The Analects (Lunyu) is the earliest and most influential record of the teachings of Kongzi (551-479 B.C.E.), known to most Westerners as "Confucius." If we measure influence according to the number of people who have lived their lives according to the teachings of a particular text, there is a good argument to be made that the Analects has been the most influential text in the world. This book argues that we have good reasons to study the Analects as a sacred text, and that doing so sheds light not only on the text and the Confucian tradition, but on what the sacred is, more broadly. It begins by examining what it means for a text to be regarded as sacred in relation to the unique history of this remarkably influential book, and goes on to offer a close study of the Analects, including its structure, its composition and compilation, and the purpose it has served in the Confucian tradition as the earliest and most authoritative record of Kongzi's teachings and conduct. The book further considers the history of the Analects as the most authoritative collection of Confucian teachings which virtually all major Confucians-as well as Chinese thinkers throughout history from the Mohist, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions-responded. This book explores the text, situating its teachings in relation to the religious practices of its time (including Zhou rituals and customs known as li and the veneration of ancestor and nature spirits), and discusses the Analects use and reception both in the periods following its composition and compilation and throughout China's imperial history up through the modern era, including the recent revival of activity in Confucian temples.

This book comprehensively discusses the main features of the Chinese patent law system, which not only legally 'transplants' international treaties into the Chinese context, but also maintains China's legal culture and promotes domestic economic growth. This is the basis for encouraging creativity and improving patent law protection in China. The book approaches the evolution of the Chinese patent system through the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius's classic principle, offering readers a fresh new way to understand and analyze Chinese patent law reforms, while also outlining how Confucian insights could be used to improve the enforcement of patent law and overall intellectual property protection awareness in China. It examines ancient Chinese innovation history, explores intellectual property from a Confucian perspective, and discusses the roots of Chinese patent law, as well as the past three amendments and the trends in the ongoing fourth amendment. In addition to helping readers grasp the mentality behind the Chinese approach to patent law and patent protection, the book provides an alternative research methodology and philosophical approach by demonstrating Confucian analysis, which provides a more dynamic way to justify intellectual property in the academic world. Lastly, it suggests future strategies for local industries in the legal, cultural and sociological sectors in China, which provide benefits for domestic and overseas patent holders alike. The book offers a valuable asset for graduate students and researchers on China and intellectual property law, as well as general readers interested in Asian culture and the philosophy of law.

This book summarizes the author's extensive research on Confucian morality issues and focuses on elaborating the extremely important and unique role of moral thought in Confucian ideology. The book shares the author's own standpoints on a range of issues - including where moral thoughts originated, what the major principles are, and what methods were adopted in Confucianism - to form a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation, and help readers achieve a better understanding. Moreover, the book focuses on the similarities and differences between Chinese and western cultures and presents an in-depth analysis of the differences and roots regarding various aspects, including Chinese and western historical development paths, thoughts and cultures, national spirits, national mentalities, and social governance models. The formation of either culture has its own practical reasons and historical roots. The book represents a major contribution, helping readers understand the similarities and differences between Chinese and western cultures and social civilizations, enabling them to integrate and learn from Chinese and western cultures, and promoting a better development for Chinese society and the international community alike. Combining detailed data and an approachable style, it contributes to the legacy of Confucianism by applying a critical attitude. The author thinks out of the box in terms of theoretical analysis and studies on certain issues. As such, the book will be of great academic value in terms of studying China's ideological culture, especially its morality culture, and will benefit scholars and research institutions alike.

To understand China, it is essential to understand Confucianism. First formulated in the sixth century BCE, the teachings of Confucius would come to dominate Chinese society, politics, economics, and ethics. In this Very Short Introduction, Daniel K. Gardner explores the major philosophical ideas of the Confucian tradition, showing their profound impact on state ideology and imperial government, the civil service examination system, domestic life, and social relations over the course of twenty-six centuries. Gardner focuses on two of the Sage's most crucial philosophical problems-what makes for a good person, and what constitutes good government-and demonstrates the enduring significance of these questions today.
This volume shows the influence of the Sage's teachings over the course of Chinese history--on state ideology, the civil service examination system, imperial government, the family, and social relations--and the fate of Confucianism in China in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as China developed alongside a modernizing West and Japan. Some Chinese intellectuals attempted to reform the Confucian tradition to address new needs; others argued for jettisoning it altogether in favor of Western ideas and technology; still others condemned it angrily, arguing that Confucius and his legacy were responsible for China's feudal, ''backward'' conditions in the twentieth century and launching campaigns to eradicate its influences. Yet Chinese continue to turn to the teachings of Confucianism for guidance in their daily lives.
In addition to a survey of the philosophy and history of Confucianism, Gardner offers an examination of the resurgence of Confucianism in China today, and explores what such a revival means for the Chinese government and the Chinese people.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

How a hybrid Confucian-engendered form of governance might solve today's political problems What might a viable political alternative to liberal democracy look like? In Against Political Equality, Tongdong Bai offers a possibility inspired by Confucian ideas. Bai argues that domestic governance influenced by Confucianism can embrace the liberal aspects of democracy along with the democratic ideas of equal opportunities and governmental accountability to the people. But Confucianism would give more political decision-making power to those with the moral, practical, and intellectual capabilities of caring for the people. While most democratic thinkers still focus on strengthening equality to cure the ills of democracy, the proposed hybrid regime-made up of Confucian-inspired meritocratic characteristics combined with democratic elements and a quasi-liberal system of laws and rights-recognizes that egalitarian qualities sometimes conflict with good governance and the protection of liberties, and defends liberal aspects by restricting democratic ones. Bai applies his views to the international realm by supporting a hierarchical order based on how humane each state is toward its own and other peoples, and on the principle of international interventions whereby humane responsibilities override sovereignty. Exploring the deficiencies posed by many liberal democracies, Against Political Equality presents a novel Confucian-engendered alternative for solving today's political problems.

This volume presents the first English translation of the Confucian classics, Four Books for Women, with extensive commentary by the compiler, Wang Xiang, and introductions and annotations by translator Ann A. Pang-White. Written by women for women's education, the Confucian Four Books for Women spanned the 1st to the 16th centuries, and encompass Ban Zhao's Lessons for Women, Song Ruoxin's and Song Ruozhao's Analects for Women, Empress Renxiaowen's Teachings for the Inner Court, and Madame Liu's (Chaste Widow Wang's) Short Records of Models for Women. A female counterpart to the famous Sishu (Four Books) compiled by Zhu Xi, Wang Xiang's Nu sishu provides an invaluable look at the long-standing history and evolution of Chinese women's writing, education, identity, and philosophical discourse, along with their struggles and triumphs, across the millennia and numerous Chinese dynasties. Pang-Whites new translation brings the authors of the Four Books for Women to life as real, living people, and illustrates why they wrote and how their work empowered women.

Questions of secularity and modernity have become globalized, but most studies still focus on the West. This volume breaks new ground by comparatively exploring developments in five areas of the world, some of which were hitherto situated at the margins of international scholarly discussions: Africa, the Arab World, East Asia, South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. In theoretical terms, the book examines three key dimensions of modern secularity: historical pathways, cultural meanings, and global entanglements of secular formations. The contributions show how differences in these dimensions are linked to specific histories of religious and ethnic diversity, processes of state-formation and nation-building. They also reveal how secularities are critically shaped through civilizational encounters, processes of globalization, colonial conquest, and missionary movements, and how entanglements between different territorially grounded notions of secularity or between local cultures and transnational secular arenas unfold over time.

In analyzing evidence indicating that K'ung-ts'ung-tzu was a forgery, Yoav Ariel questions current views of the Confucian school in the time between the Sage's death in the fifth century B.C. and the emergence in the eleventh century of Neo-Confucianism. The text, traditionally ascribed to a descendant of Confucius, K'ung Fu (264-208 B.C.), provides a setting for a series of philosophical debates between K'ung family members and representatives of such non-Confucian schools as Legalism, Mohism, and the School of Names. However, finding that this text was probably fabricated by the controversial Confucian master, Wang Su (A.D. 195-256), Ariel explains how it sheds light on the third-century philosophical milieu: Confucianism then is seen to have been not only Taoistically metaphysical, individualistic, and escapist, but also aggressive in advocating early Confucian values.

The first part of Ariel's book deals with the general characteristics, history, dating, authenticity, and authorship of the text. The second part is a fully annotated and analyzed translation of the first of the two traditional volumes that constitute the K'ung-ts'ung-tzu.

Originally published in 1989.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A wonderfully enjoyable storehouse of ancient Chinese history and legends, which also has an important role in understanding 21st-century China 'And remember: Heaven's blessing will cease forever if there's despair and poverty in your lands' The Most Venerable Book (also known as The Book of History) is one of the Five Classics, a key work of Chinese literature which preserves some of the most ancient and dramatic chronicles of the history, both real and mythological, of the Chinese state. For many centuries it was a central work for anyone wishing to work for the Imperial administration, preserving as it does a fascinating mixture of key Confucian concepts as well as page after page of heroes, benevolent rulers, sagacious ministers, and struggles against flood, corruption and vicious, despotic rulers. The First Emperor tried in 213 BC to have all copies of the book destroyed because of its subversive implication that 'the Mandate of Heaven' could be withdrawn from rulers who failed their people. For similar reasons it was also banned by Chairman Mao. Extraordinarily, the values of The Most Venerable Book have been revived by the Chinese government of the 2010s.

A noted Russian sinologue, Iulian Shchutskii tried to find out how the I China was put together and what the terms meant when they were written. Accordingly, he goes back to the original text, studies the structure of its language, and examines its concepts in terms of its own images and ideas rather than through the preconceived constructs with which most Western scholars approach the book. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Essential Analects offers a representative selection from Edward Slingerland's acclaimed translation of the full work, including passages covering all major themes. An appendix of selected traditional commentaries keyed to each passage provides access to the text and to its reception and interpretation. Also included are a glossary of terms and short biographies of the disciples of Confucius and the traditional commentators cited.

Is the Confucian tradition compatible with the Western understanding of human rights? Are there fundamental human values, regardless of cultural differences, common to all peoples of all nations? At this critical point in Communist China's history, eighteen distinguished scholars address the role of Confucianism in dealing with questions of universal human rights.

Zhu Xi (1130-1200) was the preeminent Confucian thinker of the Song dynasty (960-1279). His teachings profoundly influenced China, where for centuries after his death they formed the basis of the country's educational system. In Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as well, elites embraced his inspired and authoritative synthesis of Confucian thought. In Zhu's eyes, the great Way of China was in decline, with its very survival threatened by external enemies and internal moral weakness. In his writings and teaching, Zhu took as his mission the revival of the Confucian tradition, the source of China's greatness, and its transmission to future generations. For him, restoring Confucianism to its rightful place required drawing on the tradition's whole sweep, from the sacred texts of the sages and worthies of antiquity to the more recent writings of the great thinkers of the tenth and eleventh centuries. This book presents the essential teachings of the new Confucian ("Neo-Confucian") philosophical system that Zhu Xi forged, providing a concise introduction to one of the most important figures in the history of Chinese thought. It offers selections from the Classified Conversations of Master Zhu (Zhuzi yulei), a lengthy collection of Zhu's conversations with disciples. In these texts, Zhu Xi reflects on the Confucian teachings of the past, revising and refining his understanding of them and shaping that understanding into a cohesive system of thought. Daniel K. Gardner's translation renders these discussions and sayings in a conversational style that is accessible to new and more advanced readers alike.

A noted Russian sinologue, Iulian Shchutskii tried to find out how the I China was put together and what the terms meant when they were written. Accordingly, he goes back to the original text, studies the structure of its language, and examines its concepts in terms of its own images and ideas rather than through the preconceived constructs with which most Western scholars approach the book. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In this engaging volume, Daniel Gardner explains the way in which the Four Books-- Great Learning , Analects , Mencius , and Maintaining Perfect Balance --have been read and understood by the Chinese since the twelfth century. Selected passages in translation are accompanied by Gardner's comments, which incorporate selections from the commentary and interpretation of the renowned Neo-Confucian thinker, Zhu Xi (1130-1200). This study provides an ideal introduction to the basic texts in the Confucian tradition from the twelfth through the twentieth centuries. It guides the reader through Zhu Xi's influential interpretation of the Four Books, showing how Zhu, through the genre of commentary, gave new coherence and meaning to these foundational texts. Since the Four Books with Zhu Xi's commentary served as the basic textbook for Chinese schooling and the civil service examinations for more than seven hundred years, this book illustrates as well the nature of the standard Chinese educational curriculum.

Mount Putuo, also known as the "Island of Guanyin," is a small island in the East China Sea known as the single most important pilgrimage site for the worship of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. The Bodhisattva of compassion is one of Asia's most popular deities and is worshipped from Sri Lanka to Japan. Established in the tenth century, Mount Putuo continues to attract thousands of visitors every year, and is counted among the "Four Great and Famous Buddhist Mountains" of China. Over the centuries, poems, biographies, maps, and legends about Mount Putuo, as well as descriptions of its landscape and temples, have been collected in a series of local histories called "gazetteers." Following the structure of a gazetteer, with each chapter dedicated to a particular genre, this book discusses the function of each in the depiction of Mount Putuo and illustrates them with a number of examples, none of which have been translated before. Written for all who are interested in the history of Asian Buddhism and the sacred sites of China, this book demonstrates the textual construction of this Buddhist sacred site across a variety of genres.

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, has been one of the two or three most influential books in the Chinese canon. It has been used by people on all levels of society, both as a method of divination and as a source of essential ideas about the nature of heaven, earth, and humankind. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Sung dynasty literati turned to it for guidance in their fundamental reworking of the classical traditions. This book explores how four leading thinkers--Su Shih, Shao Yung, Ch'eng I, and Chu Hsi--applied the I Ching to these projects. These four men used the Book of Changes in strikingly different ways. Yet each claimed to find in it a sure foundation for human values. Their work established not only new meanings for the text but also new models for governance and moral philosophy that would be debated throughout the next thousand years of Chinese intellectual history. By focusing on their uses of the I Ching, this study casts a unique light on the complex continuity-within-change and rich diversity of Sung culture. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In this major contribution to the study of the Chinese classics and comparative religion, John Henderson uses the history of exegesis to illuminate mental patterns that have universal and perennial significance for intellectual history. Henderson relates the Confucian commentarial tradition to other primary exegetical traditions, particularly the Homeric tradition, Vedanta, rabbinic Judaism, ancient and medieval Christian biblical exegesis, and Qur'anic exegesis. In making such comparisons, he discusses some basic assumptions common to all these traditions--such as that the classics or scriptures are comprehensive or that they contain all significant knowledge or truth and analyzes the strategies deployed to support these presuppositions. As shown here, primary differences among commentarial or exegetical traditions arose from variations in their emphasis on one or another of these assumptions and strategies. Henderson demonstrates that exegetical modes of thought were far from arcane: they dominated the post-classical/premodern intellectual world. Some have persisted or re-emerged in modern times, particularly in ideologies such as Marxism. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Scripture, Canon, and Commentary is not only a challenging interpretation of comparative scriptural traditions but also an excellent introduction to the study of the Confucian classics.

Originally published in 1991.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In recent years, three ancient manuscripts relating to the "Yi jin"g ( "I Ching"), or "Classic of Changes," have been discovered. The earliest -- the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi -- dates to about 300 B.C.E. and shows evidence of the text's original circulation. The "Guicang," or "Returning to Be Stored," reflects another ancient Chinese divination tradition based on hexagrams similar to those of the "Yi jing." In 1993, two manuscripts were found in a third-century B.C.E. tomb at Wangjiatai that contain almost exact parallels to the "Guicang"'s early quotations, supplying new information on the performance of early Chinese divination. Finally, the Fuyang " Zhou Y"i was excavated from the tomb of Xia Hou Zao, lord of Ruyin, who died in 165 B.C.E. Each line of this classic is followed by one or more generic prognostications similar to phrases found in the " Yi jing," indicating exciting new ways the text was produced and used in the interpretation of divinations.

"Unearthing the Changes" details the discovery and significance of the Shanghai Museum "Zhou Yi," the Wangjiatai "Guicang," and the Fuyang "Zhou Yi," including full translations of the texts and additional evidence constructing a new narrative of the "Yi jing"'s writing and transmission in the first millennium B.C.E. An introduction situates the role of archaeology in the modern attempt to understand the Classic of Changes. By showing how the text emerged out of a popular tradition of divination, these newly unearthed manuscripts reveal an important religious dimension to its evolution.

Is human nature good or evil? Does knowledge guarantee right action, or can humans do what is wrong when they know what is right? What parts should teachers, classic texts, and our own moral intuitions play in our ethical cultivation?

Confucianism is one of the world's most influential philosophical traditions, offering profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, and the foundations of civilization. In The Ways of Confucianism, David S. Nivison brings out the exciting variety within Confucian thought, as he interprets and elucidates key thinkers from over two thousand years, from Confucius himself, through Mencius and Xunzi, to Wang Yangming, Dai Zhen, and Zhang Xuecheng.

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.

Used in China as a book of divination and source of wisdom for more than three thousand years, the "I Ching" has been taken up by millions of English-language speakers in the nineteenth century. The first translation ever to appear in English that includes one of the major Chinese philosophical commentaries, the Columbia "I Ching" presents the classic book of changes for the world today.

Richard Lynn's introduction to this new translation explains the organization of "The Classic of Changes" through the history of its various parts, and describes how the text was and still is used as a manual of divination with both the stalk and coin methods. For the fortune-telling novice, he provides a chart of trigrams and hexagrams; an index of terms, names, and concepts; and a glossary and bibliography.

Lynn presents for the first time in English the fascinating commentary on the "I Ching" written by Wang Bi (226-249), who was the main interpreter of the work for some seven hundred years. Wang Bi interpreted the "I Ching" as a book of moral and political wisdom, arguing that the text should not be read literally, but rather as an expression of abstract ideas. Lynn places Wang Bi's commentary in historical context.

For beginners and devotees alike, Columbia's "I Ching" is the clearest and most authoritative translation of this ancient classic.

The recipient of the Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and the Tang Prize for "revolutionary research" in Sinology, Ying-shih Yu is a premier scholar of Chinese studies. Chinese History and Culture volumes 1 and 2 bring his extraordinary oeuvre to English-speaking readers. Spanning two thousand years of social, intellectual, and political change, the essays in these volumes investigate two central questions through all aspects of Chinese life: what core values sustained this ancient civilization through centuries of upheaval, and in what ways did these values survive in modern times? From Ying-shih Yu's perspective, the Dao, or the Way, constitutes the inner core of Chinese civilization. His work explores the unique dynamics between Chinese intellectuals' discourse on the Dao, or moral principles for a symbolized ideal world order, and their criticism of contemporary reality throughout Chinese history. Volume 2 of Chinese History and Culture completes Ying-shih Yu's systematic reconstruction and exploration of Chinese thought over two millennia and its impact on Chinese identity. Essays address the rise of Qing Confucianism, the development of the Dai Zhen and Zhu Xi traditions, and the response of the historian Zhang Xuecheng to the Dai Zhen approach. They take stock of the thematic importance of Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece Honglou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) and the influence of Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, as well as the radicalization of China in the twentieth century and the fundamental upheavals of modernization and revolution. Ying-shih Yu also discusses the decline of elite culture in modern China, the relationships among democracy, human rights, and Confucianism, and changing conceptions of national history. He reflects on the Chinese approach to history in general and the larger political and cultural function of chronological biographies. By situating China's modern encounter with the West in a wider historical frame, this second volume of Chinese History and Culture clarifies its more curious turns and contemplates the importance of a renewed interest in the traditional Chinese values recognizing common humanity and human dignity.

This new translation presents the "Analects" in a revolutionary new format that, for the first time in any language, distinguishes the original words of the Master from the later sayings of his disciples and their followers, enabling readers to experience China's most influential philosophical work in its true historical, social, and political context.