Author: Christopher S. Agnew
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780295745923
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
"The city of Qufu in north China's Shandong Province is famous as the hometown of Kong Qiu (551-479 BCE)--known in English as Confucius, and in Chinese as Kongzi or Kong Fuzi---and the site of his tomb and temple. Serving the Sage traces the history of the direct descendants of Confucius from the inception of the hereditary title Dukes for Fulfilling the Sage in 1055 through its dissolution in 1935, after the fall of China's dynastic system in 1911. The Kongs' administrative record, the largest such family archive in China, documents the history of northern Chinese agriculture, market formation, rural violence, and rent resistance. Serving the Sage draws on this rich material to address key themes in Chinese social history, such as agricultural commercialization, the structure and function of periodic marketing systems, and the impact of rural violence on political destabilization and social upheavals. The picture that emerges is that of a kinship group descended from Confucius and ruled by a hereditary duke that mobilized substantial and often coercive forces to manage agricultural labor, dominate rural markets, and profit from commercial enterprises. The book also examines how genealogies and ritual texts, through their performance and circulation, reproduced a model of kinship organization that reinforced ducal power. Elites shaped cultural practice and collective memory, while competing with state and popular interests. Confucian ritual was at once a means to reproduce existing social hierarchies and a potential site of conflict and subversion"--
Author: Julia K. Murray
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316516326
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 361
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Book Description
This groundbreaking study highlights the importance of images within Confucianism and to a shrine-tomb for Confucius's buried robe and cap.
Author: Thomas A. Wilson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 484
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Book Description
The authors analyze the social, cultural, and political meaning attached to the cult of Confucius; its history; the legends, images, and rituals associated with it; the power of the descendants of Confucius; the main temple in the birthplace of Confucius; and the contemporary fate of temples to Confucius.
Author: Thomas A. Wilson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 1684173779
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466
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Book Description
"The sacred landscape of imperial China was dotted with Buddhist monasteries, Daoist temples, shrines to local deities, and the altars of the mandarinate. Prominent among the official shrines were the temples in every capital throughout the empire devoted to the veneration of Confucius. Twice a year members of the educated elite and officials in each area gathered to offer sacrifices to Confucius, his disciples, and the major scholars of the Confucian tradition. The worship of Confucius is one of the least understood aspects of Confucianism, even though the temple and the cult were highly visible signs of Confucianism’s existence in imperial China. To many modern observers of traditional China, the temple cult is difficult to reconcile with the image of Confucianism as an ethical, humanistic, rational philosophy. The nine essays in this book are an attempt to recover the meaning and significance of the religious side of Confucianism. Among other subjects, the authors analyze the social, cultural, and political meaning attached to the cult; its history; the legends, images, and rituals associated with the worship of Confucius; the power of the descendants of Confucius, the main temple in the birthplace of Confucius; and the contemporary fate of temples to Confucius."
Author: James A. Flath
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824853717
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
The Temple of Confucius (Kong Temple) in Qufu is the definitive monument to the world's greatest sage. From its humble origins deep in China's past, the home of Confucius grew in size and stature under the auspices of almost every major dynasty until it was the largest and most richly endowed temple in the Ming and Qing empires. The decline of state-sponsored ritualism in the twentieth century triggered a profound identity crisis for the temple and its worshipers, yet the fragile relic survived decades of neglect, war, and revolution and is now recognized as a national treasure and a World Heritage Site. Traces of the Sage is the first comprehensive account of the history and material culture of Kong Temple. Following the temple's development through time and across space, it relates architecture to the practice of Confucianism, explains the temple's phenomenal perseverance, and explores the culture of building in China. Other chapters consider the problem of Confucian heritage conservation and development over the last hundred years—a period when the validity of Confucianism has been called into question—and the challenge of remaking Confucian heritage as a commercial enterprise. By reconstructing its "social life," the study interprets Kong Temple as an active site of transaction and negotiation and argues that meaning does not hide behind architecture but emerges from the circulation and regeneration of its spaces and materials. The most complete work on a seminal monument in Chinese history through millennia, Traces of the Sage will find a ready audience among cultural and political historians of imperial and modern China as well as students and scholars of architectural history and theory and Chinese ritual.
Author: Jun Jing
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804764921
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
This study focuses on the politics of memory in the village of Dachuan in northwest China, in which 85 percent of the villagers are surnamed Kong and believe themselves to be descendants of Confucius. It recounts both how this proud community was subjected to intense suffering during the Maoist era, culminating in its forcible resettlement in December 1960 to make way for the construction of a major hydroelectric dam, and how the village eventually sought recovery through the commemoration of that suffering and the revival of a redefined religion. Before 1949, the Kongs had dominated their area because of their political influence, wealth, and, above all, their identification with Confucius, whose precepts underlay so much of the Chinese ethical and political tradition. After the Communists came to power in 1949, these people, as a literal embodiment of the Confucian heritage, became prime targets for Maoist political campaigns attacking the traditional order, from land reform to the “Criticize Confucius” movement. Many villagers were arrested, three were beheaded, and others died in labor camps. When the villagers were forced to hastily abandon their homes and the village temple, they had time to disinter only the bones of their closest family members; the tombs of earlier generations were destroyed by construction workers for the dam.
Author: Markus Friedrich, Jörg B. Quenzer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111383083
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
Author: Eugene Law
Publisher: 五洲传播出版社
ISBN: 9787508504292
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 656
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Book Description
"Written mostly by native English speakers who are long-term China residents, and edited by people who live and work in China, this book leads a fresh perspective on all things Chinese. It melds foreign and local perspectives into a seamless narrative that allows new light to be cast on China's cities." -- BACK COVER.
Author: Dorothy Perkins
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135935629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 673
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Book Description
Presents a representative cross-section of entries on all aspects of the history and culture of China. Alphabetically organized, the entries include* major cities and provinces* historical eras and figures* government and politics* economics* religion* language and the writing system* food and customs* sports and martial arts* crafts and architecture* important Chinese figures outside of mainland China* important Westerners in China.
Author: Paul R. Goldin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118783875
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 410
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Book Description
This authoritative collection surveys the teachings of Confucius, and illustrates his importance throughout Chinese history in one focused and incisive volume. A Concise Companion to Confucius offers a succinct introduction to one of East Asia’s most widely-revered historical figures, providing essential coverage of his legacy at a manageable length. The volume embraces Confucius as philosopher, teacher, politician, and sage, and curates a collection of key perspectives on his life and teachings from a team of distinguished scholars in philosophy, history, religious studies, and the history of art. Taken together, chapters encourage specialists to read across disciplinary boundaries, provide nuanced paths of introduction for students, and engage interested readers who want to expand their understanding of the great Chinese master. Divided into four distinct sections, the Concise Companion depicts a coherent figure of Confucius by examining his diverse representations from antiquity through to the modern world. Readers are guided through the intellectual and cultural influences that helped shape the development of Confucian philosophy and its reception among late imperial literati in medieval China. Later essays consider Confucius’s engagement with topics such as warfare, women, and Western philosophy, which remain fruitful avenues of philosophical inquiry today. The collection concludes by exploring the significance of Confucian thought in East Asia’s contemporary landscape and the major intellectual movements which are reviving and rethinking his work for the twenty-first century. An indispensable resource, A Concise Companion to Confucius blazes an authoritative trail through centuries of scholarship to offer exceptional insight into one of history’s earliest and most influential ancient philosophers. A Concise Companion to Confucius: Provides readers with a broad range of perspectives on the ancient philosopher Traces the significance of Confucius throughout Chinese history—past, present, and future Offers a unique, interdisciplinary overview of Confucianism Curated by a team of distinguished scholars in philosophy, history, religious studies, and the history of art A Concise Companion to Confucius is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate courses on Confucius and Confucianism. It is also fascinating and informative reading for anyone interested in learning more about one of history’s most influential philosophers.
