Confucianism by
"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.
Confucianism by
Six centuries before the birth of Jesus, a Chinese sage named Master Kong or Kong Fuzi (later latinized to Confucius) drafted the principles of a society founded upon virtue. For more than two thousand years, Kong Fuzi's work has remained the foundation of Chinese civilization.
In this lavishly illustrated volume, Jennifer Oldstone-Moore takes readers on an insightful tour of this enduring belief system. Not quite a religion, more than a philosophy, Confucianism coexists with Daoism and Buddhism in Chinese spiritual life, guiding personal relations and social structure. Oldstone-Moore explains the essence of Confucian belief--the primary importance of filial relations, and the need for governments to be founded upon virtue--and she underscores the overarching importance of the Confucian canon. Though Confucius's own sayings are preserved in the Analects, he saw himself as an editor and mediator of the wisdom of antiquity, which he gathered in the Six Classics and Four Books, which stress harmony in the social order. The author sheds much light on these texts--The Book of Changes, the Classic of History, the Classic of Poetry, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Rites, and the now-lost Classic of Music--and also discusses the role of heroes (such as the Sage Kings), rituals and the Chinese calendar, sacred places, and Confucianism's place as a state religion through much of Chinese history.
No society on earth has had the continuous history--as a single people, culture, and state--that China enjoys. One of the keys to that unity, to China's very identity, is Confucianism, deftly elucidated in this attractive, informative volume.
Confucianism by
Describes how the teachings of Confucius evolved from a social order to a religion, infusing all phases of Chinese life for 2000 years.
Confucianism by
Here is a readable, non-technical introduction to the philosophy/religion which has so shaped China. The development of Confucianism is analyzed and its significance is discussed.
An Introduction to Confucianism by
Taking into account the long history and wide range of Confucian Studies, this book introduces Confucianism - initiated in China by Confucius (551 BC–479 BC) - primarily as a philosophical and religious tradition. It pays attention to Confucianism in both the West and the East, focussing on the tradition's doctrines, schools, rituals, sacred places and terminology, but also stressing the adaptations, transformations and new thinking taking place in modern times. Xinzhong Yao presents Confucianism as a tradition with many dimensions and as an ancient tradition with contemporary appeal. This gives the reader a richer and clearer view of how Confucianism functioned in the past and of what it means in the present. A Chinese scholar based in the West, he draws together the many strands of Confucianism in a style accessible to students, teachers, and general readers interested in one of the world's major religious traditions.
Women and Confucian Cultures in Premodern China, Korea, and Japan by
Representing an unprecedented collaboration among international scholars from Asia, Europe, and the United States, this volume rewrites the history of East Asia by rethinking the contentious relationship between Confucianism and women. The authors discuss the absence of women in the Confucian canonical tradition and examine the presence of women in politics, family, education, and art in premodern China, Korea, and Japan. What emerges is a concept of Confucianism that is dynamic instead of monolithic in shaping the cultures of East Asian societies. As teachers, mothers, writers, and rulers, women were active agents in this process. Neither rebels nor victims, these women embraced aspects of official norms while resisting others. The essays present a powerful image of what it meant to be female and to live a woman's life in a variety of social settings and historical circumstances. Challenging the conventional notion of Confucianism as an oppressive tradition that victimized women, this provocative book reveals it as a modern construct that does not reflect the social and cultural histories of East Asia before the nineteenth century.