The Unlikely Buddhologist

This highly accessible book provides a comprehensive unpacking and interpretation, suitable for students and scholars in all fields, of towering philosopher Mou Zongsan’s understanding of Buddhist thought and his Confucian appropriation of Tiantai Buddhist ideas.

Mou Zongsan (1909-1995) was such a seminal, polymathic figure that scholars of Asian philosophy and religion will be absorbing his influence for at least a generation. Drawing on expertise in Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, and modern Western thought, Mou built a system of New Confucian philosophy aimed at answering one of the great questions: What is the relationship between value and being? However, though Mou acknowledged that he derived his key concepts from Tiantai Buddhist philosophy, it remains unclear exactly how and why he did so. In response, this book investigates Mou s buddhological writings in the context of his larger corpus and explains how and why he incorporated Buddhist ideas selectively into his system. Written extremely accessible, it provides a comprehensive unpacking of Mou s ideas about Buddhism, Confucianism, and metaphysics with the precision needed to make them available for critical appraisal.

Mou Zongsan (1909-1995) was one of the major Chinese philosophers of the twentieth century, whose entire intellectual enterprise consisted of rethinking the relevance in the modern age of Chinese thought in general and Confucianism in particular. Although his seminal work is now a reference point everywhere in the Chinese world, research on the topic in English remains scarce. This book explores a pivotal dimension of Mou’s philosophy—that is, his project of reconstructing a moral metaphysics based largely on a dialogue between reinterpreted Chinese thought and Kantism. It provides the reader with direct access to Mou Zongsan’s thought by introducing translated excerpts of his work and thoroughly explores a number of his most paradigmatic concepts.

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive overview of the history and development of sport from the ancient to the contemporary era in China. It addresses the gap between the vibrant academic scholarship within China and the limited understanding of Chinese sport outside of the country. It opens different perspectives on Chinese sport and addresses a wide range of issues central to the development of sport in the context of Chinese culture, politics, economy, and society. It explores a diverse set of topics including the history of Chinese traditional sport, the rise of modern sport and the Olympic movement, sport and nationhood, sport and politics and international relations, sport and physical education, sport and economy and commerce, sport and social stratification and diversity, and sport leisure and tourism. It offers critical insights into the multifaceted world of China, past and present—a contribution to our collective knowledge and understanding of Chinese sport and society—and is useful reading for students, researchers, and professionals with an interest in the field of China and Chinese sport. This Handbook has been contributed to by a team consisting of 88 leading Chinese and Asian experts and scholars with varied backgrounds of studying and working in European, North American, and Australian universities, as well as Western scholars with expertise on China and its sports system and practice. It is composed of ten parts classified by different subjects. It provides a wide lens through which to better contextualise the relationships between China and the world within the global sport community. The Routledge Handbook of Sport in China is a vital resource for students and scholars studying the history, politics, sociology, culture and policy of sport in China, as well as sport management, sport history, sport sociology, and sport policy and politics. It is also valuable reading for those who are working in international sport policy making and sport organisations.

In Differentiating the Pearl from the Fish-Eye, Eyal Aviv offers an account of Ouyang Jingwu, a revolutionary Buddhist thinker and educator. The book surveys the life and career of Ouyang and his influence on modern Chinese intellectual history.

In Late Works of Mou Zongsan, Jason Clower publishes English translations of this most famous and influential of modern Chinese philosophers for the first time. In essays chosen for their clarity and approachability, this leading contemporary Confucian speaks on the topics that best define his career: the future of Chinese culture and philosophy, the unique achievements of Confucianism, the place of Buddhism and Daoism in Chinese culture, and the possibility of a new partnership between Chinese and Western thought.

'Transforming Consciousness' develops a wide-ranging and deeply sourced argument that Yogācāra Buddhism played a much more important role in the development of modern Chinese thought than has previously been recognized. It shows how key Chinese thinkers used Yogācāra Buddhism to make sense of and to change the modern world.

The three-volume project 'Concepts and Methods for the Study of Chinese Religions' is a timely review of the history of the study of Chinese religions, reconsiders the present state of analytical and methodological theories, and initiates a new chapter in the methodology of the field itself. The three volumes raise interdisciplinary and cross-tradition debates, and engage methodologies for the study of East Asian religions with Western voices in an active and constructive manner. Within the overall project, this volume addresses the intellectual history and formation of critical concepts that are foundational to the Chinese religious landscape. These concepts include lineage, scripture, education, discipline, religion, science and scientism, sustainability, law and rites, and the religious sphere. With these topics and approaches, this volume serves as a reference for graduate students and scholars interested in Chinese religions, the modern cultural and intellectual history of China (including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese communities overseas), intellectual and material history, and the global academic discourse of critical concepts in the study of religions.