The Wenzi

The Wenzi PDF Author: Paul van Els
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004365435
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
The Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that enjoyed considerable prestige in the centuries following its creation, over two-thousand years ago. When questions regarding its authenticity arose, the text was branded a forgery and consigned to near oblivion. The discovery of an age-old Wenzi manuscript, inked on strips of bamboo, refueled interest in the text. In this combined study of the bamboo manuscript and the received text, Van Els argues that they belong to two distinct text traditions as he studies the date, authorship, and philosophy of each tradition, as well as the reception history of the received text. This study sheds light on text production and reception in Chinese history, with its changing views on authorship, originality, authenticity, and forgery, both past and present.

The Wenzi

The Wenzi PDF Author: Paul van Els
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004365435
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that enjoyed considerable prestige in the centuries following its creation, over two-thousand years ago. When questions regarding its authenticity arose, the text was branded a forgery and consigned to near oblivion. The discovery of an age-old Wenzi manuscript, inked on strips of bamboo, refueled interest in the text. In this combined study of the bamboo manuscript and the received text, Van Els argues that they belong to two distinct text traditions as he studies the date, authorship, and philosophy of each tradition, as well as the reception history of the received text. This study sheds light on text production and reception in Chinese history, with its changing views on authorship, originality, authenticity, and forgery, both past and present.

The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective

The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective PDF Author: Ning Yu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110213346
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
This book is a cognitive semantic study of the Chinese conceptualization of the heart, traditionally seen as the central faculty of cognition. The Chinese word xin, which primarily denotes the heart organ, covers the meanings of both "heart" and "mind" as understood in English, which upholds a heart-head dichotomy. In contrast to the Western dualist view, Chinese takes on a more holistic view that sees the heart as the center of both emotions and thought. The contrast characterizes two cultural traditions that have developed different conceptualizations of person, self, and agent of cognition. The concept of "heart" lies at the core of Chinese thought and medicine, and its importance to Chinese culture is extensively manifested in the Chinese language. Diachronically, this book traces the roots of its conception in ancient Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine. Along the synchronic dimension, it not only makes a systematic analysis of conventionalized expressions that reflect the underlying cultural models and conceptualizations, as well as underlying conceptual metaphors and metonymies, but also attempts a textual analysis of an essay and a number of poems for their metaphoric and metonymic images and imports contributing to the cultural models and conceptualizations. It also takes up a comparative perspective that sheds light on similarities and differences between Western and Chinese cultures in the understanding of the heart, brain, body, mind, self, and person. The book contributes to the understanding of the embodied nature of human cognition situated in its cultural context, and the relationship between language, culture, and cognition.

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: 1350049581
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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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.

Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy

Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy PDF Author: Antonio S. Cua
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135367485
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 1043

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Book Description
Featuring contributions from the world's most highly esteemed Asian philosophy scholars, this important new encyclopedia covers the complex and increasingly influential field of Chinese thought, from earliest recorded times to the present day. Including coverage on the subject previously unavailable to English speakers, the Encyclopedia sheds light on the extensive range of concepts, movements, philosophical works, and thinkers that populate the field. It includes a thorough survey of the history of Chinese philosophy; entries on all major thinkers from Confucius to Mou Zongsan; essential topics such as aesthetics, moral philosophy, philosophy of government, and philosophy of literature; surveys of Confucianism in all historical periods (Zhou, Han, Tang, and onward) and in key regions outside China; schools of thought such as Mohism, Legalism, and Chinese Buddhism; trends in contemporary Chinese philosophy, and more.

Wen-tzu

Wen-tzu PDF Author: Lao Tzu
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834826941
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Lao-tzu, the legendary sage of ancient China, is traditionally considered to be the author of the Tao Te Ching, one of the most popular classics of world literature. Now Lao-tzu's further teachings on the Tao, or Way, are presented here in the first English translation of the Chinese text known as the Wen-tzu. Although previously ignored by Western scholars, the Wen-tzu has long been revered by the Chinese as one of the great classics of ancient Taoism. In it, Lao-tzu shows that the cultivation of simplicity and spontaneity is essential to both the enlightened individual and the wise leader. This timeless work will appeal to a broad audience of contemporary readers who have come to consider Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching a classic on the art of living.

The Craft of a Chinese Commentator

The Craft of a Chinese Commentator PDF Author: Rudolf G. Wagner
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791493385
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
The Laozi has been translated into Western languages hundreds of times over the past two hundred years. It has become the book of Chinese philosophy most widely appreciated for its philosophical depth and lyrical form. Nevertheless, very little attention has been paid to the way in which this book was read in China. This book introduces the reader to a highly sophisticated Chinese way of reading this Taoist classic, a way that differs greatly from the many translations of the Laozi available in the West. The most famous among the Chinese commentators on the Laozi—a man appreciated even by his opponents for the sheer brilliance of his analysis—is Wang Bi (226–249). Born into a short period of intellectual ferment and freedom after the collapse of the Han dynasty, this self-assured genius, in the short twenty-three years of his life, dashed off two of the most enduring works of Chinese philosophy, a commentary on the Laozi and another on the Book of Changes. By carefully reconstructing Wang Bi's Laozi text as well as his commentary, this book explores Wang Bi's craft as a scholarly commentator who is also a philosopher in his own right. By situating his work within the context of other competing commentaries and extracting their way of reading the Laozi, this book shows how the Laozi has been approached in many different ways, ranging from a philosophical underpinning for a particular theory of political rule to a guide to techniques of life-prolongation. Amidst his competitors, however, Wang Bi stands out through a literary and philosophical analysis of the Laozi that manages to "use the Laozi to explain the Laozi," rather than imposing an agenda on the text. Through a critical adaptation of several hundred years of commentaries on the classics, Wang Bi reaches a scholarly level in the art of understanding that is unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Military Thought in Early China

Military Thought in Early China PDF Author: Christopher C. Rand
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438465173
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Provides a systematic and comprehensive survey of writings on military philosophy in early China. This study of the philosophy of war in early China examines the recurring debate, from antiquity through the Western Han period (202 BCE–8 CE), about how to achieve a proper balance between martial (wu) force and civil (wen) governance in the pursuit of a peaceful state. Rather than focusing solely on Sunzi’s Art of War and other military treatises from the Warring States era (ca. 475–221 BCE), Christopher C. Rand analyzes the evolution of this debate by examining a broad corpus of early Han and pre-Han texts, including works uncovered in archeological excavations during recent decades. What emerges is a framework for understanding early China’s military philosophy as an ongoing negotiation between three major alternatives: militarism, compartmentalism, and syncretism. Military Thought in Early China offers a look into China’s historical experience with a perennial issue that is not only of continuing relevance to modern-day China but also pertinent to other world states seeking to sustain strong and harmonious societies. “With its close engagement with and nuanced interpretation of a truly impressive range of sources, this book illuminates a field that gets too little serious attention.” — Charles Sanft, author of Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty

Chinese Annals in the Western Observatory

Chinese Annals in the Western Observatory PDF Author: Edward Shaughnessy
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 1501517104
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, hundreds of thousands of documents of all sorts have been unearthed in China, opening whole new fields of study and transforming our modern understanding of ancient China. While these discoveries have necessarily taken place in China, Western scholars have also contributed to the study of these documents throughout this entire period. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the contributions of these Western scholars to the field of Chinese paleography, and especially to study of oracle-bone inscriptions, bronze and stone inscriptions, and manuscripts written on bamboo and silk. Each of these topics is provided with a comprehensive narrative history of studies by Western scholars, as well as an exhaustive bibliography and biographies of important scholars in the field. It is also supplied with a list of Chinese translations of these studies, as well as a complete index of authors and their works. Whether the reader is interested in the history of ancient China, ancient Chinese paleographic documents, or just in the history of the study of China as it has developed in the West, this book provides one of the most complete accounts available to date.

Order in Early Chinese Excavated Texts

Order in Early Chinese Excavated Texts PDF Author: Zhongjiang Wang
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137540842
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Recently discovered ancient silk and bamboo manuscripts have transformed our understanding of classical Chinese thought. In this book, Wang Zhongjiang closely examines these texts and, by parsing the complex divergence between ancient and modern Chinese records, reveals early Chinese philosophy to be much richer and more complex than we ever imagined. As numerous and varied cosmologies sprang up in this cradle of civilization, beliefs in the predictable movements of nature merged with faith in gods and their divine punishments. Slowly, powerful spirits and gods were stripped of their potency as nature's constant order awakened people to the possibility of universal laws, and those laws finally gave birth to an ideally conceived community, objectively managed and rationally ordered.

Putting Daoist Thought into Practice

Putting Daoist Thought into Practice PDF Author: Devin K. Joshi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040258646
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
This book shows how Chinese wisdom originating many centuries ago is still highly relevant to our lives today as the Daoist classics provide insightful prescriptions on how to live a life full of happiness, contentment, and healthy longevity. They also provide guidance regarding personal ethics, sustainable economics, and achieving enlightenment. The book contains reflections on how to achieve happiness drawing from the Liezi, a Daoist classic, and it examines Daoist ideas about nourishing life to achieve longevity and the marked similarity between these principles and people living in “blue zones” today with the highest concentration of centenarians. It explores Daoist views on consciousness and enlightenment in the Laozi and Zhuangzi and their close resemblance to some of the most influential “new age” teachings on the subject. It highlights the ethical character of a Daoist sage by drawing on the Daoist classic of the Wenzi and enumerates lessons for transitioning toward a sustainable economy from the Daodejing. Covering multiple dimensions of classical Daoist thought and their contemporary applications to human development and well-being, this text will usefully inform scholars, students, and researchers of Asian studies, religion, and philosophy, and individuals seeking self-improvement and personal wellness.