API tools faq
paste
Advertisement
jonstond2

Neo-Confucianism

jonstond2
Mar 11th, 2016
396
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 86.32 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report
  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Neo-Confucianism is the English reference to the revival of Confucian religious, social, and ethical thought that eventually dominated Chinese official culture from the 13th through the 19th century. As early as the 9th century, there was a renewed interest in Confucianism, which had been eclipsed by Buddhism for roughly seven hundred years. At its core, Neo-Confucianism focused on the works of the Classical Confucian tradition (particularly Confucius’s Analects, the Mencius, and selected chapters from the Book of Rites) as a means of ordering human society. To this was added a metaphysical argument affirming the ultimate reality of the world, which responded to the Buddhist assertion (overly simplified by their Neo-Confucian detractors) that this world is illusion. From this affirmation, Neo-Confucians developed integrated social, political, and philosophical systems pointing toward the individual’s obligation to find the appropriate role within these overlapping systems and thereby contribute to universal harmony. Through the process of self-transformation, one hoped to become a sage: a moral, social, and political paragon. The core Neo-Confucian ideas were developed in the 11th and 12th centuries by a number of different thinkers. There were diverging selections of core texts to study, competing interpretations of Classical Confucian texts, and wide-ranging debates about the role of Neo-Confucians in society and politics. In the 12th century, Zhu Xi streamlined the tradition. He is considered the great synthesizer of Neo-Confucian thought. It is his vision of the Confucian tradition that eventually became state orthodoxy in the 13th century. Anyone who hoped to become a scholar-official in Late Imperial China had to spend years studying and memorizing the core texts and commentaries as collated and written by Zhu Xi. Challenges to Zhu Xi’s orthodoxy arose in later periods, particularly in the Ming dynasty with Wang Yangming; but no alternative fully displaced Zhu Xi’s orthodox status within the official examination system. In 1905, Neo-Confucianism was decoupled from the examination system. In the 20th-century drive to modernize, many criticized Neo-Confucianism as a force that held China back. Still, others, particularly outside the People’s Republic of China, continued to see value in the tradition and developed post-Imperial “New Confucianism.” Since the 1980s, interest in Confucianism has revived in the PRC as well.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. There are two complementary approaches to understanding Neo-Confucianism: intellectual development and historical development. The former focuses on the ideas and terms, exploring how different philosophers infused them with varied meaning over time. The second couches Neo-Confucianism within the sociopolitical framework of Chinese history. Fung 1952 (originally published in Chinese in the 1930s and in English in 1952) was one of the first systematic studies of Chinese philosophy by someone trained in both Chinese and Western philosophy. Fung covered the whole intellectual tradition in China, not just Neo-Confucianism. After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, many argued that traditional Chinese culture was no longer relevant to modern China (the case was most strongly made in Levenson 1958, cited under Sociopolitical Overviews). Chang 1957, however, argued the opposite. This two-volume study was one of the one of the first English sources focusing on Neo-Confucianism from the Song dynasty to the 20th century. The author concluded that there would be a Confucian revival in the near future. Studies of Neo-Confucianism and traditional Chinese culture expanded in the People’s Republic in the 1980s and 1990s. Two of the classic studies are Chen 2004 and Meng 1998. Chen’s work focuses on the Song through Ming periods, while Meng’s continues to the Qing dynasty. Both authors focus on the transformation of key ideas and terms within the tradition and examine the competing doctrines of different schools of thought. Another important set of works was produced by Mou Zongsan (see Mou 1968, Mou 1997, and Mou 1979, cited under Intellectual Lineages). Through painstaking textual analysis, Mou argued that Zhu Xi was not the true intellectual heir of the Northern Song Masters. Makeham 2010 is a collection of essays by leading scholars discussing key Neo-Confucians and the ideas for which they are best known. For non-specialists, Foster 2008 describes the social and intellectual issues and trends in the Song dynasty that contributed to the development of Neo-Confucianism. Liu 1998 provides a readable analysis of the development of the whole Confucian tradition, from its origins through the Ming dynasty, written by a contemporary practitioner of Confucianism. For those who are interested in thinking about the modern relevance of Neo-Confucianism, Keenan 2011 presents an overview of the tradition and outlines the steps for engaging in Neo-Confucian education and self-transformation.
  8.  
  9. Chang, Carsun. The Development of Neo-Confucian Thought. New York: Bookman Associates, 1957.
  10. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  11. The first insider presentation of Neo-Confucianism in English, in two volumes. Chang deals with the whole tradition from the Tang through the Qing, and ultimately argues that there will be a Confucian revival in the modern period.
  12. Find this resource:
  13. Chen Lai 陈来. Song-Ming lixue (宋明理学). Shanghai: Huadong shifan daxue chubanshe, 2004.
  14. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  15. Currently regarded as the best Chinese-language introduction to Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. Written as a collegiate introductory text, it clearly leads the reader through the main contributions of twenty-five Chinese Neo-Confucians but adds an appendix on the Korean thinker Yi Toe’gye.
  16. Find this resource:
  17. Foster, Robert W. “Understanding the Ethical Universe of Neo-Confucianism.” In Teaching Confucianism. Edited by Jeffrey L. Richey, 107–155 New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  18. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311600.003.0008Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  19. This is a brief overview of the development of Song Neo-Confucianism in light of two converging realities: first, the desire to prove the truly moral nature of the universe, and second, the desire to promote a sociopolitical revival through ethical education. Intended for non-specialists.
  20. Find this resource:
  21. Fung, Yu-lan (Feng Youlan 馮友蘭). A History of Chinese Philosophy. Translated by Derk Bodde. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1952.
  22. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  23. Translation of the classic work Zhongguo zhexueshi (中國哲學史) by one of China’s leading early-20th-century scholars. Fung received his PhD from Columbia University, so this work mixes texts and interpretation of all Chinese philosophy with comparisons to Western philosophy. An excellent starting point, particularly the second volume. Reprint, 1983.
  24. Find this resource:
  25. Keenan, Barry C. Neo-Confucian Self-Cultivation. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2011.
  26. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  27. A brief, readable introduction. Discusses the rise of Song Neo-Confucianism and its later forms. Concerned with the program of learning as laid out in the brief Great Learning, Keenan organizes the second part of his book to demonstrate how one might follow the eight-step program of self-cultivation. For upper-level college students and beyond.
  28. Find this resource:
  29. Liu, Shu-hsien (Liu Shuxian 劉述先). Understanding Chinese Philosophy: Classical and Sung-Ming. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.
  30. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  31. Good overview of the whole Confucian tradition from Confucius through the Ming. Written by a modern Confucian to explain the underpinnings of the current New Confucian movement.
  32. Find this resource:
  33. Makeham, John. Dao Companion to Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2010.
  34. DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-2930-0Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  35. A collection of articles each focusing on a theme within the work of a key figure of the Neo-Confucian tradition. The volume covers a range of themes and figures by leading scholars in the fields. For upper-level undergraduates and above.
  36. Find this resource:
  37. Meng Peiyuan 蒙培元. Lixue de yanbian: Cong Zhu Xi dao Wang Fuzhi Dai Zhen (理学的演变: 从朱熹到王夫之戴震). Fuzhou, China: Renmin chubanshe, 1998.
  38. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  39. Meng focuses on the historical development of Cheng-Zhu thought from the Song dynasty through to the Qing. Read in tandem with Meng 1989 (cited under Terminology).
  40. Find this resource:
  41. Bibliographies
  42.  
  43. Hosted by Yale University, Berthrong 1996 is a useful starting point, but has not been updated. Confucianism Bibliography is one of a number of bibliographies related to Chinese religion by Joseph A. Adler. Like Berthrong’s bibliography, Adler’s includes works on Neo-Confucianism in Japanese and Korean, as well as Chinese. Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, by JeeLoo Liu, is part of a larger website devoted to bibliographies on a variety of philosophical topics. Liu’s bibliography is frequently updated and is searchable. Many of the citations have annotations and, when possible, links to the works available online. For keeping track of publications in the PRC, Zhongguo zhexue nianjian is a valuable resource. This is an annual compendium published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing that lists articles and books from the past year. The topics include all subjects of philosophy (Marxist, Western, comparative, and traditional Chinese), so one needs to skim the table of contents to find relevant material. The Bibliography of Asian Studies is a subscription-based annual covering material regarding South, Central, and East Asia. There is a section devoted to Confucianism.
  44.  
  45. Adler, Joseph A. Confucianism Bibliography.
  46. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  47. Good bibliography of English-language sources on Classical Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and modern Confucianism maintained by Joseph Adler. Includes works on Korean and Japanese Confucianism. No annotations.
  48. Find this resource:
  49. Berthrong, John H. Bibliography. 1996.
  50. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  51. Created in 1996, this non-annotated list compiled English-language works on a wide variety of topics relating to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. Includes works on Korean and Japanese Confucianism.
  52. Find this resource:
  53. Bibliography of Asian Studies. 1971–.
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55. Compiled since 1971 and housed at the University of Michigan, this online database contains over 800,000 entries. While the great majority of the database is unrelated to Neo-Confucianism, it is searchable and regularly updated. One drawback is that it is open only to institutions or individuals who subscribe.
  56. Find this resource:
  57. Liu, JeeLoo. Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism.
  58. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  59. A searchable online bibliography of over 260 English-language sources. Combines articles (some with hyperlinked.pdf files) and books, and regularly updated. Many citations have brief annotations.
  60. Find this resource:
  61. Zhongguo zhexue nianjian 中国哲学年鉴.
  62. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  63. Published annually by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, this compendium lists articles and books from the past year on a wide variety of topics.
  64. Find this resource:
  65. Sociopolitical Overviews
  66.  
  67. Discovering why Imperial China went from being one of the wealthiest and most powerful regions of the world to one of the poorest has been one of the major questions in modern Chinese history. Weber 1968 (originally published in 1915) was one of the first to blame traditional Chinese culture. Weber argued that traditional culture urged the individual to conform to the world around oneself, rather than actively promote change. While now recognized as outdated, the paradigm of an inflexible traditional culture that was irrelevant in the modern world persisted. By analyzing the sociopolitical role of Neo-Confucianism in China, historians have confronted Weber’s position. After the Communist Revolution in 1949, Levenson 1958 tolled the death knell of Confucianism. He declared Confucianism moribund in the 20th century and denounced attempts to find links between Confucianism and Chinese culture under Communism. Marxist historians in China also linked Neo-Confucianism to the imperial state and viewed it as a tool of elite repression. Hou and Zhang 1999 uses Marxist analysis to demonstrate how Neo-Confucian thought evolved in response to the sociopolitical circumstances of the Song and Ming dynasties. Metzger 1977, instead, argued for continuity, at least in regard to the goal of building a moral society, and noted that we cannot easily dismiss Confucian concerns as dead once the imperial state fell in 1912. From a more sympathetic “internal” reading of Neo-Confucianism, the sociopolitical concerns of Neo-Confucianism were emphasized in de Bary 1962. While Neo-Confucianism is often viewed as part of the apparatus of state authority, due to its connections with the civil service examinations, Bol 2008 takes a new tack and examines how local elites used the ideals to deal with local concerns, even challenging state authority that was couched in what became accepted Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy.
  68.  
  69. Bol, Peter Kees. Neo-Confucianism in History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.
  70. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  71. A readable account of Neo-Confucianism through Wang Yangming that studies the way the social elite used Neo-Confucianism as a program of learning to develop the individual and promote localist social and political programs.
  72. Find this resource:
  73. de Bary, William Theodore. “A Reappraisal of Neo-Confucianism.” In Studies in Chinese Thought. Edited by Arthur F. Wright and Milton Singer, 81–111. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
  74. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  75. A classic, brief overview of the Neo-Confucian thought from Han Yu, in Tang, through the Northern Song Masters, focusing on their use of Confucian ideas to address sociopolitical problems.
  76. Find this resource:
  77. Hou Wailu 侯外庐, Qiu Hansheng 邱汉生, and Zhang Qizhi 张岂之. Song Ming lixue shi (宋明理学史). Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1999.
  78. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  79. Classic Marxist interpretation of the historical conditions in which Neo-Confucianism developed. Arguing that Marxist analysis offers scientific criteria and methodology, the authors not only deal with the major intellectual developments of Neo-Confucianism, but also couch them in concurrent sociopolitical changes.
  80. Find this resource:
  81. Levenson, Joseph R. Confucian China and Its Modern Fate: A Trilogy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958.
  82. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  83. A dense but important work that posited Confucianism’s death in the 20th century. Levenson looks at the cultural clash of Confucian China and Western culture and argues that Confucianism grew less relevant as Imperial China succumbed to Western power. He further argues that there were no cultural connections between imperial Confucianism and Communist authority.
  84. Find this resource:
  85. Metzger, Thomas A. Escape from Predicament. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.
  86. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  87. Metzger challenged the notion that Confucian ideas were thrown out in exchange for Western ideas. Instead, he believes that many in China saw Western ideas and modernization as added means for solving the key ideal of social harmony.
  88. Find this resource:
  89. Weber, Max. The Religions of China. Translated by Hans H. Gerth. New York: Free Press, 1968.
  90. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  91. Originally published in German in 1915, Weber sought to explain why China did not develop capitalism. Weber’s analysis is considered outdated, but it was very influential in initial analyses of China’s being outstripped by the West. Weber blamed China’s 19th-century decline on Confucian orthodoxy, which he characterized as “pacifist” for encouraging the individual to adapt to the world.
  92. Find this resource:
  93. Primary Sources
  94.  
  95. There is a growing body of primary material in translation for studying Neo-Confucianism. Chan 1963a has been the standard reader in Chinese philosophy since it was first published. It contains excellent translations of important passages and texts. There is some overlap with de Bary, et al. 1999–2000, but the former focuses on philosophy, while the latter places philosophical works in the broader context of Chinese culture. Though dated, Legge 1960 (first published in 1893–1895) is still of interest as it provides parallel Chinese and English texts of the early Confucian Classics from which Neo-Confucians drew inspiration. Legge worked with a Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar on the translation, and the internal notes and commentary often draw upon Cheng-Zhu interpretations of the Classics. Chinese versions of all thirteen of the Chinese Classics that were part of the canon, along with their commentaries, can be accessed in the online searchable database, “Han Quan” (寒泉), maintained by Gugong. The database also has searchable versions of three key Neo-Confucian publications. The Chinese Philosophical Etext Archive also provides access to that database and a few more electronic versions of key Neo-Confucian primary sources in Chinese. One can download several important Song dynasty texts as document (.doc) files from Zhongguo zhexue jiaoxue ziliao zhan. For those looking for a more focused introductory reader of English translations, Huang 1999 presents primary sources written by seven leading Song thinkers and Wang Yangming from the Ming dynasty. Wing-tsit Chan created clear translations for anyone who wants to study the works of the two most important figures in the tradition: Zhu Xi (Chan and de Bary 1967, cited under Zhu Xi’s Works) and Wang Yangming (Chan 1963b). Chan is probably the most prolific 20th-century English translator and disseminator of Neo-Confucian texts. His introductions to the translations are excellent summations of important ideas and trends in the tradition.
  96.  
  97. Angle, Stephen C. Chinese Philosophical Etext Archive–Song (宋) through Qing (凊) Texts.
  98. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  99. Electronic versions of a number of key texts by Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming, and Dai Zhen.
  100. Find this resource:
  101. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷). A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963a.
  102. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103. Primary source material selected by Chan to provide the key documents in the Chinese philosophical tradition.
  104. Find this resource:
  105. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷). Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963b.
  106. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  107. Classic critical edition of Wang Yangming’s Chuanxi lu (傳習錄), with good explanatory introduction. In the Ming dynasty, Wang argued that Zhu Xi had placed too much effort on studying books. Instead, Wang argued that more attention be paid to one’s innate moral nature. Chan’s translation of this foundational text is clear and includes an excellent introduction explaining Wang’s thought.
  108. Find this resource:
  109. de Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Richard John Lufrano, eds. Sources of Chinese Tradition. 2d ed. 2 vols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999–2000.
  110. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  111. The standard reader for introductory courses in Chinese history and culture. There are many excellent translations of Neo-Confucian texts that are lucidly analyzed and related to one another in brief introductory sections.
  112. Find this resource:
  113. Gugong “Han Quan” gudian wenxian quanwen jiansuo ziliao ku 故宮 【寒泉】 古典文獻全文檢索資料庫.
  114. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  115. Searchable database of a number of literary and philosophical texts, including the Thirteen Classics, the Song-Yuan xue’an, the Zhuzi yulei, and the Ming ru xue’an.
  116. Find this resource:
  117. Huang, Siu-chi. Essentials of Neo-Confucianism: Eight Major Philosophers of the Song and Ming Periods. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
  118. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  119. Translations of key passages from seven major thinkers (Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi, and Lu Jiuyuan) in the Song dynasty and from Wang Yangming in the Ming dynasty. More of an introductory reader than an analytical work.
  120. Find this resource:
  121. Legge, James, ed. and trans. The Chinese Classics. 5 vols. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960.
  122. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  123. Originally published 1893–1895, Legge translated the Four Books at the heart of Zhu Xi’s curriculum (Lunyu 論語, Mengzi 孟子, Daxue 大學, and Zhongyong 中庸) as well as the Shujing (書經), Shijing (詩經), and Chunqiu (春秋). Legge’s detailed commentary and notes drew heavily upon the Neo-Confucian commentaries that were standard for those studying for the civil service examinations.
  124. Find this resource:
  125. Zhongguo zhexue jiaoxue ziliao zhan 中國哲學教學資料站.
  126. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  127. National Taiwan University’s website with downloadable document (.doc) files in Chinese. The website seems to be a work in progress and has many of the central texts for the Northern Song Masters and Zhu Xi, but also has some lacunae. For example, there is a page for Lu Jiuyuan, but no document as yet. The same is true for Ming philosophers.
  128. Find this resource:
  129. Zhu Xi’s Works
  130.  
  131. Zhu Xi is, without doubt, the towering figure in the Neo-Confucian tradition. In the 12th century, he was inspired by studying the works of the Northern Song Masters, but found their ideas scattered in numerous works. To pedagogically streamline the tradition and impose his interpretive stamp on it, he compiled an anthology of quotations from the Northern Song Masters, with commentary, entitled Jinsi lu. This text was to be the first a student in Zhu’s academy would read. Wing-tsit Chan provided a complete translation with an introduction, copious notes, and a glossary of terms in Chan and de Bary 1967. Next, the student would take on the Sishu followed by the Wujing. Sishu wujing (四书五经), 1985 is the multivolume compilation of those texts and commentaries that became the orthodoxy for the examination system. Gardner 1986 is a close study of Zhu’s interpretation of one of the Sishu, the Daxue. Gardner discusses Zhu’s use of the text, provides a translation of his commentary, and provides the Chinese text. It is very useful for those wanting to understand Zhu’s methodology. Gardner 2007 is an excellent introduction to Zhu Xi’s interpretation of all the Sishu and how he grounded his curriculum in them. Zhu 2002 brings together all of Zhu Xi’s writings and snippets of conversations collected by students (the Zhuzi yulei) in a set of twenty-seven volumes. Daniel Gardner has translated some of the most important passages from the “collected conversations” and provided commentary in Gardner 1990.
  132.  
  133. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷) and William Theodore de Bary. Reflections on Things at Hand: The Neo-Confucian Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
  134. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  135. Classic translation of the Jinsi lu (近思錄). Compiled mostly by Zhu Xi, with the help of Lü Zuqian. This served as the first book in Zhu Xi’s curriculum for self-transformation. It streamlines and synthesizes the doctrines of previous Northern Song Neo-Confucians, using quotations from their works and providing commentary. The translation includes an excellent introduction and glossary of technical terms.
  136. Find this resource:
  137. Gardner, Daniel K. Chu Hsi and the Ta-Hsueh. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986.
  138. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139. The first part of the book discusses the use of the Daxue (大學, The Great Learning) prior to Zhu Xi, and how Zhu shifted its use. The second part is an annotated translation of the Daxue according to Zhu’s reading. Gardner argues for an interpretive shift from outer to inner focus.
  140. Find this resource:
  141. Gardner, Daniel K. Learning to Be a Sage: Selections from the Conversations of Master Chu Topically Arranged. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
  142. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  143. Gardner has translated some of the most important passages from the voluminous Zhuzi yulei in this slim volume. An excellent introduction to Zhu Xi’s main ideas and approach to education.
  144. Find this resource:
  145. Gardner, Daniel K. The Four Books: The Basic Teachings of the Later Confucian Tradition. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2007.
  146. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  147. A good introduction to Zhu Xi’s commentaries and use of the Four Books as the core of his curriculum for self-transformation.
  148. Find this resource:
  149. Sishu wujing (四书五经). Beijing: Zhongguo shudian, 1985.
  150. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  151. The collection of Neo-Confucian commentaries from thinkers in the Cheng-Zhu line on the classical texts in the core curriculum.
  152. Find this resource:
  153. Zhu Jieren 朱傑人, Yan Zuozhi 嚴佐之, and Liu Yongxiang 劉永翔, eds. Zhuzi quan shu (朱子全書.).27 vols. Shanghai: Anhui jiaoyu chubanshe, 2002.
  154. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  155. Modern edition of Zhu Xi’s collected works, including his literary collection, his commentaries on various classics and historical texts, and the Zhuzi yulei (朱子語類), his “collected conversations” arranged by topic.
  156. Find this resource:
  157. Journals
  158.  
  159. Philosophy East & West is the longest-running journal dedicated to comparative philosophy. It is still one of the best publications in English in this field. The Journal of Chinese Philosophy is also an excellent resource. Its content, however, is not explicitly comparative, though it often contains comparative articles on a special theme. Both of these journals have links to the University of Hawaii, which houses one of the premier comparative philosophy programs. That Chinese philosophy is gaining traction in the fields of comparative and world philosophy is underscored by two relatively new publications. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy and Frontiers of Philosophy in China are both English-language publications. The former is jointly supported by scholars in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. The latter, though not limited to traditional Chinese thought, presents primarily the work of scholars in the People’s Republic to an English-reading audience. Other journals will occasionally publish in the field of Neo-Confucianism, though with less regularity than the four publications above. Asia Major covers many aspects of Chinese culture and history and has published some important pieces. Given its chronological focus, the Journal of Song-Yuan Studies often has articles, research notes, and book reviews on Neo-Confucian topics. Its small circulation can make it hard to come by. The same can be said for the Journal of the Society for Ming Studies.
  160.  
  161. Asia Major. 1923–.
  162. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  163. Published at Academia Sinica in Taiwan, Asia Major covers many topics relating to Chinese culture and history in English.
  164. Find this resource:
  165. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy. 2001–.
  166. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  167. Dao is jointly supported by scholars in the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. While it covers the gamut of Chinese philosophy, it also encourages works in comparative philosophy.
  168. Find this resource:
  169. Ehu yuekan 鵝湖月刊. 1975–.
  170. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  171. Established in Taiwan with the express purpose of promoting the revival of traditional Chinese culture, this monthly journal contains essays on Chinese thought, including Neo-Confucianism and its modern applications.
  172. Find this resource:
  173. Frontiers of Philosophy in China. 2006–.
  174. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  175. Published by Beijing Normal University, this journal translates articles written by Chinese scholars in all fields of philosophy. The journal focuses on Marxist philosophy and traditional Chinese philosophy.
  176. Find this resource:
  177. Journal of Chinese Philosophy. 1972–.
  178. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  179. This is a leading journal that often groups articles around selected themes. Many established scholars publish original work on all aspects of Chinese philosophy, as well as comparative work.
  180. Find this resource:
  181. Journal of the Society for Ming Studies. 1975–.
  182. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  183. Occasionally offers articles on Ming dynasty Neo-Confucianism and tangentially related topics.
  184. Find this resource:
  185. Journal of Song-Yuan Studies. 1970–.
  186. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  187. Published by the Society for Song-Yuan Studies, this yearly journal often has articles related to Neo-Confucianism.
  188. Find this resource:
  189. Philosophy East & West. 1951–.
  190. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  191. This is one of the oldest American journals promoting comparative philosophy between non-Western and Anglo-American philosophy. Not focused on Neo-Confucian or Chinese philosophy, but often contains good articles and reviews.
  192. Find this resource:
  193. Zhongguo zhexue shi 中国哲学史.1992–.
  194. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. Published by the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. This journal covers subjects in Chinese philosophy ranging from classical thought through comparative philosophy and modern developments.
  196. Find this resource:
  197. Terminology
  198.  
  199. Neo-Confucians developed a complex vocabulary to convey their vision of the world and the place of humanity within it. There was a great deal of disagreement, particularly in the 12th century, about the use of many terms. Hence, we find that many letters, essays, and recorded conversations focus on definitions. Scholars turned to the classical canon or to analogies to persuade others that their interpretation was correct. Chen 1986 is one of the clearest attempts to create a thoroughgoing glossary. In this case, it was to support Zhu Xi’s interpretations. Another more exhaustive attempt was the Zhuzi yulei (found in Zhu 2002, cited under Primary Sources: Zhu Xi’s Works). Given the concern that the Neo-Confucians themselves placed on getting the terminology straight (influenced by Confucius’s notion that correct vocabulary was one of the foundations of order), it is not surprising that terminology is an important focus of philosophical scrutiny. Chan 1964, in trying to understand the origins of Neo-Confucian ideas, traces the use of the central concept of li (理, most often translated as “principle”) in all schools of Chinese thought. This analysis makes clear that making li an order-giving principle pervading the cosmos was not a Neo-Confucian invention. Graham 1990 notes that linking li with xing (性, our inner human nature) gave morality a cosmological grounding. One of the arguments that Daoists and Buddhists had marshaled against Confucianism was that its moral system was artificial. Peterson 1986 teases this out. If there is an underlying coherence to the cosmos, then everything and every person has a role in this pattern. Education broadens our scope and helps us comprehend this coherence. Morality is the recognition that others are part of the pattern and working toward harmony with them. The issues then become what to study, how to study, and how to talk about one’s understanding. Meng 1989 is a detailed and thoughtful study of how different Neo-Confucians used a shared vocabulary, but also how they differed in some uses. Graham 1992 is a good place to begin to understand how terms were defined by the Cheng brothers. Graham provides detailed analyses and extensive translations of important passages.
  200.  
  201. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷). “The Evolution of the Neo-Confucian Concept of Li as Principle.” Tsing-hua hsüeh-pao 4 (1964): 123–147.
  202. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  203. Chan traces the development of the use of the key term “principle” (理 li) from the Classical period through to the Song. He notes that it was used by various schools of thought, including Buddhism, to denote a universal order. The Cheng brothers made it central to their thought, asserting the ultimate, moral reality of the phenomenal world.
  204. Find this resource:
  205. Chen Chun 陳淳. Neo-Confucian Terms Explained: The Pei-Hsi Tzu-I. Translated and edited by Wing-tsit Chang (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷). New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
  206. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  207. Translation of the Beixi ziyi (北溪字義), written by one of Zhu Xi’s students. Chen Chun created a glossary of terms to promote Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Neo-Confucianism.
  208. Find this resource:
  209. Graham, A. C. “What Was New in the Ch’eng-Chu Theory of Human Nature?” In Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. By A. C. Graham, 412–435. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
  210. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  211. Graham argues that Cheng Yi in Northern Song brilliantly linked li with xing (性 inner nature). By arguing that li pervades all things and links all things into a coherent universe, Cheng (as elaborated by Zhu Xi) promoted the notion that once we understood how we fit the pattern, we act morally, rather than selfishly. Morality is natural, not artificial.
  212. Find this resource:
  213. Graham, A. C. Two Chinese Philosophers: The Metaphysics of the Brothers Ch’eng. LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1992.
  214. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  215. Originally published in 1958, Graham’s work is foundational to the study of the Cheng brothers. Graham labels Cheng Yi an objectivist and Chang Hao a subjectivist. Each chapter examines a key term through textual evidence.
  216. Find this resource:
  217. Meng Peiyuan 蒙培元. Lixue fanchou xitong (理学范畴系统). Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1989.
  218. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  219. Looking for the “organic system” of Neo-Confucianism, Meng analyzes the key terms shared by Neo-Confucians. He notes that this work is the companion of his Lixue de yanbian (Meng 1998, cited under General Overviews). The latter examines the historical development of Neo-Confucianism, while this work explores the theoretical ideas underpinning it.
  220. Find this resource:
  221. Peterson, Willard J. “Another Look at Li.” The Bulletin of Sung-Yuan Studies 18 (1986): 13–31.
  222. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  223. Peterson provides a cogent analysis of the term li (理), which he prefers to translate as “coherence” rather than “principle.” Therefore, one studies to understand coherence, and so know why things are as they are and how they ought to be. This knowledge becomes the basis of moral action.
  224. Find this resource:
  225. Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and Daoxue
  226.  
  227. One problem with the English term “Neo-Confucianism” is that it covers a number of different labels and categories used in Chinese. Chen 2004 (cited under General Overviews) notes the term came into common use in English with Bodde’s original 1937 translation of Fung 1952 (cited under General Overviews). Fung had used a term coined by a 17th-century Christian convert to help Westerners differentiate Classical Confucianism (ruxue 儒學, literally “scholarly learning”) from Song-Ming Confucianism, which went by many labels: “Learning of the Way” (daoxue 道學), “Learning of Principle” (lixue 理學), “Learning of the Heart-and-Mind” (xinxue 心學), “The Cheng-Zhu School” (Cheng-Zhu xuepai 程朱學派), or “The Lu-Wang School” (Lu-Wang xuepai 陸王學派). Furthermore, Confucianism was sometimes considered a philosophy (usually ruxue), but sometimes as a religion (rujiao 儒教, a term borrowed from Japanese). Tillman 1992 addresses this issue and suggests how this constellation of terms might be applied with greater precision. This sparked an exchange with de Bary, whose response is found in de Bary 1992. The introduction in Makeham 2010 (cited under General Overviews) brings this discussion up to date.
  228.  
  229. de Bary, William Theodore. “The Uses of Neo-Confucianism: A Response to Professor Tillman.” Philosophy East & West 43 (1992): 541–556.
  230. DOI: 10.2307/1399581Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  231. De Bary responds to Tillman’s argument by noting a desire to use English terminology when writing for a broad audience. Specialists may understand daoxue, but non-specialists who do not know Chinese will not. De Bary usefully defines a number of traditional terms used to cover schools of Neo-Confucianism.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. “A New Direction in Confucian Scholarship: Approaches to Examining the Differences between Neo-Confucianism and Tao-Hsüeh.” Philosophy East & West 42 (1992): 455–474.
  234. DOI: 10.2307/1399273Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235. Tillman argues that “Neo-Confucianism” is a problematic term, because it is widely associated with the Cheng-Zhu lineage that became state orthodoxy. He proposes using the term daoxue (tao-hsüeh) to denote the broad revived interest in Confucianism in Song, even those who differed from Cheng-Zhu thought.
  236. Find this resource:
  237. Social Applications of Neo-Confucianism
  238.  
  239. One of the central notions of Neo-Confucianism is that moral knowledge must lead to moral action. Consequently, it is important to understand how Neo-Confucians applied their education. While Neo-Confucianism ultimately came to be identified with state orthodoxy in the examination system, this was not always the case. Chaffee 1985 is an important look at the interplay of politics, education, and social status in the development of the examination system. There is no doubt that the social and political status earned by passing the imperial examinations was a great motivator for many to study the Confucian classics. However, as more people engaged in examination education, diverse interpretations of Confucianism led to competing schools of thought. De Weerdt 2007 is a thoroughly researched look at the way in which social, political, intellectual, and economic factors shaped the way that Neo-Confucians interacted with each other and with the state. As Bol 1990 points out, with elite families orienting sons toward examination education, the vast majority of candidates would fail. However, by the Southern Song, simply participating in the system conferred elite status. Those who did not earn a degree found other outlets for their talents. Tillman 1991 focuses on local granaries and academies founded by Neo-Confucians to promote their social vision and challenge areas previously dominated by Buddhist and Daoist associations. The essays in de Bary and Chaffee 1989 cover the spectrum of the Neo-Confucian ideals for and influence on education throughout Song China. At times the emphasis on the moralization of social action led to conflict with the imperial court. Schirokauer 1975 recounts one Southern Song attempt by Prime Minister Han Tuozhou to suppress “spurious learning.” Yet the suppression may have had the opposite effect, creating a sense of shared identity among those who often held conflicting interpretations of Confucianism. Perhaps in response, Neo-Confucians appealed to the moral authority of the emperor to overrule his ministers and called upon the ministers to subordinate their goals to imperial authority. Ching 1994 draws a very interesting parallel between the growing demands for loyalty from ministers to demands for loyalty in widows. Ching argues that the cult of widow chastity can be connected to this Neo-Confucian position, and further suggests that the trends in later imperial history toward imperial autocracy and greater subordination of women stem, perhaps unwittingly, from this stance.
  240.  
  241. Bol, Peter K. “The Sung Examination System and the Shih.” Asia Major, 3rd ser., 3.2 (1990): 149–171.
  242. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. Bol considers problems arising from the examination system: Those in clerical positions could no longer be promoted to office, alienating clerical staff from officials; degree holders had little practical experience; and as examination participation grew, so did failure rates. However, participation garnered one elite status as a shi (士).
  244. Find this resource:
  245. Chaffee, John W. The Thorny Gates of Learning in Sung China: A Social History of Examinations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
  246. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  247. Chaffee argues that the examination system did have at least three important social functions: the recruitment of civil officials, the definition of a national elite, and the creation of a national literati culture. Chaffee also discusses the competition for authoritative interpretation between private academies and the state examination system.
  248. Find this resource:
  249. Ching, Julia. “Sung Philosophers on Women.” Monumenta Serica 42 (1994): 259–274.
  250. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  251. Ching finds the origins of greater subjugation of women in the Song and after in the Neo-Confucian desires to create a moral society and emphasize loyalty. Ching parallels the subjugation of wife to husband with minister to ruler–a pattern that continues in later Imperial China.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. de Bary, William Theodore, and John W. Chaffee, eds. Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative Stage. Studies on China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
  254. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  255. A conference volume dedicated to education in the Song dynasty. Most of the articles focus on the application of Zhu Xi’s thought to education. A good source for understanding how education permeated Song society from the imperial to the local level, encompassing men, women, and children.
  256. Find this resource:
  257. De Weerdt, Hilde Godelieve Dominique. Competition over Content: Negotiating Standards for the Civil Service Examinations in Imperial China (1127–1279). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
  258. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  259. This is a detailed study of the interplay of Neo-Confucianism, the examination system, the commercial press, and the development of literati culture in Southern Song China. De Weerdt argues because the government initially practiced impartiality, competing interpretations arose and spread via academies and publications.
  260. Find this resource:
  261. Schirokauer, Conrad. “Neo-Confucians under Attack: The Condemnation of Wei-Hsüeh.” In Crisis and Prosperity in Sung China. Edited by John Winthrop Haeger, 163–198. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1975.
  262. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  263. Schirokauer examines the Southern Song weixue (偽學, spurious learning) blacklist compiled by Prime Minister Han Tuozhou. The list covered a variety of literati engaged in Neo-Confucian studies. The list may have enhanced the social prestige of those on it and increased calls for a unified orthodoxy.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. “Intellectuals and Officials in Action: Academies and Granaries in Sung China.” Asia Major, 3rd ser., 4.2 (1991): 1–14.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. Tillman looks at intellectuals founding granaries and academies to encourage communal activity, especially in response to the growth of Buddhist and Taoist associations. The academies were to spread Neo-Confucian ideas and challenge temple-based education, while the granaries encouraged Neo-Confucian charitable activity in what was normally a Buddhist-dominated area.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. Intellectual Lineages
  270.  
  271. Neo-Confucianism is usually divided into two major schools: one descending from Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, the other from Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming. The Cheng-Zhu school is often referred to as lixue (理學), due to its stress on understanding of li (principle, coherence) and its distrust of intuition. The Lu-Wang school is often referred to as xinxue (心學), due to its association of the human mind with li. Though oversimplified, this schema is influential. From the Song dynasty on, one often sees complaints that too many students of one lineage or another were passing the civil service examinations. Claims of favoritism and factionalism abound, particularly in the Ming dynasty. Huang Zongxi was a Ming scholar who eventually died in prison for opposing a politically powerful rival. Huang 1987 provides selected translations from his study of the affiliations of Ming dynasty scholars with brief biographies. At the time of his death in 1610, Huang left an unfinished work that extended his work on lineages back to the Song and Yuan dynasties (Huang, et al. 1986). This work is invaluable for the study of Neo-Confucianism. Not only does it contain brief biographies and lineage charts, but it also provides quotations of key works for many of the major figures. Tillman 1992 is a good place to start to understand the interconnected fellowship of Confucian scholars in the Song. Tillman argues that too many introductory works focus on the Cheng-Zhu school that became state orthodoxy in 1241. Tillman recovers the broader Song discussion about classical texts and their use for self-transformation, rather than state power. In a somewhat similar vein, Bol 1992 argues that Tang dynastic decline led to greater self-confidence in scholars. Bol then examines how Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, and Su Shi offered alternatives to Cheng Yi’s interpretation of Confucianism. Mou Zongsan’s work also takes aim at the overemphasis on the Cheng-Zhu school. Mou 1968 and Mou 1979 are considered a single work in which the author argued against the standard interpretation of two major Neo-Confucian schools and promoted a third, that of Hu Hong in Song to Liu Zongzhou in Ming, as the school that was most true to the ideas of Confucius and Mencius. Wilson 1995 examines the processes by which individuals were recognized as part of the orthodox canon through enshrinement and anthologies.
  272.  
  273. Bol, Peter K. This Culture of Ours: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1992.
  274. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  275. In this excellent combination of social and intellectual history. Bol argues that the decline of the Tang court led scholars to see themselves, rather than the court, as moral authorities based upon their learning. Bol examines key Northern Song figures to trace the development of Neo-Confucianism as a social-cultural force.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Huang, Tsung-hsi (Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲). The Records of Ming Scholars. Translated by Julia Ching and Zhaoying Fang. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1987.
  278. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. Selected translations of Huang’s Ming ru xue’an (明儒學案) that continued his work on intellectual lineages in the Song-Yuan xue’an.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲, Quan Zuwang 全祖望, Chen Jinsheng 陳金生, and Liang Yunhua 梁運華. Song-Yuan xue’an (宋元學案). Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986.
  282. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  283. Detailed analysis of the intellectual schools of thought during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Contains sections of key passages that Huang believed characterized each figure and lineage charts to show affiliations.
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Mou Zongsan 牟宗三. Xinti yu xingti (心體與性體). 3 vols. Taipei: Zhengzhong shuju, 1968.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. This is a detailed textual analysis of the development of Song-Ming dynasty Neo-Confucianism. Mou questions Zhu Xi’s orthodoxy and posits three lines of Neo-Confucianism: Cheng Yi-Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan-Wang Yangming, and Hu Hong-Liu Zongzhou.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. Mou Zongsan 牟宗三. Cong Lu Xiangshan dao Liu Jishan (從陸象山到劉山). Taipei: Xuesheng shuju, 1979.
  290. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  291. Combined with Xinti yu xingti, this is considered the fourth volume of Mou’s study of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. In it he argues that the Lu-Wang school was the real inheritor of the ideas of classical Confucianism. For graduate students and scholars.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Mou Zongsan 牟宗三. “Song-Ming ruxue gaishu (宋明儒學概述)” In Zhongguo zhexue shijiu jiang (中國哲學十九講). By Mou Zongsan 牟宗三, 368–398. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1997.
  294. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  295. A lecture that distills Mou’s arguments in Xinti yu xingti, noting that Hu Hong was the real intellectual heir of the Four Masters of the Northern Song (Zhang Zai, Zhou Dunyi, and the Chengs). Mou also uses the Neo-Confucian tradition to critique modern education.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. Confucian Discourse and Chu Hsi’s Ascendancy. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1992.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. Tillman provides an excellent study of Song Neo-Confucian scholars in conversation with one another. He demonstrates the complex variety of interpretation of Confucianism in the Song dynasty, making clear that the Cheng-Zhu school was one of many.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Wilson, Thomas A. Genealogy of the Way: The Construction and Uses of the Confucian Tradition in Late Imperial China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. Wilson examines the means by which Confucians since the Song created orthodoxy. The two main vehicles were enshrinement in (or removal from) the Confucian temple and compilation of anthologies that included or excluded certain thinkers.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Relationship to Buddhism and Daoism
  306.  
  307. Traditionally, Neo-Confucianism has been regarded as a reaction against Buddhist ideas and an attempt to provide Confucianism with a coherent cosmological theory. While oversimplifying the Buddhist concept of emptiness, Neo-Confucians argued that Buddhism is at heart nihilistic for proposing that all things change and there is nothing permanent and universally true in this world. Neo-Confucians, on the other hand, argued that this world is ultimately real and that by understanding the inherent order to cosmos, we understand how each part fits the whole (see Chan 1964, Peterson 1986, and Graham 1990, cited under Terminology). With this understanding, the individual understands how to act harmoniously with the cosmos. This is the key to morality. Acting against this order is immoral disharmony. Daoism also upheld a natural moral order, but it argued that Confucian moral systems removed humanity from a natural innocence and harmony. Despite Neo-Confucian arguments against Buddhism and Daoism, the tradition does owe some aspects to these rival schools. Fung 1952 (cited under General Overviews) has a chapter devoted to these connections. Ch’en 1970, which is useful for undergraduates, gives a very brief overview of ideas borrowed from Buddhism. Fu 1973 is the best analysis of the Neo-Confucian critique of Buddhism in the Song dynasty. Fu argues that Neo-Confucians oversimplified Buddhist doctrines of emptiness, but were correct in pointing out the important distinction between Buddhist universal compassion and Confucian graded love based upon personal relationships. Ivanhoe 2009 argues directly for the connection of Chan (禪, better known in the West as Zen) Buddhism by beginning his selection of readings not with a piece by Lu Jiuyuan, but with a selection from Hui Neng (b. 638–d. 713), the sixth patriarch of the Chan tradition. Lu Jiuyuan’s contemporaries often accused his emphasis on the mind of being tainted by Buddhism. While Lu denied this, there is clearly a Chan influence in his thought. Bol 1992 (cited under Intellectual Lineages) does not clearly deal with Buddhist and Daoist influences, but the omission makes a different point: Confucianism had within itself the resources to develop as it did. While this is not a standard view, it pays to problematize the interplay of the three traditions.
  308.  
  309. Ch’en, Kenneth. “The Buddhist Contributions to Neo-Confucianism and Taoism.” In Traditional China. Edited by James T. C. Liu and Wei-ming Tu, 155–160. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. This is a very brief and clear summary of the interplay of the three great religious traditions of China.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Fu, Charles Wei-hsun. “Morality and Beyond: The Neo-Confucian Confrontation with Mahayana Buddhism.” Philosophy East & West 23 (1973): 375–396.
  314. DOI: 10.2307/1398336Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  315. Fu examines the interplay of Song Neo-Confucianism with contemporary Buddhist schools. He notes specific borrowings from Buddhism and also critiques the arguments Neo-Confucians used against Buddhism.
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Ivanhoe, P. J. Readings from the Lu-Wang School of Neo-Confucianism. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2009.
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. Using passages from the Tang Chan (Zen) Master Hui Neng, the Song thinker Lu Jiuyuan, and Wang Yangming of the Ming, Ivanhoe teases out the connections between Chan Buddhism and the Lu-Wang School of the Mind.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. The Song Dynasty
  322.  
  323. The Song dynasty (960–1279) was the period in which Neo-Confucianism developed as a major intellectual and social force. Bol 1992 (cited under Intellectual Lineages) outlines the Tang dynasty antecedents and the social milieu in which scholars took renewed interest in Confucianism as a means of personal development and social change. During the Northern Song (960–1127), Confucianism was used in a wide variety of ways. While a great deal of attention has been paid to the philosophical ideas of Song thinkers, especially the those who influenced Zhu Xi’s thought, one should not overlook alternative visions. One of his greatest rivals was Lu Jiuyuan. Ching 1974 crystallizes their differences. Ouyang Xiu represented a branch of Neo-Confucianism that still valued the literary and historical traditions as means of self-cultivation, and Liu 1967 is typical of a popular genre within Neo-Confucian studies: the intellectual biography. A number of works examine the Song period and the various interpretations of Confucianism through the lens of outstanding individuals. One of the most influential Song interpretations was that of Wang Anshi. Wang attempted a thoroughgoing reform of the political, economic, and educational systems in the 11th century. Liu 1959 is a clear description of Wang’s program, known as the Xinfa (新法, New Policies). This program generated a great deal of dissent and led to political and intellectual factionalism for the remainder of the Song. Bol 1993 captures the two conflicting visions of Wang and the opposition surrounding Sima Guang. Wyatt 1996 describes the culture of dissent through the lens of Shao Yong. Shao Yong focused on numerology to understand the cosmos, which makes him an outlier in the Neo-Confucian tradition. Nevertheless, Wyatt argues that he, too, sought to prove that the cosmos was underpinned by moral order. Liu 1988 makes the case that factionalism was one of the main reasons scholars retreated from politics and focused on moral cosmology. Unlike those who argue Song was a dynamic period, Liu argues that power politics created a stifling atmosphere that forced Chinese thought and society to “turn inward” during the Southern Song, rather than look out to address sociopolitical problems as in the Northern Song. In a similar vein, Hartwell 1971 blames the Song Confucian moral-didactic use of history for traditional China’s lack of hypothetical thinking to solve concrete problems. Building on Hartwell’s thesis, Tillman 1982 points to Chen Liang as one man whose Confucian vision did aim to solve practical problems by arguing for something akin to situational ethics.
  324.  
  325. Bol, Peter K. “Government, Society, and State: On the Political Visions of Ssu-Ma Kuang and Wang an-Shih.” In Ordering the World: Approaches to State and Society in Sung Dynasty China. Edited by Conrad Schirokauer and Robert P. Hymes, 128–192. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. Bol examines the different political visions of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang derived from their competing interpretations of Confucianism. Wang believed in an activist government radically reshaping society, while Sima argued for less government intervention.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Ching, Julia. “The Goose Lake Monastery Debate.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 4 (1974): 161–178.
  330. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6253.1974.tb00647.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. The debate was a meeting between Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan to discuss their conflicting interpretations of the Confucian tradition. Ching describes their positions as learning (Zhu) vs. wisdom (Lu). Ching further argues that Zhu’s system of directed learning fit with governing authority better than Lu’s intuitionism.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Hartwell, Robert M. “Historical Analogism, Public Policy, and Social Science in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century China.” American Historical Review 76 (1971): 690–727.
  334. DOI: 10.2307/1851622Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. Hartwell writes that the modes of historical analysis in Song focused on using the past to develop moral-didactic lessons or to derive universal theories. He argues that this prevented the development of hypothetical-deductive reasoning that, in turn, led to a lack of analytical skills for contemporary affairs in Neo-Confucian orthodoxy.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Liu, James T. C. Reform in Sung China: Wang An-shih (1021–1086) and His New Policies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.
  338. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  339. Excellent introduction for undergraduates to understand Song politics. Wang attempted a complete overhaul of the political and economic system and promoted his interpretation of Confucianism in the examinations to recruit supportive officials.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Liu, James T. C. Ou-Yang Hsiu: An Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1967.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. Ouyang Xiu was a Neo-Confucian renaissance man who was a successful poet, historian, and official. His interpretation of Confucianism led him to be broadly skilled, while others were trying to create narrower, more focused curricula.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Liu, James T. C. China Turning Inward: Intellectual-Political Changes in the Early Twelfth Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988.
  346. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. Liu argues that Song literati turned toward metaphysics because service in government was a farce due to the autocratic power of the emperor or his “surrogates.” Liu argues that Neo-Confucianism failed to replace power politics with moral values.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland. Utilitarian Confucianism: Ch’en Liang’s Challenge to Chu Hsi. Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1982.
  350. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  351. Tillman sees Zhu Xi embodying “ethics of absolute ends or personal virtue” and Chen “ethics of social orientations or end results.” Whereas Zhu argued for universal, unchanging morality, Chen believed morality changed with circumstance and responded to practical realities.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Wyatt, Don J. The Recluse of Loyang: Shao Yung and the Moral Evolution of Early Sung Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1996.
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. Shao Yong is best known for his numerological cosmology. While definitely a Confucian, his approach differed from many of his peers, who were textually focused. Wyatt brings to life the political and intellectual culture of the opponents of Wang Anshi’s New Policies.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Zhu Xi
  358.  
  359. Zhu Xi looms large in Neo-Confucianism. He is considered the great synthesizer of Classical and early Song dynasty Confucian thought. His work with Lü Zuqian, the Jinsi lu (Zhu and Lü 2002, cited under Primary Sources: Zhu Xi’s Works), brought together ideas from the Northern Song thinkers Shao Yong, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi. Zhu Xi believed they had recovered the true meaning of Confucius and Mencius, capturing the correct transmission of the Way (daotong 道統). Adler 2008 describes how Zhu Xi wove together ideas from the different daotong figures to dispel his own doubts and to create the foundations of Neo-Confucianism. This single line of transmission excluded many figures who also considered themselves Confucian, but whose interpretations differed. Tillman 1992, Mou 1968, and Wilson 1995 (cited under Intellectual Lineages) challenge Zhu’s delineation. Be that as it may, Zhu Xi’s systematic approach to Confucianism appealed to his contemporaries. Part of his genius was his creation of a clear curriculum for anyone to follow. One started with Jinsi lu, moved to the Sishu, and finished with the Wujing (see the discussion under Primary Sources: Zhu Xi’s Works). Zhu also created a vocabulary for this curriculum. Chen 2004 discusses the origin, use, and interrelation of some of the key terms. Van Norden 2004 is a direct response to Chen 2004 and usefully examines Zhu’s ideas in light of Western philosophical categories. Because of his systematic approach and the tremendous impact his curriculum had on East Asian culture, Zhu is widely studied. Chan 1986 contains the proceedings of an international conference that brought together many of the leading scholars of Zhu Xi from around the world. It is an excellent source for understanding the huge impact Zhu Xi’s work has had. Most of the scholarship on Zhu has been written by historians and philosophers, Ching 2000 uses a religious lens. The author argues that the division of philosophy from religion in Zhu’s thought is a false dichotomy. In a similar vein, Kim 2000 examines Zhu’s ideas regarding the natural world and compares them to Western concepts of natural philosophy. Finally, Fang 2003 is an excellent annotated survey of the best PRC scholarship on Zhu.
  360.  
  361. Adler, Joseph A. “Zhu Xi’s Spiritual Practice as the Basis of His Central Philosophical Concepts.” Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 7.1 (March 2008): 57–79.
  362. DOI: 10.1007/s11712-008-9042-4Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. Zhu Xi experienced a spiritual crisis when he was uncertain that his actions matched moral impulses inherent in us. Adler gives an excellent description of how Zhu then used Zhou Dunyi’s Taijitu shuo (泰籍圖說) to resolve the issue. In this, we see how Zhu shifted what many considered a Daoist or Buddhist text to a Neo-Confucian one.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷). Chu Hsi: New Studies. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1989.
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. A collection of thirty-three essays from one of the most influential Zhu Xi scholars. The essays cover a broad range of topics, including analyses of key terms, social programs, and interpersonal communication.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Chan, Wing-tsit (Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷), ed. Chu Hsi and Neo-Confucianism. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1986.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. The proceedings from an international conference on Zhu Xi that brought together the leading scholars from East Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Contains thirty-one essays.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Chen Lai (陈来). “The Discussion of Mind and Nature in Zhu Xi’s Philosophy.” Translated by Robert W. Foster. In Chinese Philosophy in an Era of Globalization. Edited by Robin Wang, 75–98. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. Chen is widely regarded as the leading contemporary Zhu Xi scholar. This is an excellent introduction to Zhu’s core project connecting human nature with the moral order of the cosmos, by discussing the terms li (理), qi (氣), xin (心), and xing (性).
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Ching, Julia. The Religious Thought of Chu Hsi. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. Ching argues that much of what has been written about Zhu Xi treats him as a rationalist philosopher, rather than a religious thinker. She credits this to the Jesuits, who believed that Zhu was a materialist whose work impeded religious thought. Ching treats Zhu as a man very much concerned with questions central to religion and the spirit.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Fang, Xudong. “Contemporary Chinese Studies of Zhuzi in Mainland China.” Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 3.1 (2003): 121–141.
  382. DOI: 10.1007/BF02910344Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. Fang surveys the work of mainland scholars on Zhu Xi since 1980. This is very useful for those looking for Chinese-language sources. Fang concludes that the strength of mainland Chinese scholars is their loyalty to the original meanings of the texts, rather than using them as springboards for other developments.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Kim, Yung Sik. The Natural Philosophy of Chu Hsi (1130–1200). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2000.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. While most studies of Zhu Xi focus on the concept of li (理) and its connection to a moral universe, Kim instead focuses on qi (氣) in his philosophy. Kim argues that Zhu Xi developed a type of natural philosophy through his investigation of the world in hope of discerning the underlying moral pattern.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Van Norden, Bryan W. “What Is Living and What Is Dead in the Confucianism of Zhu Xi?” In Chinese Philosophy in an Era of Globalization. Edited by Robin Wang, 99–120. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004.
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391. Van Norden responds to Chen 2004 in the same volume. Trained in philosophy, Van Norden assesses Chen’s arguments and Zhu Xi’s ideas in light of Western philosophical categories.
  392. Find this resource:
  393. Later Neo-Confucians
  394.  
  395. Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism became state orthodoxy in the late Song, partly to bolster a declining government. When the Song fell to the Mongols in 1279, the civil service examinations were discontinued. In fact, the Mongols established a racial hierarchy that discriminated against Chinese as political officials. However, the Mongols ultimately reinstated the Confucian-based examinations using Cheng-Zhu interpretations in 1315. The Cheng-Zhu interpretation remained orthodoxy until the examination system was abolished in 1905. De Bary 1981 provides a good overview of the processes by which it came to be adopted (after suppression) by the late Song court and then by the Mongols. Langlois 1981 describes the lengths to which Chinese scholars went to justify service under the Mongols and to promote Confucian values in a political atmosphere unfriendly to them. Chan and de Bary 1982 brings together essays from a number of leading scholars to initiate the study of Chinese thought during the Yuan dynasty. De Bary was certainly at the forefront of promoting the study of Neo-Confucianism as a dynamic worldview that changed to meet the needs of Chinese society (in contrast to Weber 1968 and Levenson 1958, both cited under Sociopolitical Overviews). This theme is also in de Bary 1970, another classic collection of essays that broadened the understanding of Ming thought beyond the dominant figure of Wang Yangming. For understanding Wang, it is best to start with the introduction in Chan 1963b (cited under Primary Sources) and Ching 1976. The tension between Wang Yangming’s thought and Zhu Xi’s has been one of the central issues for Neo-Confucian studies. Where Zhu emphasized learning, Wang stressed moral intuition. Yu 1976 posits that by the late Ming, scholars were tired of this morally focused debate and sought concrete evidence to support Zhu’s position. Thus, Yu argues kaozheng (考證 “evidential learning”) was a natural outgrowth of the Song debate, rather than a radical break from it. Kaozheng scholars studied the classical tradition but bypassed the Song commentaries. Elman 1990 focuses on the Qing development of kaozheng, connecting it to the growing commercialization of the Jiangnan region and disenchantment with orthodoxy. Peterson 1979 argues that this disenchantment was already in place by the late Ming. Fang Yizhi saw the contradiction between moralistic orthodoxy and materialist society and decided that a private life of pure scholarship would be best.
  396.  
  397. Chan, Hok-lam, and William Theodore de Bary, eds. Yüan Thought: Chinese Thought and Religion under the Mongols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. A vital source for understanding the period between the Song and the Ming. Two-thirds of this conference volume is devoted to the uses of Confucianism as Chinese adapted to living under non-Confucian Mongol rule.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Ching, Julia. To Acquire Wisdom: The Way of Wang Yang-Ming. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. A clear introduction to the chronological development of Wang Yangming’s thought. Ching examines Wang’s thought in its own right and in comparison to Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy, with which he is often put in tension. Ching also provides a glossary of the key terms in Wang’s philosophical vocabulary.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. de Bary, William Theodore, ed. Self and Society in Ming Thought. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. An excellent conference volume that explores a number of issues in Ming dynasty thought. Not solely focused on Neo-Confucianism, but most of the essays focus on specific thinkers or schools of Ming Neo-Confucianism. For graduate students and specialists.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. de Bary, William Theodore. Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind-and-Heart. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.
  410. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. De Bary presents three important essays. The first traces the path by which Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism became state orthodoxy under the Mongols. The second focuses on key figures in late Song and Yuan thought. The final chapter discusses Neo-Confucianism in Japan. Graduate students and specialists.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Elman, Benjamin A. From Philosophy to Philology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. Elman describes the process by which kaozheng (考證) textual analysis arose in the Qing dynasty. Kaozheng scholars historicized the classics and attempted to read them as documents from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, rather than relying on the moralizing commentaries of the Cheng-Zhu school.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Langlois, John D. “Political Thought in Chin-Hua under Mongol Rule.” In China under Mongol Rule. Edited by John D. Langlois, 137–185. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. Langlois’ chapter explains the literati response to Mongol rule by focusing upon scholars in Jinhua, in central Zhejiang. Jinhua scholars synthesized Cheng-Zhu moralism with Chen Liang’s Confucian pragmatism, and Song dynasty statecraft. The result argued for political engagement despite amoral Mongol leadership.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Peterson, Willard J. Bitter Gourd: Fang I-Chih and the Impetus for Intellectual Change. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. A combination of translation, analysis, and biography. Peterson uses Fang Yizhi’s critique of late Ming society (too materialist, too oriented toward money) to discuss the shift away from Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy toward kaozheng. Disgusted with society, Fang argued for a retreat to private scholarship prior to the Manchu conquest.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Yu Yingshi 余英時. “Cong Song-Ming rujia de fazhan lun Qingdai sixiang shi” (從宋明儒家的發展論清代思想史). In Lishi yu sixiang (歷史與思想). By Yu Yingshi 余英時, 87–119. Taipei: Lianjing chuban shiye gongsi, 1976.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. Yu argues that Zhu Xi (characterized as “intellectualism”) and Lu Jiuyuan (“anti-intellectualism”) create the problematique of the Ming dynasty. Rather than argue that Ming-Qing kaozheng evidential scholarship was a break with Song thought, Yu argues “intellectualists” sought evidence against “anti-intellectualists.”
  428. Find this resource:
  429. New Confucianism
  430.  
  431. In 1957, Carsun Chang, Tang Junyi, Mou Zongsan, and Xu Fuguan published “A Manifesto for a Re-appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture” (appended to Chang 1957, cited under General Overviews). The four scholars were responding to what they considered a Western misperception that Chinese culture was moribund and incompatible with modernity. Their manifesto is a passionate defense of Chinese culture, arguing for its place in modernity. Bresciani 2001 is a good overview of those who have engaged in this project (as in the case of Fung Youlan) before the manifesto. In general, New Confucianism has been divided into three generations: the early 20th century, mid-century after the founding of the PRC, and the late 20th century. Liu 2003 is a book-length examination of the leading figures, including the author. Liu notes that xiandai xinruxue (現代新儒學), used in the PRC, covers a broader intellectual movement, while dangdai xinrujia (當代新儒家), used in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the diaspora, has a narrower scope, somewhat akin to Zhu Xi’s daotong. Liu posits three epochs of Confucianism: Classical, Song-Ming, and Contemporary. Contemporary Neo-Confucianism is further divided into the three generations, giving the sense of cultural transmission from China, to Taiwan and Hong Kong, and expanding overseas. Chan 2011 is one of the first English-language volumes to tackle the complex thought of Mou Zongsan, who stands at the heart of New Confucianism. Billioud 2012 focuses on the central concept of Mou’s thought: moral metaphysics. Mou continued the Song-Ming project, arguing for a moral cosmological order, but now in dialogue with Immanuel Kant’s metaphysics of morals. One issue separating Western and Chinese concepts of the divine is transcendence versus immanence. Ames 2001 explains this issue through the thought of Mou and Li Zehou. Ames’ conclusion is that Heaven and humanity work together to create the cosmos, thus reintroducing religiosity to Confucianism, when many recent studies focused solely on its philosophical aspects. Yu 1998 noted the concern that the renewed interest in Confucianism lacked social grounding in institutional practice. If interest was only theoretical, Yu argued it would whither. Makeham 2008 focuses on the dialogue among academics in Chinese areas since the 1980s. His scope is broader than Liu’s, and his conclusion is that this conversation represents both orthodoxy formation and cultural nationalism. This connection to nationalism is also argued in Chan 2011.
  432.  
  433. Ames, Roger. “New Confucianism.” In Chinese Political Culture, 1989–2000. Edited by Shiping Hua, 70–99. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2001.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. Ames examines differing views of divine immanence and transcendence in Western and Chinese thought. Using Li Zehou and Mou Zongsan, Ames argues Chinese thought finds ultimate truth in humans working with Heaven to creatively shape the cosmos. Consequently, Ames believes that the New Confucians reintroduced religiosity to the tradition.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Billioud, Sébastien. Thinking through Confucian Modernity: A Study of Mou Zongsan’s Moral Metaphysics. Boston: Brill, 2012.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. Mou Zongsan was one of the towering figures of 20th-century Confucian thought. Billioud translates and analyzes Mou’s work, constructing his “moral metaphysics” in dialogue with Immanuel Kant’s “metaphysics of morals.”
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Bresciani, Umberto. Reinventing Confucianism: The New Confucian Movement. Taipei: Taipei Ricci Institute for Chinese Studies, 2001.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. A good overview of the development of the New Confucian movement from the early 20th century to the end of that century. Looks at the major thinkers in the three generations into which the movement has been divided.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Chan, N. Serina. The Thought of Mou Zongsan. Boston: Brill, 2011.
  446. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004212114.i-340Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. Chan attempts to explain the Mou’s broad-ranging connections to Xiong Shili, Hegel, and (especially) Kant. Chan also links the development of the New Confucian Movement to Han Chinese nationalism confronting the Westernized modern world.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Cheng, Chung-ying (Cheng Zhongying 成中英). New Dimensions of Confucian and Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. A collection of essays by one of the leading Confucian scholars in the United States. Cheng’s essays put Confucian philosophical concepts into dialogue with Western philosophy and attempted some synthesis, rather than separation.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Liu, Shu-hsien (Liu Shuxian 劉述先). Essentials of Contemporary Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. Written by one of the leading proponents of the contemporary vitality of Neo-Confucianism. Liu posits three generations of Neo-Confucianism from the early 20th century to the early 21st. Liu sees Neo-Confucianism becoming more international with each generation and more relevant to global culture.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Makeham, John. Lost Soul: “Confucianism” in Contemporary Chinese Academic Discourse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. Makeham focuses on the growth of Confucian studies since the 1980s, when the PRC government encouraged scholarship on Confucianism. The discourse connects academics in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. An essential source for understanding modern Confucianism.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Yu Yingshi 余英时. Xiandai ruxue lun (现代儒学论). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1998.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. A brief collection of essays by one of the leading proponents of modern Confucianism. Yu argues that after 1949 Confucian practice waned, so that most discourse involved ideals. However, without grounding Confucian ideals in social practice and institutions, Yu believes that Confucianism cannot adapt to contemporary needs.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Modern Applications of Neo-Confucianism
  466.  
  467. The notion that Confucianism is dead in the modern world was incorrect. Scholars have mined the conceptual resources of Confucianism, adapting them to the modern world and contributing new interpretations. The interest in Confucian ideas extends beyond what Tu Wei-ming termed “Cultural China” (the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Chinese diaspora). At the same time, some have called into question the universality of human rights based in the United Nations’ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” In the 1990s, Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew argued that the Declaration’s Western values did not fit “Asian values.” de Bary and Tu 1998 derives from a conference addressing this issue. While there is no single position within the published papers, the editors have long argued for the compatibility of human rights and Confucian values. Daniel Bell has been promoting the relevance of Confucian thought to global issues for a number of years. Bell 2006 is an interesting critique of the applicability of Western liberal democratic ideals to traditionally Confucian societies. Rather than argue for an unbridgeable West-East polarity, Bell suggests that liberal democracy can adapt to traditional cultures. The essays in Bell 2008 take a slightly different approach. Here the main argument is that Western liberal values can be developed from liberal interpretations of Confucianism, such as promoted by de Bary and Tu. Related to this debate on values is the discourse between feminism and Confucianism. While traditional China was unquestionably patriarchal, Rosenlee 2006 attempts to reconcile feminism with Confucian values for human flourishing. Angle 2010 applies Neo-Confucian ideas to contemporary issues. Working from the Neo-Confucian vision of a cosmos ordered by “coherence” (li 理), Angle proposes that one can understand the underlying structure of the cosmos and learn to promote personal and social harmony (he 和). This is a detailed work of comparative philosophy that places Confucian thought in dialogue with contemporary Western philosophers. Tu 1989 directly promotes Confucianism as a religion. Tu analyzes the Zhongyong to establish his idea of anthropocosmic harmony, whereby Heaven and humans are co-creators of the world, in which ultimate meaning is found. Building upon this, Tu 2001 argues for human responsibility as custodians of the natural world. Tu’s work on Confucian religiosity inspired Sun 2013 to explore the questions of how Confucianism came to be considered a “world religion” and whether it can now be considered a living religion. Finally, Taylor 1990 argues that the religious dimensions of Confucianism have been lost in modern scholarly analysis of the tradition. Taylor’s essays describe Confucianism through the lens of religious studies.
  468.  
  469. Angle, Stephen C. Sagehood: The Contemporary Significance of Neo-Confucian Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
  470. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385144.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. Angle argues that Neo-Confucian ideals of sagehood have much to contribute not just to the history of China, but also to contemporary Western philosophy. Drawing primarily on Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, Angle familiarizes readers with Chinese terms, then embarks upon comparative analysis with Western virtue ethics.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Bell, Daniel. Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context: Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006.
  474. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  475. Focusing on what many consider the three foundations of liberal democracy (human rights, democracy, and capitalism), Bell critiques the position that these are universal human values. At the same time, he argues that they can and should be promoted in East Asia, but infused with traditional ideas drawn from Confucian values.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Bell, Daniel, ed. Confucian Political Ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
  478. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. These essays compare and contrast liberal Confucian thought (such as proposed by Wei-ming Tu) with Western Enlightenment political ideals, such as civil society, justice, pluralism, feminism, and just war. The authors argue that these concepts can be built on a Confucian foundation that would resonate in East Asia.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. de Bary, William Theodore, and Weiming Tu (Du Weiming 杜維明), eds. Confucianism and Human Rights. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. This collection of essays responds to the “Asian values” argument. The essays bring together the main ways in which human rights and Confucianism both seek to promote human flourishing; but there is some debate between them whether Confucianism is still viable in contemporary China.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Rosenlee, Li-Hsiang Lisa. Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. Tackling the perception that Confucian patriarchy oppresses Chinese women, Rosenlee critiques this as a non-native feminist perspective. Using the classical tradition and a historical reading of gender in China, Rosenlee attempts to build a Confucian feminism.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Sun, Anna Xiao Dong. Confucianism as a World Religion: Contested Histories and Contemporary Realities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. Sun traces the path by which Confucianism was named a world religion and then examines the recent growth of Confucianism in the People’s Republic of China. Sun combines a number of research methods to develop a well-rounded understanding of the present condition of Confucianism.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Taylor, Rodney L. The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. This is a collection of essays by one of the leading American scholars of Confucianism. Taylor argues that Confucianism needs to be viewed as a religious tradition within East Asia. Consequently, Taylor interprets Confucianism through the vocabulary of religious studies.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Tu, Weiming (Du Weiming 杜維明). Centrality and Commonality: An Essay on Confucian Religiousness. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. In this interpretive essay focusing on Zhongyong (中庸), Tu develops his notion of the “anthropocosmic” vision connecting humanity and Heaven. He argues for viewing this religious connection as central to Confucianism, and against the notion that Confucianism is either a social or ethical philosophy devoid of religious overtones.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Tu, Weiming (Du Weiming 杜維明). “The Ecological Turn in New Confucian Humanism: Implications for China and the World.” Daedalus 130.4 (2001): 243–264.
  502. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  503. Using the notion of “the unity of Heaven and humanity” (tianrenheyi 天人合一), Tu develops a Confucian justification for ecologically sustainable practices. By recovering the religiosity of the anthropocosmic vision, in which humans are part of the natural world, we realize our interdependence and responsibility.
  504. Find this resource:
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement
Public Pastes
Advertisement
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!