|
Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Oriental religions
It is widely claimed that notions of gods and religious beliefs are
irrelevant or inconsequential to early Chinese ("Confucian") moral
and political thought. Rejecting the claim that religious practice
plays a minimal philosophical role, Kelly James Clark and Justin
Winslett offer a textual study that maps the religious terrain of
early Chinese texts. They analyze the pantheon of extrahumans, from
high gods to ancestor spirits, discussing their various
representations, as well as examining conceptions of the afterlife
and religious ritual. Demonstrating that religious beliefs in early
China are both textually endorsed and ritually embodied, this book
goes on to show how gods, ancestors and afterlife are
philosophically salient. The summative chapter on the role of
religious ritual in moral formation shows how religion forms a
complex philosophical system capable of informing moral, social,
and political conditions.
Kumazawa Banzan's (1619-1691) Responding to the Great Learning
(Daigaku wakumon) stands as the first major writing on political
economy in early modern Japanese history. John A. Tucker's
translation is the first English rendition of this controversial
text to be published in eighty years. The introduction offers an
accessible and incisive commentary, including detailed analyses of
Banzan's text within the context of his life, as well as broader
historical and intellectual developments in East Asian Confucian
thought. Emphasizing parallels between Banzan's life events, such
as his relief efforts in the Okayama domain following devastating
flooding, and his later writings advocating compassionate
government, environmental initiatives, and projects for growing
wealth, Tucker sheds light on Banzan's main objective of 'governing
the realm and bringing peace and prosperity to all below heaven'.
In Responding to the Great Learning, Banzan was doing more than
writing a philosophical commentary, he was advising the Tokugawa
shogunate to undertake a major reorganization of the polity - or
face the consequences.
Translated, edited, and introduced by Edward Y. J. Chung, The Great
Synthesis of Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonon
(Testament) by Chong Chedu (Hagok), is the first study in a Western
language of Chong Chedu (Hagok, 1649-1736) and Korean Wang Yangming
Neo-Confucianism. Hagok was an eminent philosopher who established
the unorthodox Yangming school (Yangmyonghak) in Korea. This book
includes an annotated scholarly translation of the Chonon
(Testament), Hagok's most important and interesting work on
Confucian self-cultivation. Chung also provides a comprehensive
introduction to Hagok's life, scholarship, and thought, especially
his great synthesis of Wang's philosophy of mind cultivation and
moral practice in relation to the classical teaching of Confucius
and Mencius and his critical analysis of Zhu Xi Neo-Confucianism
and its Songnihak tradition. Chung concludes that Hagok was an
original scholar in the Songnihak school, a great transmitter and
interpreter of Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea, and a creative
thinker whose integration of these two traditions inaugurated a
distinctively Korean system of ethics and spirituality. This book
sheds new light on the breadth and depth of Korean Neo-Confucianism
and serves as a primary source for philosophy and East Asian
studies in general and Confucian studies and Korean religion and
philosophy in particular.
In this Tang Classic text from the 9th Century, Daoist practitioner
Shi Jianwu describes how through adapting our own breathing to the
breath of the universe and daily meditation, one can develop an
astral body and 'transcend earthly matters to walk in the divine'.
Richard Bertschinger offers the first annotated English language
translation of this text with practical guidance for Qigong,
meditative practice and personal development. With elements of
Daoist tradition and drawing on Mayahana Buddhist influences, this
ancient guide aims to bring to the fore perceptions and focus on a
natural form of breathing for pure meditation. Much of this Chinese
practice has been misunderstood and lost over the years, until now.
Richard's thoughtful translation and additional comments serve to
distribute Shi Jianwu's original message with open interpretations
for the individual reader.
Ichiro Hori's is the first book in Western literature to portray
how Shinto, Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist elements, as well as
all manner of archaic magical beliefs and practices, are fused on
the folk level. Folk religion, transmitted by the common people
from generation to generation, has greatly conditioned the
political, economic, and cultural development of Japan and
continues to satisfy the emotional and religious needs of the
people. Hori examines the organic relationship between the Japanese
social structure--the family kinship system, village and community
organizations--and folk religion. A glossary with Japanese
characters is included in the index.
Written by a leading authority on Chinese philosophy, Decoding Dao
uniquely focuses on the core texts in Daoist philosophy, providing
readers with a user-friendly introduction that unravels the
complexities of these seminal volumes. * Offers a detailed
introduction to the core texts in Daoist philosophy, the Dao De
Jing and the Zhuangzi, two of the most widely read and most
challenging texts in China s long literary history * Covers the
three main ways the texts can be read: as religious, mystical, and
philosophical works * Explores their historical context, origins,
authorship, and the reasons these seminal texts came into being,
along with the key terms and approaches they take * Examines the
core philosophical arguments made in the texts, as well as the many
ways in which they have been interpreted, both in China itself and
in the West * Provides readers with an unrivalled insight into the
multifaceted philosophy of Daoism and the principles underlying
much of Chinese culture informed by the very latest academic
scholarship
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.
|
|