understanding of the Yijing by analyzing its philosophy in comparison to Western philosophical traditions. Cheng focuses on critically comparing philosophies of science, religion, and metaphysics in Leibniz, Whitehead, Neville, and Cobb alongside classical Chinese views on reality, divinity, knowledge, and morality. The book begins and ends with questions related to the character of Chinese metaphysical traditions, which contrast with the mainline metaphysical traditions found in Western Europe and North America. Cheng argues throughout the book that the philosophical underpinnings of basic concepts in Chinese culture are ultimately rooted in key claims found within the Yijingand one of its standard commentaries, the Yizhuan. The book serves as a complementary volume to the author''s previous book, The Primary Way: Philosophy of the Yijing, which lays out a comprehensive and systematic philosophy based on the symbolism and text of the classical document and its traditional commentaries.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the philosophy of the Yijing in comparison to modern Western philosophies.In The Philosophy of Change, the distinguished scholar of Chinese philosophy Chung-ying Cheng advances our understanding of the Yijing by analyzing its philosophy in comparison to Western philosophical traditions. Cheng focuses on critically comparing philosophies of science, religion, and metaphysics in Leibniz, Whitehead, Neville, and Cobb alongside classical Chinese views on reality, divinity, knowledge, and morality. The book begins and ends with questions related to the character of Chinese metaphysical traditions, which contrast with the mainline metaphysical traditions found in Western Europe and North America. Cheng argues throughout the book that the philosophical underpinnings of basic concepts in Chinese culture are ultimately rooted in key claims found within the Yijingand one of its standard commentaries, the Yizhuan. The book serves as a complementary volume to the author''s previous book, The Primary Way: Philosophy of the Yijing, which lays out a comprehensive and systematic philosophy based on the symbolism and text of the classical document and its traditional commentaries.

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Book SynopsisContrasts classical Greek ontology ("the science of being in itself") with Confucian "zoetology" ("the art of living").In Living Chinese Philosophy, Roger T. Ames uses comparative cultural hermeneutics as a method for contrasting classical Greek ontology ("the science of being in itself") with classical Chinese "zoetology" ("the art of living"), which is made explicit in the Yijingor Book of Changes. Parmenides, Plato, and Aristotle give us a substance ontology grounded in "being qua being" or "being per se" (to on he on) that guarantees a permanent and unchanging subject as the substratum for the human experience. This substratum or essence includes its purpose for being (telos) and defines the "what-it-means-to-be-a-thing-of-this-kind" (eidos) of any particular thing, thus setting a closed, exclusive boundary and the strict identity necessary for a particular thing to be "this" and not "that." In the Book of Changes, we find a vocabulary that makes explicit cosmological assumptions that are a stark alternative to this substance ontology. It also provides the interpretive context for the canonical texts by locating them within a holistic, organic, and ecological worldview. To provide a meaningful contrast with this fundamental assumption of on or "being," we might borrow the Greek notion of zoe or "life" and create the neologism "zoe-tology" as "the art of living" (shengshenglun). This cosmology begins from "living" (sheng) itself as the motive force behind change and gives us a world of boundless "becomings": not "things" that are but "events" that are happening, a contrast between an ontological conception of human "beings" and a process conception of what the author calls human "becomings."

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Book SynopsisThrough a systematic introduction of Confucius as a historical figure, a spiritual leader, a philosopher, a political reformer, an educator, and a person, this book offers a comprehensive, lucid, and in-depth articulation of Confucius and his teachings for Western students. It explains how his ideas are different from their Western counterparts as well as challenging the orthodox Western understandings of Confucianism. The book reveals clearly how Confucius's insights can be a rich resource for addressing contemporary problems and re-enchanting the world and the contemporary life.Trade ReviewIn this thematic, well-written portrait, Confucius is less an authoritarian, ultra-stern traditionalist concerned with squeezing everything into a rigid theoretical role and ritual structure and more a thoughtful guide to each individual’s unique spiritual and ethical life, a life in which ritual and role mostly set the table for a life ending in mastery, or gongfu. Ni's emphasis on a truly important side of Confucius’s philosophy is interesting, and he offers some thoughtful, innovative takes on Confucius’s philosophy. This approach also allows the author to defend Confucius from common criticisms and even allows opposing later Confucians Mencius and Xunzi. Focusing on gongfu helps keep individuals from reducing Confucian thought into their own deontological/consequentialist principle-oriented frameworks…. [T]his is an interesting text with insightful passages and challenging interpretations worth pondering. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * CHOICE *"Ni Peimin’s book shifts attention from considering Confucius as a theorist to reading him as a guide to the art of living, or to life as an aesthetic endeavor. Confucius is masterfully constructed as an interrelated whole, while at the same time, parts can be selected for discussion or a short read, without a need to link them to other parts. The sections are accurate in their biographical and historical details, while teaching that art of living. In both music and society, harmony works longer if it is a blend of differing voices than if it is the conformity of all instruments or voices sounding (thinking) the same. There is harmony in variety. In the section on secular immortality, Confucius and Ni ask us to consider one kind of immortality as the lasting impact of virtuous exemplars, whom they describe, on their communities and larger social groups. Throughout the book there are insightful comparisons with relevant Western figures. For example, the goal of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was to learn 'What should I believe is true?' The Confucian goal was to learn 'how to live one’s life in this world.'" -- Donald Munro, University of Michigan"In this remarkable book, Peimin Ni presents a systematic interpretation of Confucius from a gongfu perspective and invites readers to appreciate the Confucian ethical life in artistic, rather than theoretical, terms. Thus understood, Confucius’s teachings ultimately are aimed not at setting up moral principles and rules to constrain people, but at providing guidance to enable people to lead the good life. This book provides readers a refreshing view of Confucius and his philosophy. It makes an excellent reading for scholarly exploration as well as in the classroom." -- Chenyang Li, author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony"Peimin Ni’s eloquent new book is an ideal introduction to Confucius and Confucianism. The book ranges from early stories to modern history, but is centered throughout on the Analects, our best source for Confucius’s teachings. Professor Ni gives us a sympathetic and engaging treatment of Confucius as person, thinker, and teacher, and makes clear why Confucius’s values, life story, and ideas have been so inspiring." -- Stephen C. Angle, Professor of Philosophy and East Asian Studies, Wesleyan UniversityThere is no shortage of introductory books on Confucius. What makes Ni's book outstanding is, as its subtitle shows, that it takes a gongfu approach, not in the sense that it presents Confucius as a martial artists with wonderful skills of fighting. Rather, it pictures Confucius as one of the greatest Chinese philosophers, if not the greatest one, who, instead of interested in solving profound intellectual riddles, is good at teaching his students the simple art of living a life that is authentically human. Confucius: The Man and the Way of Gongfu is simply the best of the kind. -- Huang Yong, The Chinese University of Hong KongTable of ContentsPreface Chronology Chapter I. Confucius as a Historical Figure Long, Long Ago, There Was a Time A Man from a Humble Background The Life Story Continues … The Second Epoch New Challenges and the Third Epoch Chapter II. Confucius as a Spiritual Leader A Wooden Bell-Clapper Humans are Part of Heaven Mandate and Destiny Immortality and the Meaning of Life Inter-religiosity Chapter III. Confucius as a Philosopher One Cannot Be Fully a Human in Solitude Born to Become a Human What Makes A Vessel Sacred? Naming Means Illuminating Hit the Mark Constantly Chapter IV. Confucius as a Political Reformer Ideal Society—Harmony and Holism Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without Names and Rituals as Political Devices The Freedom of Needing No Choice Uprightness and Justice Chapter V. Confucius as an Educator The Kind of Education Six Arts Learning, Thinking, and Embodiment Method of Education Chapter VI. Confucius as a Person The “ZENG Dian Spirit” Elitist? Sexist? Honesty and Sincerity After All, the Master Is a Human Bibliography Index of Quotes from the Analects Index of Names and Subjects

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Book SynopsisThrough a systematic introduction of Confucius as a historical figure, a spiritual leader, a philosopher, a political reformer, an educator, and a person, this book offers a comprehensive, lucid, and in-depth articulation of Confucius and his teachings for Western students. It explains how his ideas are different from their Western counterparts as well as challenging the orthodox Western understandings of Confucianism. The book reveals clearly how Confucius's insights can be a rich resource for addressing contemporary problems and re-enchanting the world and the contemporary life.Trade ReviewIn this thematic, well-written portrait, Confucius is less an authoritarian, ultra-stern traditionalist concerned with squeezing everything into a rigid theoretical role and ritual structure and more a thoughtful guide to each individual’s unique spiritual and ethical life, a life in which ritual and role mostly set the table for a life ending in mastery, or gongfu. Ni's emphasis on a truly important side of Confucius’s philosophy is interesting, and he offers some thoughtful, innovative takes on Confucius’s philosophy. This approach also allows the author to defend Confucius from common criticisms and even allows opposing later Confucians Mencius and Xunzi. Focusing on gongfu helps keep individuals from reducing Confucian thought into their own deontological/consequentialist principle-oriented frameworks…. [T]his is an interesting text with insightful passages and challenging interpretations worth pondering. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * CHOICE *Ni Peimin’s book shifts attention from considering Confucius as a theorist to reading him as a guide to the art of living, or to life as an aesthetic endeavor. Confucius is masterfully constructed as an interrelated whole, while at the same time, parts can be selected for discussion or a short read, without a need to link them to other parts. The sections are accurate in their biographical and historical details, while teaching that art of living. In both music and society, harmony works longer if it is a blend of differing voices than if it is the conformity of all instruments or voices sounding (thinking) the same. There is harmony in variety. In the section on secular immortality, Confucius and Ni ask us to consider one kind of immortality as the lasting impact of virtuous exemplars, whom they describe, on their communities and larger social groups. Throughout the book there are insightful comparisons with relevant Western figures. For example, the goal of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was to learn “What should I believe is true?” The Confucian goal was to learn “how to live one’s life in this world.” -- Donald Munro, University of MichiganIn this remarkable book, Peimin Ni presents a systematic interpretation of Confucius from a gongfu perspective and invites readers to appreciate the Confucian ethical life in artistic, rather than theoretical, terms. Thus understood, Confucius’s teachings ultimately are aimed not at setting up moral principles and rules to constrain people, but at providing guidance to enable people to lead the good life. This book provides readers a refreshing view of Confucius and his philosophy. It makes an excellent reading for scholarly exploration as well as in the classroom. -- Chenyang Li, author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony"Peimin Ni’s eloquent new book is an ideal introduction to Confucius and Confucianism. The book ranges from early stories to modern history, but is centered throughout on the Analects, our best source for Confucius’s teachings. Professor Ni gives us a sympathetic and engaging treatment of Confucius as person, thinker, and teacher, and makes clear why Confucius’s values, life story, and ideas have been so inspiring." -- Stephen C. Angle, Professor of Philosophy and East Asian Studies, Wesleyan UniversityThere is no shortage of introductory books on Confucius. What makes Ni's book outstanding is, as its subtitle shows, that it takes a gongfu approach, not in the sense that it presents Confucius as a martial artists with wonderful skills of fighting. Rather, it pictures Confucius as one of the greatest Chinese philosophers, if not the greatest one, who, instead of interested in solving profound intellectual riddles, is good at teaching his students the simple art of living a life that is authentically human. Confucius: The Man and the Way of Gongfu is simply the best of the kind. -- Huang Yong, The Chinese University of Hong KongTable of ContentsPreface Chronology Chapter I. Confucius as a Historical Figure Long, Long Ago, There Was a Time A Man from a Humble Background The Life Story Continues … The Second Epoch New Challenges and the Third Epoch Chapter II. Confucius as a Spiritual Leader A Wooden Bell-Clapper Humans are Part of Heaven Mandate and Destiny Immortality and the Meaning of Life Inter-religiosity Chapter III. Confucius as a Philosopher One Cannot Be Fully a Human in Solitude Born to Become a Human What Makes A Vessel Sacred? Naming Means Illuminating Hit the Mark Constantly Chapter IV. Confucius as a Political Reformer Ideal Society—Harmony and Holism Sageliness Within and Kingliness Without Names and Rituals as Political Devices The Freedom of Needing No Choice Uprightness and Justice Chapter V. Confucius as an Educator The Kind of Education Six Arts Learning, Thinking, and Embodiment Method of Education Chapter VI. Confucius as a Person The “ZENG Dian Spirit” Elitist? Sexist? Honesty and Sincerity After All, the Master Is a Human Bibliography Index of Quotes from the Analects Index of Names and Subjects

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