Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy

Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Keping Wang
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789811617157
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book considers the Chinese conception of beauty from a historical perspective with regard to its significant relation to human personality and human existence. It examines the etymological implications of the pictographic character mei, the totemic symbolism of beauty, the ferocious beauty of the bronzeware. Further on, it proceeds to look into the conceptual progression of beauty in such main schools of thought as Confucianism, Daoism and Chan Buddhism. Then, it goes on to illustrate through art and literature the leading principles of equilibriumharmony, spontaneous naturalness, subtle void and synthetic possibilities. It also offers a discussion of modern change and transcultural creation conducted with particular reference to the theory of the poetic state par excellence (yi jing shuo) and that of art as sedimentation (ji dian shuo). Keping Wang is a Senior Fellow of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and Emeritus Professor of CASS University. His recent publications are Harmonism as an Alternative (2019), Chinese Culture of Intelligence (2019), and Rediscovery of Sino-Hellenic Ideas (2016).

Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy

Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Keping Wang
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789811617157
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book considers the Chinese conception of beauty from a historical perspective with regard to its significant relation to human personality and human existence. It examines the etymological implications of the pictographic character mei, the totemic symbolism of beauty, the ferocious beauty of the bronzeware. Further on, it proceeds to look into the conceptual progression of beauty in such main schools of thought as Confucianism, Daoism and Chan Buddhism. Then, it goes on to illustrate through art and literature the leading principles of equilibriumharmony, spontaneous naturalness, subtle void and synthetic possibilities. It also offers a discussion of modern change and transcultural creation conducted with particular reference to the theory of the poetic state par excellence (yi jing shuo) and that of art as sedimentation (ji dian shuo). Keping Wang is a Senior Fellow of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and Emeritus Professor of CASS University. His recent publications are Harmonism as an Alternative (2019), Chinese Culture of Intelligence (2019), and Rediscovery of Sino-Hellenic Ideas (2016).

Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy

Beauty and Human Existence in Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Keping Wang
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811617147
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
This book considers the Chinese conception of beauty from a historical perspective with regard to its significant relation to human personality and human existence. It examines the etymological implications of the pictographic character mei, the totemic symbolism of beauty, the ferocious beauty of the bronzeware. Further on, it proceeds to look into the conceptual progression of beauty in such main schools of thought as Confucianism, Daoism and Chan Buddhism. Then, it goes on to illustrate through art and literature the leading principles of equilibriumharmony, spontaneous naturalness, subtle void and synthetic possibilities. It also offers a discussion of modern change and transcultural creation conducted with particular reference to the theory of the poetic state par excellence (yi jing shuo) and that of art as sedimentation (ji dian shuo).

Human Freedom and the Values of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful

Human Freedom and the Values of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful PDF Author: Feng Qi
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110985756
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
This is a philosophical book about the idea of human freedom in the context of Chinese philosophy on truth, the good, and beauty. The book shows that there is a coherent and sophisticated philosophical discourse on human freedom throughout the history of Chinese Philosophy in aesthetics, ethics, and epistemology. Feng Qi discusses the development of freedom in light of the Marxist theory of practice. In the history of philosophy, the relation between thought and existence, which is fundamental to philosophy, has stimulated many debates. These debates, though they have assumed diverse forms in Chinese and Western philosophy, have eventually concentrated on three inquiries: the natural world (the objective material world); the human mind; and the concepts, categories, and laws that are representative forms of nature in the human mind and in knowledge. In Chinese philosophy, the three inquiries are summarized using three notions: qi (气 breath, spirit), xin (心 heart), dao (道 the Way). What relationship do the three notions have with each other? This book explores the way to human freedom through the divergent paths in Chinese philosophy. This book’s investigation of human activities brings the typical Chinese philosophical discourse from the cosmological realm into the realm of human beings as individuals. In this regard, the three inquiries can be described as being about real life, ideals, and individuals.

Bodies in China

Bodies in China PDF Author: Eva Kit Wah Man
Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
ISBN: 9629967855
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This book seeks to engage Chinese philosophy to reframe existing Western scholarship in the fields of gender, body, and aesthetics. The assembled essays cover traditional and current global issues related to Chinese female bodies by addressing the following questions: Does Confucianism rule out the capacity of women as moral subjects, and hence, as aesthetic subjects? Do forms of Chinese philosophy in some ways contribute or correspond to the patriarchal Confucian culture? In what ways can Chinese philosophy provide alternative perspectives sought by Western feminist scholars? Professor Man uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore feminist philosophy through the issues of the body, aesthetical representation and gender politics, which are simultaneously historical and contextual. The first section of the book, "Body Discourses in Chinese Philosophy", brings in theoretical and philosophical discussions of Western traditions such as those of Plato, Descartes, and Kant, to examine their views on body and mind and how the Chinese philosophical ideas offered by Confucians and Daoists provide alternative body ontologies for critical feminist practices. The second section, "Chinese Bodies, Aesthetics and Art", reviews female aesthetical representations in classical traditional Chinese works ranging from The Books of Songs, women's embroidery, sexuality and suggested ways of kissing, and the contemporary body art represented by the controversial body artist He Chengyao. These chapters demonstrate the intertwining relationship among body, sexuality, aesthetics and the ascribed gendered roles in social environments. The third section, "Chinese Bodies and Gender Matters", aims to unfold the changing perceptions of femininity from imperial China to contemporary China. Case studies touch on female body ideals in the literary fantasies in late Ming, in the iron girls in Communist China, and in the Olympics Hoopla at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This section also discusses Hong Kong women's fashion in the 1960s and how their bodies were shaped by colonial politics. Finally, the subject of sex and emotion in the development of ethical discourse of Chinese female sex workers from late Qing to contemporary society is discussed alongside the impact of the global economy on female beauty today. Overall, this book discusses new conceptual models that feminist scholars are using to displace dualism and emancipate notions of the body from Cartesian mechanistic models and metaphors. The different chapters review traditional and contemporary alternatives to understanding female bodies in Chinese society. Eva Man is professor of humanities and creative writing at Hong Kong Baptist University. She publishes widely in comparative aesthetics, feminist philosophy, cultural studies, art, and cultural criticism.

Contemporary Chinese Philosophy

Contemporary Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Chung-Ying Cheng
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470752017
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Contemporary Chinese Philosophy features discussion of sixteen major twentieth-century Chinese philosophers. Leading scholars in the field describe and critically assess the works of these significant figures. Critically assesses the work of major comtemporary Chinese philosophers that have rarely been discussed in English. Features essays by leading scholars in the field. Includes a glossary of Chinese characters and definitions.

Trying Not to Try

Trying Not to Try PDF Author: Edward Slingerland
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770437621
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A deeply original exploration of the power of spontaneity—an ancient Chinese ideal that cognitive scientists are only now beginning to understand—and why it is so essential to our well-being Why is it always hard to fall asleep the night before an important meeting? Or be charming and relaxed on a first date? What is it about a politician who seems wooden or a comedian whose jokes fall flat or an athlete who chokes? In all of these cases, striving seems to backfire. In Trying Not To Try, Edward Slingerland explains why we find spontaneity so elusive, and shows how early Chinese thought points the way to happier, more authentic lives. We’ve long been told that the way to achieve our goals is through careful reasoning and conscious effort. But recent research suggests that many aspects of a satisfying life, like happiness and spontaneity, are best pursued indirectly. The early Chinese philosophers knew this, and they wrote extensively about an effortless way of being in the world, which they called wu-wei (ooo-way). They believed it was the source of all success in life, and they developed various strategies for getting it and hanging on to it. With clarity and wit, Slingerland introduces us to these thinkers and the marvelous characters in their texts, from the butcher whose blade glides effortlessly through an ox to the wood carver who sees his sculpture simply emerge from a solid block. Slingerland uncovers a direct line from wu-wei to the Force in Star Wars, explains why wu-wei is more powerful than flow, and tells us what it all means for getting a date. He also shows how new research reveals what’s happening in the brain when we’re in a state of wu-wei—why it makes us happy and effective and trustworthy, and how it might have even made civilization possible. Through stories of mythical creatures and drunken cart riders, jazz musicians and Japanese motorcycle gangs, Slingerland effortlessly blends Eastern thought and cutting-edge science to show us how we can live more fulfilling lives. Trying Not To Try is mind-expanding and deeply pleasurable, the perfect antidote to our striving modern culture.

Anthology of Philosophical and Cultural Issues

Anthology of Philosophical and Cultural Issues PDF Author: Yijie Tang
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811018693
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
This book argues that a general understanding of traditional Chinese philosophy can be achieved by a concise elaboration of its truth, goodness and beauty; that goodness and beauty in Chinese philosophy, combined with the integration of man and heaven, knowledge and practice, scenery and feeling, reflect a pursuit of an ideal goal in traditional Chinese philosophy characterized by the thought mode uniting man and nature.This book also discusses the anti-traditionalism of the May Fourth Movement, explaining that the true value of “sagacity theory” in traditional Chinese philosophy, especially in Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, lies in its insights into universal life. In addition, existing ideas, issues, terminologies, concepts, and logic of Chinese philosophical thought were actually shaped by Western philosophy. It is necessary to be alienated from traditional status for the creation of a viable “Chinese philosophy.” “Modern Chinese philosophy” in the 1930s and 1940s was comprised of scholarly work that characteristically continued rather than followed the traditional discourse of Chinese philosophy. That is to say, in the process of studying and adapting Western philosophy, Chinese philosophers transformed Chinese philosophy from traditional to modern.In the end of the book, the author puts forward the idea of a “New Axial Age.” He emphasizes that the rejuvenation of Chinese culture we endeavor to pursue has to be deeply rooted in our mainstream culture with universal values incorporating cultures of other nations, especially the cultural essence of the West.

Cultivating a Good Life in Early Chinese and Ancient Greek Philosophy

Cultivating a Good Life in Early Chinese and Ancient Greek Philosophy PDF Author: Karyn Lai
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 135004959X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book engages in cross-tradition scholarship, investigating the processes associated with cultivating or nurturing the self in order to live good lives. Both Ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers provide accounts of the life lived well: a Confucian junzi, a Daoist sage and a Greek phronimos. By focusing on the processes rather than the aims of cultivating a good life, an international team of scholars investigate how a person develops and practices a way of life especially in these two traditions. They look at what is involved in developing practical wisdom, exercising reason, cultivating equanimity and fostering reliability. Drawing on the insights of thinkers including Plato, Confucius, Han Fei and Marcus Aurelius, they examine themes of harmony, balance and beauty, highlight the different concerns of scepticism across both traditions, and discuss action as an indispensable method of learning and, indeed, as constitutive of self. The result is a valuable collection opening up new lines of inquiry in ethics, demonstrating the importance of philosophical ideas from across cultural traditions.

The Emotions in Early Chinese Philosophy

The Emotions in Early Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Curie Virág
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190498811
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
This book traces the genealogy of early Chinese conceptions of emotions, as part of a broader inquiry into evolving conceptions of self, cosmos and the political order. It seeks to explain what was at stake in early philosophical debates over emotions and why the mainstream conception of emotions became authoritative.

Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (Second Edition)

Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (Second Edition) PDF Author: Philip J. Ivanhoe
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 9780872207806
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
This new edition offers expanded selections from the works of Kongzi (Confucius), Mengzi (Mencius), Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), and Xunzi (Hsun Tzu); two new works, the dialogues 'Robber Zhi' and 'White Horse'; a concise general introduction; brief introductions to, and selective bibliographies for, each work; and four appendices that shed light on important figures, periods, texts, and terms in Chinese thought.