Download or read book The Lost Texts of Confucius Grandson Guodian Zisi and Beyond written by Kuan-yun Huang and published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. This book was released on with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Guodian manuscripts are a cache of literary and philosophical texts from the fourth century BCE, discovered in a Warring States–period tomb in China’s Hubei Province. Through detailed decipherment and textual analysis, Kuan-yun Huang investigates the historical and philosophical contexts of these texts and convincingly proposes their association with Zisi, the grandson of Confucius. Huang not only offers an in-depth portrait of this famous scion from excavated texts and transmitted literary records, but also reveals the connection of the Guodian texts with early intellectual tradition in China, including the teachings of Xunzi, Mencius, Confucius, and the legendary Laozi, as well as the effort of rewriting that transformed Zisi’s original teachings into a conformist line of thinking, which defined and constituted the Confucian tradition of a later time. ------------- In Kuan-yun Huang’s The Lost Texts of Confucius’ Grandson, the shadowy figure of Zisi comes to life as an antinomian thinker whose works fill the lacuna between Confucius and Mencius. What is most compelling about this book is its insistence that in scholarship we must respect the interpretive context. The new putative Zisi materials have to be read in such a way that they are correlated with and situated clearly within what Huang calls “the literary record.” Huang’s synoptic understanding of the literature allows for much “abduction” in his presentation, a kind of academic sleuthing in his best efforts to connect the dots. While an exciting read for those scholars who know the texts and specialize in ancient philosophical literature, at the same time, the story it tells will be of interest to all scholars who work in the field of Chinese studies. —Roger T. Ames Humanities Chair Professor, Peking University Huang carefully explicates what the newly discovered manuscripts teach us about fate, moral cultivation, familial love and obligation, and service in government, as well as other concepts that were originally meant to provide social order in the Warring States kingdoms during the time of Zisi and the generations of thinkers subsequent to him. Through close textual analysis and with each explanation of these ideas, Huang shows that we must shake ourselves loose from earlier assumptions about their significance and embrace what the recently recovered sources tell us. —Jeffrey Riegel Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley The Guodian corpus has transformed our understanding of early Chinese thought. Huang does a masterful job of situating these texts in their historical and philosophical context, relying on the most current scholarly literature as well as insights gained from more recent discoveries, all in a very accessible style. Highly recommended. —Edward Slingerland Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia

Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Confucianism written by Xinzhong Yao and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-05-11 with total page 859 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia, the first of its kind, introduces Confucianism as a whole, with 1,235 entries giving full information on its history, doctrines, schools, rituals, sacred places and terminology, and on the adaptation, transformation and new thinking taking place in China and other Eastern Asian countries. An indispensable source for further study and research for students and scholars.

Download or read book Buried Ideas written by Sarah Allan and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2015-10-21 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of previously unknown philosophical texts from the Axial Age is revolutionizing our understanding of Chinese intellectual history. Buried Ideas presents and discusses four texts found on brush-written slips of bamboo and their seemingly unprecedented political philosophy. Written in the regional script of Chu during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), all of the works discuss Yao's abdication to Shun and are related to but differ significantly from the core texts of the classical period, such as the Mencius and Zhuangzi. Notably, these works evince an unusually meritocratic stance, and two even advocate abdication over hereditary succession as a political ideal. Sarah Allan includes full English translations and her own modern-character editions of the four works examined: Tang Yú zhi dao, Zigao, Rongchengshi, and Bao xun. In addition, she provides an introduction to Chu-script bamboo-slip manuscripts and the complex issues inherent in deciphering them.

Download or read book A Walk in the Night with Zhuangzi written by Kuan-yun Huang and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2023-03-01 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the heart of "All Things Flow into Form" (Fan wu liu xing), an ancient Chinese manuscript recently salvaged from the black market, is a concern with the process of self-cultivation, particularly the advancement through the incremental stages and the outcome that awaits one in the end: enlightenment, transparency, and self-possession. Critical to this discussion is a conception of a mind within a mind, the unity of which is obtained through the isolation of an innermost core free from extraneous distractions. Such a state is presented as an ideal for kingship, and the text, despite its possibly very ancient roots, is focused on the ruler's ethical training rather than his political maneuvers, his obligation to Heaven and the spirits rather than his dominance over his subjects. Probing deep into this text, we may observe heretofore unappreciated aspects of many of the transmitted literary sources, and in turn, come to more definite conclusions about the manuscript itself. To the extent that this analysis is successful, it illustrates an approach that can be tested against future efforts to read ancient Chinese texts in the light of newly unearthed documents.

Download or read book The Religious Thought of Chu Hsi written by Julia Ching and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-08-24 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognized as one of the greatest philosophers in classical China, Chu Hsi (1130-1200) is known in the West primarily through translations of one of his many works, the Chin-ssu Lu. In this book, Julia Ching offers the first book-length examination of Chu Hsi's religious thought, based on extensive reading of both primary and secondary sources. Ching begins by providing an introduction to Chu's twelfth-century intellectual context. She then examines Chu's natural philosophy, looking in particular at the ideas of the Great Ultimate and at spirits and deities and the rituals that honor them. Next, Ching considers Chu's interpretation of human nature and the emotions, highlighting the mystical thrust of the theoretical and practical teachings of spiritual cultivation and meditation. She discusses Chu's philosophical disputes with his contemporariesin particular Lu Chiu-yuanand examines his relationship to Buddhism and Taoism. In the final chapters, Ching looks at critiques of Chu during his lifetime and after and evaluates the relevance of his thinking in terms of contemporary needs and problems. This clearly written and highly accessible study also offers translations of some of Chu's most important philosophical poems, filling a major gap in the fields of both Chinese philosophy and religion.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Confucianism written by Ronnie L. Littlejohn and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-11-03 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical Dictionary of Confucianismis devoted exclusively to Confucianism, the great Chinese tradition that has gathered around the teachings of Confucius (Kongzi) for more than 2,500 years. Confucianism encompasses a broad array of moral, social, philosophical and religious ideas, values and practices. It is an ancient and immense tradition of great subtlety and complexity. This work provides ready access to terms, personalities, movements, and texts of the tradition as it has made its trek throughout East Asia, especially Korea and Japan. This book contains a chronology, introduction, and extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 700 cross-referenced entries on terms, personalities, movements, and texts of the tradition. Historical Dictionary of Confucianism is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Confucianism.

Download or read book The Shi King the Old Poetry Classic of the Chinese written by William Jennings and published by . This book was released on 1891 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature written by Kang-i Sun Chang and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 748 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stephen Owen is James Bryant Conant Professor of Chinese at Harvard University. --Book Jacket.

Download or read book The Handy Religion Answer Book written by John Renard and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging question-and-answer guide to the world's major religions. Why do conflicts in the name of God persist—even though religious scholars agree that all great religions are based on love, not carnage? What do different faiths have to say about God? About the afterlife? The spiritual world we live in today is a diverse and sometimes highly individualized mixture of religious practices and beliefs. The physical world is a much smaller place, often secular in appearance but still very much fueled by religious beliefs and conflict in the name of God. The Handy Religion Answer Book is an easy-to-use comparative guide for anyone seeking a greater understanding of the world's religious beliefs, customs, and practices. It provides solid descriptions of major beliefs and rituals worldwide, affording the reader an understanding of contemporary religion. This book contains detailed descriptions of the history, beliefs, symbols, rituals, observations, customs, membership, leaders, and organization of the world’s eight major religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto. Clearly and eloquently written by a scholar with over 40 years of study and teaching experience, The Handy Religion Answer Book is an engaging guide for anyone seeking basic religious literacy and intellectual history. This handy primer contains a wealth of information and answers more than 1,000 questions, such as ... What is the significance of the Star of David? How did so many different Christian churches come into being? What is the importance of the month of Ramadan? What is an ayatollah? Do Taoists believe in heaven and hell? What are the main Islamic notions of the afterlife? Who is the Dalai Lama and why is he important to so many Buddhists? Plus, it includes questions concerning religion and violence and suborganizations that claim affiliation with the major faith communities. A glossary of religious terminology and maps of the general coverage areas for each religion are also included. Enlightening and educational, The Handy Religion Answer Book clears up misinformation and misconceptions, and helps explain cultural and historical differences, providing the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the world’s great religions.

Download or read book Neo Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind and Heart written by Wm. Theodore De Bary and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major addition to our understanding of the development of Neo-Confucianism--its complexity, diversity, richness, and depth as a major component of the moral and spiritual fiber of the peoples of East Asia.

Download or read book The Doctrine of the Mean written by Confucius and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Doctrine of the Mean or Zhongyong is both a doctrine of Confucianism and also the title of one of the Four Books of Confucian philosophy. The text is attributed to Zisi, the only grandson of Confucius. It was published as a chapter in the Classic of Rites.

Download or read book Confucianism written by Paul R. Goldin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Confucianism" presents the history and salient tenets of Confucian thought, and discusses its viability, from both a social and a philosophical point of view, in the modern world. Despite most of the major Confucian texts having been translated into English, there remains a surprising lack of straightforward textbooks on Confucian philosophy in any Western language. Those that do exist are often oriented from the point of view of Western philosophy - or, worse, a peculiar school of thought within Western philosophy - and advance correspondingly skewed interpretations of Confucianism. This book seeks to rectify this situation. It guides readers through the philosophies of the three major classical Confucians: Confucius (551-479 BCE), Mencius (372-289 BCE?) and Xunzi (fl. 3rd cent. BCE), and concludes with an overview of later Confucian revivals and the standing of Confucianism today.

Download or read book The Sinitic Civilization Book I written by Hong Yuan and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2018-10-27 with total page 829 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sinitic Civilization A Factual History through the Lens of Archaeology, Bronzeware, Astronomy, Divination, Calendar and the Annals The book covered the time span of history of the Sinitic civilization from antiquity, to the 3rd millennium B.C. to A.D. 85. A comprehensive review of history related to the Sinitic cosmological, astronomical, astrological, historical, divinatory, and geographical developments was given. All ancient Chinese calendars had been examined, with the ancient thearchs’ dates examined from the perspective how they were forged or made up. The book provides the indisputable evidence regarding the fingerprint of the forger for the 3rd century A.D. book Shangshu (remotely ancient history), and close to 50 fingerprints of the forger of the contemporary version of The Bamboo Annals. Using the watershed line of Qin Emperor Shihuangdi’s book burning of 213 B.C., the book rectified what was the original history before the book burning, filtered out what was forged after the book burning, sorted out the sophistry and fables that were rampant just prior to the book burning, and validated the history against the records in the oracle bones, bronzeware, and bamboo slips. The book covers 95-98% and more of the contents in the two ancient history annals of The Spring Autumn Annals and The Bamboo Annals. There are dedicated chapters devoted to interpreting Qu Yuan’s poem Asking Heaven (Tian Wen), the mythical book The Legends of Mountains & Seas (Shan Hai Jing), geography book Lord Yu’s Tributes (Yu Gong), and Zhou King Muwang’s Travelogue (Mu-tian-zi Zhuan). The book has appendices of two calendars: the first anterior quarter remainder calendar (247 B.C.-104 B.C./247 B.C.-85 A.D.) of the Qin Empire, as well as a conversion table of the sexagenary years of the virtual Yin-li (Shang dynasty) quarter remainder calendar versus the Gregorian calendar, that covers the years 2698 B.C. to 2018 A.D. Book I stops about the midpoint of the 242 years covered in Confucius’ abridged book The Spring & Autumn Annals (722-481 B.C.). Book II stops at Han Emperor Zhangdi (Liu Da, reign A.D. 76-88; actual reign Aug of A.D. 75-Feb of A.D. 88), with the A.D. 85 adoption of the Sifen-li posterior quarter remainder calendar premised on reverting to the sexagenary years of the virtual Yin-li (Shang dynasty) quarter remainder calendar, a calendar disconnected from the Jupiter’s chronogram, that was purportedly invented by the Confucians on basis of Confucius’ identifying the ‘qi-lin’ divine giraffe animal and wrapping up the masterpiece The Spring & Autumn Annals two years prior to death.

Download or read book Chinese Metaphysics and its Problems written by Chenyang Li and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first English-language contributory volume on Chinese metaphysics, covering all major traditions from pre-Qin to the modern period.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature 1000 BCE 900CE written by Wiebke Denecke and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume introduces readers to classical Chinese literature from its beginnings (ca. 10th century BCE) to the tenth century CE. It asks basic questions such as: How did reading and writing practices change over these two millennia? How did concepts of literature evolve? What were the factors that shaped literary production and textual transmission? How do traditional bibliographic categories, modern conceptions of genre, and literary theories shape our understanding of classical Chinese literature? What are the recurrent and evolving concerns of writings within the period under purview? What are the dimensions of human experience they address? Why is classical Chinese literature important for our understanding of pre-modern East Asia? How does the transmission of this literature in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam define cultural boundaries? And what, in turn, can we learn from the Chinese-style literatures of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, about Chinese literature? In addressing these questions, the Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature departs from standard literary histories and sourcebooks. It does not simply categorize literary works according to periods, authors, or texts. Its goal is to offer a new conceptual framework for thinking about classical Chinese literature by defining a four-part structure. The first section discusses the basics of literacy and includes topics such as writing systems, manuscript culture, education, and loss and preservation in textual transmission. It is followed by a second section devoted to conceptions of genre, textual organization, and literary signification throughout Chinese history. A third section surveys literary tropes and themes. The final section takes us beyond China to the surrounding cultures that adopted Chinese culture and produced Chinese style writing adapted to their own historical circumstances. The volume is sustained by a dual foci: the recuperation of historical perspectives for the period it surveys and the attempt to draw connections between past and present, demonstrating how the viewpoints and information in this volume yield insights into modern China and east Asia.

Download or read book Rewriting Early Chinese Texts written by Edward L. Shaughnessy and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2006-06-01 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rewriting Early Chinese Texts examines the problems of reconstituting and editing ancient manuscripts that will revise—indeed "rewrite"—Chinese history. It is now generally recognized that the extensive archaeological discoveries made in China over the last three decades necessitate such a rewriting and will keep an army of scholars busy for years to come. However, this is by no means the first time China's historical record has needed rewriting. In this book, author Edward L. Shaughnessy explores the issues involved in editing manuscripts, rewriting them, both today and in the past. The book begins with a discussion of the difficulties encountered by modern archaeologists and paleographers working with manuscripts discovered in ancient tombs. The challenges are considerable: these texts are usually written in archaic script on bamboo strips and are typically fragmentary and in disarray. It is not surprising that their new editions often meet with criticism from other scholars. Shaughnessy then moves back in time to consider efforts to reconstitute similar bamboo-strip manuscripts found in the late third century in a tomb in Jixian, Henan. He shows that editors at the time encountered many of the same difficulties faced by modern archaeologists and paleographers, and that the first editions produced by a court-appointed team of editors quickly prompted criticism from other scholars of the time. Shaughnessy concludes with a detailed study of the editing of one of these texts, the Bamboo Annals (Zhushu jinian), arguably the most important manuscript ever discovered in China. Showing how at least two different, competing editions of this text were produced by different editors, and how the differences between them led later scholars to regard the original edition—the only one still extant—as a forgery, Shaughnessy argues for this text's place in the rewriting of early Chinese history.

Download or read book The Huainanzi written by John S. Major and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-14 with total page 1003 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compiled by scholars at the court of Liu An, king of Huainan, in the second century B.C.E, The Huainanzi is a tightly organized, sophisticated articulation of Western Han philosophy and statecraft. Outlining "all that a modern monarch needs to know," the text emphasizes rigorous self-cultivation and mental discipline, brilliantly synthesizing for readers past and present the full spectrum of early Chinese thought. The Huainanzi locates the key to successful rule in a balance of broad knowledge, diligent application, and the penetrating wisdom of a sage. It is a unique and creative synthesis of Daoist classics, such as the Laozi and the Zhuangzi; works associated with the Confucian tradition, such as the Changes, the Odes, and the Documents; and a wide range of other foundational philosophical and literary texts from the Mozi to the Hanfeizi. The product of twelve years of scholarship, this remarkable translation preserves The Huainanzi's special rhetorical features, such as parallel prose and verse, and showcases a compositional technique that conveys the work's powerful philosophical appeal. This path-breaking volume will have a transformative impact on the field of early Chinese intellectual history and will be of great interest to scholars and students alike.