Description
Book SynopsisThe preeminent historian Ying-shih Yü offers a magisterial examination of religious and cultural influences in the development of China’s early modern economy. He investigates how evolving forms of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism created and promulgated their own concepts of the work ethic from the late seventh century into the Qing dynasty.
Trade ReviewYü’s book is a tour de force of interpretive and analytical scholarship using Western theory to illuminate the Chinese past. -- Gilbert Z. Chen * China Review International *
[I] recommend the book for an upper-division undergraduate course in disciplines such as sociology and the history of religion, Chinese history, Asian studies, and comparative religion . . . There are clearly directions of research that scholars may pursue along the path paved by Yü. -- Bin Song * H-Buddhism *
An undertaking only a scholar of the tallest order could have accomplished because the work is not one of “deliberate research,” but one that is built on the knowledge of a lifetime of reading, browsing, and thinking. The weight of this book and the sway of its argument lie heavily on the formidable scholarship of Ying-shih Yü. -- Jonathan Spence, author of
The Search for Modern ChinaThis English translation makes available a seminal text about the norms that sustained the rise of indigenous capitalism in late imperial China. Deeply grounded, compellingly argued, deftly framed in Weberian terms, and expertly edited, this work is a must-read for all who seek orientation in a big-picture understanding of Chinese capitalism over the past five centuries. -- Wen-hsin Yeh, author of
Shanghai Splendor: Economic Ethics in the Making of Modern ChinaA welcome translation of Yü’s masterly analysis of early modern economic/commercial principles and practice in light of the reorientation of Chinese thought inward. This is intellectual history deeply grounded in real life through primary sources that at once engages Weberian concepts while elucidating the very different context of early modern Chinese society. -- Joanna Waley-Cohen, author of
The Culture of War in China: Empire and the Military Under the Qing DynastyYü’s book is the most original Chinese challenge to Max Weber’s theory of the roots of modern capitalism in the Protestant ethic. This English translation will stimulate discussion that is often hampered by either a lack of understanding of what Weber actually said or insufficient knowledge of Chinese inner-worldly asceticism. -- Hans van Ess, president, Max Weber Foundation
Even though this book was written over thirty years ago, the questions it raises and the sources and arguments it provides are still quite relevant today, in fact even more so. Yü’s book was a classic when it appeared, and in translation, it will become a very timely intervention. -- Peter Perdue, author of
China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central EurasiaThe English translation of Yü Ying-shih’s book, which is a welcome contribution to Western Chinese studies, should be a stimulation for intensifying investigation into the relationship between Chinese religiosity with its inner-worldly asceticism and mercantile spirit (or generally speaking economy) in China not only for Sinologists but also for researchers in religious studies, economic history and social sciences. -- Zbigniew Wesołowski * Monumenta Serica *
This volume will prove invaluable to all those interested in Chinese religion as well as the theory of religion. Indeed, with the death of Yü just last year on the 1st of August, this volume is a fitting homage to his legacy. * Religious Studies Review *
Table of ContentsEditorial Note
Editor’s Introduction
Author’s Introduction
Part I: The Inner-Worldly Reorientation of Chinese Religions1. New Chan (Japanese pronunciation, Zen) Buddhism
2. New Religious Daoism
Part II: New Developments in the Confucian Ethic3. The Rise of New Confucianism and the Influence of Chan Buddhism
4. Establishing the “World of Heaven’s Principles”: The “Other World” of New Confucianism
5. “Seriousness Pervading Activity and Tranquility”: The Spiritual Temper of Inner-Worldly Engagement
6. “Regarding the World as One’s Responsibility”: The Inner-Worldly Asceticism of New Confucianism
7. Similarities and Differences Between Zhu Xi and Lu Xiangshan: The Social Significance of the Division in New Confucianism
Part III: The Spiritual Configuration of Chinese Merchants8. Ming and Qing Confucians’ View of “Securing a Livelihood”
9. A New Theory of the Four Categories of People: Changes in the Relationship Between Scholars and Merchants
10. Merchants and Confucian Learning
11. The Mercantile Ethic
12. “The Way of Business”
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
