Chu Hsi And The Ta Hsueh Neo Confucian Reflection On The Confucian Canon

In 1190, Chu Hsi published an edition of the Four Books, which he ragarded as the basic curriculum for Confucian eduction. Of the four, he recommended that the Ta-hsueh be read first, calling it the "outline for learning." This is a study of the Ta-hsueh text, its history prior to the Sung dynasty, its new prominence in the Sung, and the reasons why Chu Hsi found the text so intellectualy and philosophically compelling. Includes an original annotated translation of the text.

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- From the Five Classics to the Four Books: A Schematic Overview -- The Ta-hsueh before Chu Hsi -- Chu Hsi's Work on the Ta-hsueh -- Chu Hsi's Reading of the Ta-hsueh -- Notes -- Preface to the Greater Learning in Chapters and Verses -- Chinese Text of the Ta-Hsueh Chang-Chü and the “Chi Ta-Hsueh Hou” -- Bibliography -- Glossary -- Index -- Harvard East Asian Monographs.

This text explains the significance of Zhu Xi's interpretation of the Confucian tradition and of the genre of commentary in Eastern philosophy.

Covers topics related to the understanding of Chinese Confucianism. Includes entries in the following categories: arts, architecture, and iconography; astrology, cosmology, and mythology; biographical entries; ceremonies, practices, and rituals; concepts; dynasties, official titles, and rulers; geography and historical events; groups and schools; literature, language, and symbols; and texts.

"A major transformation in thought took place during the Southern Sung (1127-1279). A new version of Confucian teaching, Tao-hsueh Confucianism (what modern scholars sometimes refer to as Neo-Confucianism), became state orthodoxy, a privileged status which it retained until the twentieth century." "Existing studies of the new Confucianism generally depict a single line of development to and from Chu Hsi (1130-1200), the greatest theoretician of the tradition. In this study of unprecedented scope, however, Hoyt Cleveland Tillman offers an integrated intellectual history of the development of Tao-hsueh Confucianism which for the first time places Chu Hsi within the context of his contemporaries. Tillman's methodological strategy allows a rich, complex picture of the Tao-hsueh movement to emerge - one that is sure to transform the field of Sung Confucianism." "To reconstruct the evolution of the Tao-hsueh group, Tillman studies a number of Confucians from four distinct periods, reflecting the basic diversity that existed among them. His discussion is deeply grounded in political and philosophical history and in research on the social networks that joined the members of the Tao-hsueh group. Within this framework, he provides a vivid account of the changing scope of the movement, tracing its development into a "fellowship" and at times a political faction and demonstrating its movement from diversity to gradually increasing exclusiveness, particularly under the influence of Chu Hsi. Close attention is given to confrontational writings and debates within the group, which covered such issues as humaneness, the function of the mind, uses of the Book of Changes, social welfare programs, teaching methods, expediency, and the grounds for knowledge and authority." "A superbly erudite work, Confucian Discourse and Chu Hsi's Ascendancy is an invaluable contribution to the study of the history of Confucian thought in China."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Analects is a compendium of the sayings of Confucius (551–479 b.c.e.), transcribed and passed down by his disciples. How it came to be transformed by Zhu Xi (1130–1200) into one of the most philosophically significant texts in the Confucian tradition is the subject of this book. Scholarly attention in China had long been devoted to the Analects. By the time of Zhu Xi, a rich history of commentary had grown up around it. But Zhu, claiming that the Analects was one of the authoritative texts in the canon and should be read before all others, gave it a still more privileged status in the tradition. He spent decades preparing an extended interlinear commentary on it. Sustained by a newer, more elaborate language of metaphysics, Zhu's commentary on the Analects marked a significant shift in the philosophical orientation of Confucianism—a shift that redefined the Confucian tradition for the next eight centuries, not only in China, but in Japan and Korea well. Gardner's translations and analysis of Zhu Xi's commentary on the Analects show one of China's great thinkers in an interesting and complex act of philosophical negotiation. Through an interlinear, line-by-line "dialogue" with Confucius, Zhu effected a reconciliation of the teachings of the Master, commentary by later exegetes, and contemporary philosophical concerns of Song-dynasty scholars. By comparing Zhu's reading of the Analects with the earlier standard reading by He Yan (190–249), Gardner illuminates what is dramatically new in Zhu Xi's interpretation of the Analects. A pioneering study of Zhu Xi's reading of the Analects, this book demonstrates how commentary is both informed by a text and informs future readings, and highlights the importance of interlinear commentary as a genre in Chinese philosophy.

"A vast and complex tradition foundational to East Asian civilizations, Confucianism continues to be a cultural force of global significance. The Oxford Handbook of Confucianism is a collection of 38 essays that explore the variety, complexity, and richness of Confucianism over time and across regions. These essays are written to be of value to the educated public while presenting new scholarship and fresh perspectives from leading scholars in Confucian studies. Using a range of critical approaches, the volume is divided into four parts. Confucianism presents unique problems to study and interpretation, and the introductory section offers three essays exploring the history and criticism of East Asian and Western constructions of the tradition. The bulk of the volume's essays are divided into three parts. The first part considers Confucianism's development within the Chinese context, centering on historical moments, key figures, and formative texts. The second part analyzes the development, impact, and reach of Confucianism in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and "Boston" Confucianism. The final part offers topical studies of the impact of Confucianism in culture, politics and government, social structures, and ideology, exploring topics as wide-ranging as family, social structure, gender, visual and literary arts, government, ethics, religion, and ritual. Expansive in scope and sophisticated in approach, the Oxford Handbook of Confucianism presents a superb resource for study of this ancient, and still vibrant tradition"--

The present anthology consists of papers presented at the International Conference of Chu Hsi held July 6–15 1982, in Honolulu. The symposium, convened as one of the continuing East-West Philosophers' Conferences and in conjunction with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the University of Hawaii, was the first on this Neo-Confucian thinker.