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A translation of a key commentary on perhaps the most broadly influential text of classical China This book is a translation of a key commentary on the Book of Changes, or Yijing (I Ching), perhaps the most broadly influential text of classical China. The Yijing first appeared as a divination text in Zhou-dynasty China (ca. 1045-256 bce) and later became a work of cosmology, philosophy, and political theory as commentators supplied it with new meanings. While many English translations of the Yijing itself exist, none are paired with a historical commentary as thorough and methodical as that written by the Confucian scholar Cheng Yi, who turned the original text into a coherent work of political theory.
Featuring contributions from the world's most highly esteemed Asian philosophy scholars, this important new encyclopedia covers the complex and increasingly influential field of Chinese thought, from earliest recorded times to the present day. Including coverage on the subject previously unavailable to English speakers, the Encyclopedia sheds light on the extensive range of concepts, movements, philosophical works, and thinkers that populate the field. It includes a thorough survey of the history of Chinese philosophy; entries on all major thinkers from Confucius to Mou Zongsan; essential topics such as aesthetics, moral philosophy, philosophy of government, and philosophy of literature; surveys of Confucianism in all historical periods (Zhou, Han, Tang, and onward) and in key regions outside China; schools of thought such as Mohism, Legalism, and Chinese Buddhism; trends in contemporary Chinese philosophy, and more.
This volume is part of the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Compiled by Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-c. 86 B.C.), it draws upon most major early historical works and was the foremost model for style and genre in Chinese history and literature through the eleventh century A. D., and through the early twentieth century for some genres. Volume 7, The Memoirs of Pre_Han China, translates twenty-eight Lieh-chuan or "memoirs" which depict more than a hundred men and women: sages and scholars, recluses and rhetoricians, persuaders and politicians, commandants and cutthroats of the Ch'in and earlier dynasties. Although the memoirs also begin with what is now often considered myth—an account of the renowned recluses Po Yi and Shu Ch'i—the emphasis in these texts is on the fate of various states and power centers as seen through the biographies of key individuals from the seventh to the third centuries B. C.
Neo-Confucianism was the major philosophical tradition in China for most of the past millennium. This Companion is the first volume to provide a comprehensive introduction, in accessible English, to the Neo-Confucian philosophical thought of representative Chinese thinkers from the eleventh to the eighteenth centuries. It provides detailed insights into changing perspectives on key philosophical concepts and their relationship with one another.
The book aims to describe the history of Chan (Japanese Zen) School thought from the standpoint of social history. Chan, a school of East Asian Buddhism, was influential on all levels of societies in the region because of its intellectual and aesthetic appeal. In China, Chan infiltrated all levels of society, mainly because it engaged with society and formed the mainstream of Buddhism from the tenth or eleventh centuries through to the twentieth century. This book, taking a critical stance, examines the entire history of Chan thought and practice from the viewpoint of a modern Chinese scholar, not a practitioner, but an intellectual historian who places ideological developments in social con...
This is a history of the hermeneutics of China's earliest classic, the Book of Odes, which was probably compiled about the 6th century BC. Neither a reading of the Odes as such, nor yet a history of their interpretation, this study attempts rather to trace the principles that guided the interpretation of the Odes over some two thousand years of Chinese history. The book begins by tracing the rise and development in China of the disposition to treat certain 'classical' texts as the ultimate repositories of the culture's values and norms, a disposition that was to shape the political, social, and cultural institutions of traditional China. A notable example was the examination system, which tested candidates for state office on their knowledge of the canon, in the process making questions concerning the interpretation of the canon prominent in public as well as in private life. The author then describes the emergence of the distinctive and influential hermeneutic associated with the Odes.
This book introduces fifteen representative philosophers in ancient China, including Confucius, Laozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, influential Neo-Taoist scholars, and prominent Neo-Confucian thinkers. It reveals the fundamental problems of each philosopher, clarifies the connotation of the concept as well as the specific reference of the problem, and presents the inherent context and structure of each philosopher’s thoughts. Further, the author analyzes a selection of these ancient philosophers’ main propositions and demonstrates the argumentation and proof processes behind the basic philosophical insights. As such, this book is a valuable academic resource for scholars and the interested readers wanting to gain an in-depth understanding of ancient Chinese philosophy today.
The main theme of this book is the interaction between two “places,” China and Guanzhong, the capital area of several dynasties. It addresses such questions as What do we mean by “local”? Did the inhabitants of a locality believe that being “local” required them to assume a certain identity? If so, how did they talk and write about it? Were there spatial and temporal differences in the representation of locales? This work examines how Guanzhong literati conceptualized three sets of relations: central/regional, “official”/“unofficial,” and national/local. It further traces the formation over the last millennium of the imperial state of a critical communal self-consciousness, the role of this consciousness in constructing a local identity and promoting an “unofficial” space for nonofficial elite activism, and the effect of the presence (or absence) of this consciousness on literati views of central-regional relationships. The issue here is not whether there can be a shared national culture, but whether this culture can be perceived as having regional variations and therefore contributing to the formation of a local identity.
The book provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of Wang’s philosophy at different stages throughout its maturation so as to sketch the essential character and grand picture of Wang’s philosophy. As a systematic study of Wang’s philosophy, this monograph boasts a broad perspective, profound analysis and substantial historical data. It is a perfect manifestation of the author’s academic accomplishment and presents the readers with a panorama of Wang’s thought. Although the book is focused primarily on Wang, its scope and methodology carry great implications for the study of Song and Ming Confucianism and even ancient Chinese philosophy as a whole.
The scholarship of this monumental and award-winning ten-volume work is available in one affordable book that brings together more than 2,000 entries from the original in a shortened, more accessible format. Extensively cross-referenced and indexed.