Download or read book Transition to Neo Confucianism written by Anne D. Birdwhistell and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1989-08-01 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sung Neo-Confucian synthesis is one of the two great formative periods in the history of Confucianism. Shao Yung (1011-77) was a key contributor to this synthesis, and this study attempts to make understandable the complex and highly theoretical thought of a philosopher who has been, for the most part, misunderstood for a thousand years. It is the first full-length study in any language of Shao Yung's philosophy. Using an explicit metaphilosophical approach, the author examines the implicit and assumed aspects of Shao Yung's thought and shows how it makes sense to view his philosophy as an explanatory theory. Shao Yung explained all kinds of change and activity in the universe with six fundamental concepts that he applied to three realms of reality: subsensorial "matter," the phenomenal world of human experience, and the theoretical realm of symbols. The author also analyzes the place of the sage in Shao's philosophy. Not only would the sage restore political and moral unity in society, but through his special kind of knowing he also would restore cosmological unity. Shao's recognition that the perceiver had a critical role in making and shaping reality led to his ideal of the sage as the perfect knower. Utilizing Shao's own device of a moving observational viewpoint, the study concludes with an examination of the divergent interpretations of Shao's philosophy from the eleventh to the twentieth century. Because Shao took very seriously numerological aspects of Chinese thought that are often greatly misunderstood in the West (e.g., the I Ching), the study is also a very good introduction to the epistemological implications of an important strand of all traditional Chinese philosophical thought.
Download or read book This Culture of Ours written by Peter K. Bol and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1994-08-01 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the shared culture of the Chinese elite from the seventh to the twelfth centuries. The early T'ang definition of 'This Culture of Ours' combined literary and scholarly traditions from the previous five centuries. The late Sung Neo-Confucian movement challenged that definition. The author argues that the Tang-Sung transition is best understood as a transition from a literary view of culture - in which literary accomplishment and mastery of traditional forms were regarded as essential - to the ethical orientation of Neo-Confucianism, in which the cultivation of one's innate moral ability was regarded as the goal of learning. The author shows that this transformation paralleled the collapse of the T'ang order and the restoration of a centralized empire under the Sung, underscoring the connection between elite formation and political institutions.
Download or read book Neo Confucianism written by Stephen C. Angle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neo-Confucianism is a philosophically sophisticated tradition weaving classical Confucianism together with themes from Buddhism and Daoism. It began in China around the eleventh century CE, played a leading role in East Asian cultures over the last millennium, and has had a profound influence on modern Chinese society. Based on the latest scholarship but presented in accessible language, Neo-Confucianism: A Philosophical Introduction is organized around themes that are central in Neo-Confucian philosophy, including the structure of the cosmos, human nature, ways of knowing, personal cultivation, and approaches to governance. The authors thus accomplish two things at once: they present the Neo-Confucians in their own, distinctive terms; and they enable contemporary readers to grasp what is at stake in the great Neo-Confucian debates. This novel structure gives both students and scholars in philosophy, religion, history, and cultural studies a new window into one of the world's most important philosophical traditions.
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 Song Yuan Ming Transition in Chinese History written by Paul Jakov Smith and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-23 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume seeks to study the connections between two well-studied epochs in Chinese history: the mid-imperial era of the Tang and Song (ca. 800-1270) and the late imperial era of the late Ming and Qing (1550-1900). Both eras are seen as periods of explosive change, particularly in economic activity, characterized by the emergence of new forms of social organization and a dramatic expansion in knowledge and culture. The task of establishing links between these two periods has been impeded by a lack of knowledge of the intervening Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). This historiographical "black hole" has artificially interrupted the narrative of Chinese history and bifurcated it into two distinct epochs. This book aims to restore continuity to that historical narrative by filling the gap between mid-imperial and late imperial China. The contributors argue that the Song-Yuan-Ming transition (early twelfth through the late fifteenth century) constitutes a distinct historical period of transition and not one of interruption and devolution. They trace this transition by investigating such subjects as contemporary impressions of the period, the role of the Mongols in intellectual life, the economy of Jiangnan, urban growth, neo-Confucianism and local society, commercial publishing, comic drama, and medical learning.
Download or read book Neo confucianism in History written by Peter Kees Bol and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where does Neo-Confucianismâe"a movement that from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries profoundly influenced the way people understood the world and responded to itâe"fit into our story of Chinaâe(tm)s history? This interpretive, at times polemical, inquiry into the Neo-Confucian engagement with the literati as the social and political elite, local society, and the imperial state during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties is also a reflection on the role of the middle period in Chinaâe(tm)s history. The book argues that as Neo-Confucians put their philosophy of learning into practice in local society, they justified a new social ideal in which society at the local level was led by the literati with state recognition and support. The later imperial order, in which the state accepted local elite leadership as necessary to its own existence, survived even after Neo-Confucianism lost its hold on the center of intellectual culture in the seventeenth century but continued as the foundation of local education. It is the contention of this book that Neo-Confucianism made that order possible.
Download or read book The Recluse of Loyang written by Don J. Wyatt and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Few thinkers have stood as squarely at both the center and the periphery of an intellectual movement as has Shao Yung (1011-1077). Ethical model and eccentric, socialite and eremite, Shao Yung is perhaps not only the greatest enigma of early Neo-Confucianism, but also one of its undisputed giants. In this impressive life-and-thought study, Don J. Wyatt painstakingly sifts through all available evidence relating to Shao Yung and his scholarship to provide a portrait that fully exposes the moral center of the man and his work. Drawing on the abundant store of letters and accounts by Shao's contemporaries and his own much-neglected poetry, Wyatt has assembled a study that intimately relates Shao's life to his thought. He challenges the assumptions of previous Western scholarship by persuasively arguing against the acceptance of works traditionally ascribed to Shao - specifically, the Kuan-wu wai-p'ien (Outer Chapters on Observing Things), the Yu-ch'iao wen-ta (Fisherman and Woodcutter Dialogue), and the cryptic quasi-autobiographical essay Wu-ming kung chuan (Biography of the Nameless Lord)." "Shao is presented as an independent thinker whose philosophical lexicon functioned according to a profound interdependence that was unique among the systems of his peers. His metaphysical concepts, which appear impervious to and beyond the scope of human influence - namely, his ching-shih (world ordering), kuan-wu (observing things), and I-Ching - derived hsien-t'ien (before Heaven) methodologies - are essentially the products of a morally reflective life. Wyatt's discoveries, therefore, refute the common assertion of Shao Yung's moral indifference. Moreover, by meticulously integrating the progress of this Neo-Confucian's thought into the course of his life, the author has produced one of the most textured and accessible works on a philosopher of the Sung era."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Download or read book Neo Confucianism in History written by Peter K. Bol and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-17 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Where does Neo-Confucianism—a movement that from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries profoundly influenced the way people understood the world and responded to it—fit into our story of China’s history? This interpretive, at times polemical, inquiry into the Neo-Confucian engagement with the literati as the social and political elite, local society, and the imperial state during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties is also a reflection on the role of the middle period in China’s history. The book argues that as Neo-Confucians put their philosophy of learning into practice in local society, they justified a new social ideal in which society at the local level was led by the literati with state recognition and support. The later imperial order, in which the state accepted local elite leadership as necessary to its own existence, survived even after Neo-Confucianism lost its hold on the center of intellectual culture in the seventeenth century but continued as the foundation of local education. It is the contention of this book that Neo-Confucianism made that order possible."
Download or read book Limits to Autocracy written by Alan T. Wood and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1995-08-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alan T. Wood examines the cultural identity of modern China in the context of authoritarianism in the Chinese political tradition. Taking on issues of key importance in the understanding of Chinese history, Wood leads readers to a reconsideration of neo-Confucian thinkers of the Northern Sung dynasty. Modern scholars have accused Sung neo-Confucians of advocating a doctrine of unconditional obedience to the ruler--of "revering the emperor and expelling the barbarian"--and thereby inhibiting the rise of democracy in China. Wood refutes this dominant view by arguing that Sung neo-Confucians intended to limit the power of the emperor, not enhance it. Sung political thinkers believed passionately in the existence of a moral cosmos governed by universal laws that transcended the ruler and could be invoked to set limits on his power. Wood makes a striking comparison of this view with a similar one of universal morality or natural law that developed in late Medieval Europe. By drawing attention to a much-neglected Confucian text, he contributes significantly to the wider dialog of human rights in China and brings forth fresh philosophical insights in his comparative view of Chinese and Western history.
Download or read book The Development of Neo Confucian Thought written by Carsun Chang and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1958 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To find more information about Rowman and Littlefield titles, please visit www.rowmanlittlefield.com.
Download or read book Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo Confucian Writings Classic Reprint written by Wang Yang-Ming and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings The philosophy of Wang Yang-ming is a vigorous philosophy born of serious searching and bitter experience. It is no idle specula tion or abstract theory developed for the sake of intellectual curiosity. Rather, it is intended to provide a fundamental solution to basic moral and social problems. It calls for firm purpose and earnest effort, and for the actual practice and concrete demonstration of values. The intellectual and political situations of the time demanded just such a system. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Download or read book Readings from the Lu Wang School of Neo Confucianism written by and published by Hackett Publishing. This book was released on 2009-03-15 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides selected translations from the writings of Lu Xiangshan; Wang Yangming; and the Platform Sutra, a work which had profound influence on neo-Confucian thought. Each of these three sections is preceded by an introduction that sketches important features of the history, biography, and philosophy of the author and explores some of the main features and characteristics of his work. The range of genres represented--letters, recorded sayings, essays, meditations and poetry--provide the reader with insights into the philosophical and stylistic themes of this fascinating and influential branch of neo-Confucian thought.
Download or read book The Unfolding of Neo Confucianism written by Wm. Theodore De Bary and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores and explains the transition from the Ming to the Ch'ing period in Chinese history by following the dialogue of the Chinese thinkers among themselves.
Download or read book Principle and Practicality written by Irene Bloom and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1979 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These essays explore the continuities and discontinuities between the Neo-Confucian thought of Ming China and early Tokugawa Japan and the practical learning of the 17th and 18th centuries, underlining the need for a deeper examination of the complex relationship between traditional and modern thoughts and values.
Download or read book Cheng Zhu Confucianism in the Early Qing written by On-cho Ng and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2001-02-22 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first book-length study of the Cheng-Zhu School of Confucianism in the early Qing period explores the thought of Li Guangdi, a powerful official in the court of the Kangxi emperor. On-cho Ng undertakes close readings of Li's ideas of ultimate truths and first principles, while situating them in the context of the intellectual concerns of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century China. Addressing philosophical issues neglected in scholarship on early Qing learning, the author offers a new angle from which to view the Ming-Qing intellectual transition and the formation of early Qing thought. He argues that Cheng-Zhu learning, far from being out of step with the epochal climate of thought because of its putative preoccupation with the ultimate and the transcendent, was actually a dated reflection of, and active contributor to, early Qing thought. By tracing the contour and development of Li Guangdi's thought formulated within the bounds of inherited Cheng-Zhu teachings, this book reveals how philosophic discourses in traditional China were often dynamic, hermeneutic endeavors of reinterpreting and renewing received tradition.
Download or read book The Globalization of Confucius and Confucianism written by Klaus Mühlhahn and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2012 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The popularity of Confucianism is on the rise, not only in China, but also internationally. Confucian values are praised as the (universal) way, especially in the face of current political, social, and economic crises. The philosopher's legacy has now endured for over 2,500 years, and Confucian ideas have gained recognition as an Eastern alternative to Western concepts. This return to China's very own tradition and values can be seen as symbolizing China's new self-confidence. This volume focuses on the resurgence of Confucianism in order to examine the role played by Confucian ideas in the present and the past, as well as the potential future form of a new Confucian culture. The articles range from the perception of Confucianism in Europe at the time of the Enlightenment to Neo-Confucian debates and approaches. (Series: Chinese History and Society - Berliner China-Hefte - Vol. 41)
Download or read book Neo Confucianism and Science in Korea written by Sang-ho Ro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-02-15 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historians of late premodern Korea have tended to regard it as a hermit kingdom, isolated from its neighbours and the wider world. In fact, as Ro argues in this book, Korean intellectuals were heavily influenced by both Chinese Neo-Confucianism and the European Enlightenment in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In the late Choson period the regime felt threatened by the new, more empirical, approaches to knowledge emerging from both the East and the West. For this reason many Korean intellectuals felt it necessary to work in the shadows and formed secret societies for the study of nature. Because of the secrecy of these societies, much of their work has remained unknown even in Korea until recent years. Ho looks at the work of these intellectuals and analyses the impact their thinking and experimentation had on knowledge production in Korea. A fascinating insight into the largely overlooked story of how globalization affected intellectual life in Korea before the 20th century. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of Korean history and of Asian intellectual history more broadly.
