Description
Book SynopsisThis book brings together studies from Chin-shing Huang’s decades-long research into Confucius temples that individually and collectively consider Confucianism as religion. It offers keen insights into Confucius temples and their significance in the intertwined intellectual, political, social, and religious histories of imperial China.
Trade ReviewChin-shin Huang’s book is a masterpiece of careful and diligent scholarship. -- John Butler * Asian Review of Books *
This is a valuable translation of Chin-shing Huang's decades-long and learned study of Confucianism as a comprehensive historical tradition. Among his many insights, a most significant one is that, notwithstanding later denials, Confucianism cannot be understood unless seen in its
religious dimension—albeit an elite and statist one. -- Prasenjit Duara, author of
The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian Traditions and a Sustainable FutureCutting through centuries of misguided theological and political debate, one of the world’s most eminent historians of China charts the changing cultural, political, and institutional forces at work in Confucianism as a vibrant ritual system. -- Stephen F. Teiser, coeditor of
Readings of the Platform SūtraChin-shing Huang is one of the most distinguished and discerning scholars in Confucian studies today. His extensive account of Confucian temples as a ritual system in imperial and modern China is a magnificent contribution to the field. Its vast temporal range and its keen analysis of specific historical episodes illuminate the crucial elements that make Confucian temples essential to Chinese religious, cultural, and political life. -- Anna Sun, author of
Confucianism as a World Religion: Contested Histories and Contemporary RealitiesConfucianism and Sacred Space brings to light the legacy of Chin-shing Huang, a leading scholar of Confucianism and Confucian temples, whose work has not received the attention it deserves in Western scholarship. -- James Flath, author of
Traces of the Sage: Monument, Materiality, and the First Temple of ConfuciusHuang knows the history and culture of Confucius temples best and makes a case for regarding Confucianism as a religion, instead of just a philosophy. Underscoring that Confucianism was a state religion for ruling male elites, he counters a rising trend to portray it as a popular religion among the masses. -- Hoyt Cleveland Tillman, coauthor of
Cultural Authority and Political Culture in China: Exploring Issues with the Zhongyong and the Daotong During the Song, Jin, and Yuan DynastiesThe book is an informative and authoritative account of how Confucian temples served as the main carriers of Confucian religion in imperial China. I’d also recommend Huang’s book as the authoritative source on how and why Confucianism declined as a religion in the late Qing and early Republic -- Daniel A. Bell * China Review *
Exploring issues from the Han times up until the present, Huang demonstrates great depth of scholarship in these histories of the Confucian temple . . . This collection contains a wealth of thoroughly documented research that is not otherwise available in English-language scholarship. It presents multiple points of conversation for exploring the many things that are signified by the term ‘Confucian.’ -- Deborah Sommer * China Review International *
This volume makes [Huang’s arguments] accessible to students and interested laymen through fluent, even conversational translations. -- Julia K. Murray * Monumenta Serica *
Heartily recommended to scholars and all those interested in Chinese Confucianism, religion, and history. * Religious Studies Review *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction. The Confucius Temple as a Ritual System: Manifestations of Power, Belief, and Legitimacy in Traditional China
1. Expanding the Symbolic Meaning and Function of the Rites: The Evolution of Confucius Temples in Imperial China
2. Confucianism as a Religion: A Comparative Study of Traditional Chinese Religions
3. Sages and Saints: A Comparative Study of Canonization in Confucianism and Christianity
4. The Cultural Politics of Autocracy: The Confucius Temple and Ming Despotism, 1368–1530
5. Xunzi: The Confucius Temple’s Absentee
6. The Disenchantment with Confucianism in Modern China
7. The Lonely Confucius Temples Across the Taiwan Straits: The Difficult Transformation of Modern China’s Traditional Culture
Conclusion: Reflections on My Study of Confucianism as a Religion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
