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.
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.
Angle's book is both an exposition of Neo-Confucian philosophy and a sustained dialogue with many leading Western thinkers, especially with those philosophers leading the current renewal of interest in virtue ethics. He argues for a new stage in the development of contemporary Confucian philosophy.
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.
Well known as a scholar of Asian culture, de Bary examines the concepts of self-understanding and self-cultivation in neo-Confucian thought from the 12th to the 17th centuries, in relation to the social, political, and scholarly roles of educated men in late imperial China. Rejecting the notion that
Covers topics related to the understanding of Chinese Confucianism. Includes entries in the following categories: arts, architecture, and iconography; astrology, cosmology, and mythology; biographical entries; ceremonies, practices, and rituals; concepts; dynasties, official titles, and rulers; geography and historical events; groups and schools; literature, language, and symbols; and texts.
This unique reference covers Confucianism as a whole, in 1235 entries on its history, doctrines, schools, rituals, sacred places and terminology, and on the new thinking taking place in China and other Eastern Asian countries. Written by an international team of specialists, it provides extensive textual cross-references, bibliographies, and three comprehensive indexes.
Covers topics related to the understanding of Chinese Confucianism. Includes entries in the following categories: arts, architecture, and iconography; astrology, cosmology, and mythology; biographical entries; ceremonies, practices, and rituals; concepts; dynasties, official titles, and rulers; geography and historical events; groups and schools; literature, language, and symbols; and texts.
Conventional portraits of Neo-Confucianism in China are built on studies of scholars active in the south, yet Xue Xuan (1389–1464), the first Ming Neo-Confucian to be enshrined in the Temple to Confucius, was a northerner. Why has Xue been so overlooked in the history of Neo-Confucianism? In this first systematic study in English of the highly influential thinker, author Khee Heong Koh seeks to redress Xue’s marginalization while showing how a study interested mainly in “ideas” can integrate social and intellectual history to offer a broader picture of history. Significant in its attention to Xue as well as its approach, the book situates the ideas of Xue and his Hedong School in comparative perspective. Koh first provides in-depth analysis of Xue’s philosophy, as well as his ideas on kinship organizations, educational institutions, and intellectual networks, and then places them in the context of Xue’s life and the actual practices of his descendants and students. Through this new approach to intellectual history, Koh demonstrates the complexity of the Neo-Confucian tradition and gives voice to a group of northern scholars who identified themselves as Neo-Confucians but had a vision that was distinctly different from their southern counterparts.