Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China: History, Philosophy, Economics)

by The Arthur Waley Estate, Arthur Waley

First published in 1939. This book consists chiefly of extracts from Chuang Tzu, Mencius and Han Fei Tzu. Chuang Tzu's appeal is to the imagination; the appeal of mencius is to the moral feelings; realism, as expounded by Han Fei Tzu, finds a close parallel in modern Totalitarianism and as a result these extracts from a book of the third century B.C. nonetheless have a very contemporary connection.

Genres: Philosophy, China, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Taoism, Reference

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waley gives an easy-to-follow account, and presents classic China not as a realm of traditional orthodoxy, but a deeply divided world, with deviant views of life in creative or destructive collision.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently discovered my copy from university days of this classic introduction to Confucius, Zhuangzi and other early Chinese thinkers - it's a great little book, first published in the 1930s. But why did I think it necessary to highlight passages in electric orange? They're not even the best passages. Regrets, I have a few. (At least it wasn't a first edition.)

[J.D. Steens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waley outlines three primary categories of thought in ancient China. The first is the Confucian tradition that emphasized "goodness," which is defined generally as following ritual and tradition, and the wisdom of the past. Its most prominent thinker was Mencius (371-289 BCE) who, like Confucius, travelled from province to province preaching the virtues of compassion, stressing the natural goodness ("jen") of humankind. Here goodness is compassion and compassion means a responsibility for the sufferings of others. Education is not how to get these feelings. They are there by "birthright" and the role of education is to keep them front and center. This was the challenge. In his attack on Mo Tzu (who believed in a Kantian-like intellectual love and who argued that if we loved strangers as we loved our families, there would be no strife), Mencius believed that humans do not practice universal love. Rulers (those who have the capacity to know the fixed principles of right and wrong) must rule by goodness, which, in practical terms, means providing for the economic security of the people. Rulers are the Confucian gentlemen who set the standards for the common people ("Gentlemen work with their minds; peasants with their hands"), and who model themselves after the kings of old.

The second way is that of the Taoist perspective as articulated by Chuang Tzu (399-295 BCE) who stands in contrast to the view promoted by Mencius. For Chuang Tzu, man (the common man) can and should know how to follow others without losing himself. Chuang Tzu focuses inward, on what is true and genuine within. Each individual develops and follows his own path, but this is always the path of nature. Chuang Tzu removes man as the active subject who tries to control the world. The Taoist does not resist death, which is inevitable, but welcomes it as man thereby takes his place along with all living things that must die, and merges into the void from which he came. Death is part of the law of change. The cosmos and life are eternally cyclic. If there was a beginning, there must have been a time before the beginning began. Excessive desire shackles the soul, ties it down, whereas we must "wander alone with Tao in the kingdom of the Great Void" where we "seek no end but inactivity." Here, akin to Vedic thought, "emptiness, nothingness, quiet" make the individual a "partner in the powers of Heaven."

The Realists constitute the third way. In contrast to Mencius, the Realists were far less comfortable with the notion of people's natural goodness. Passions and desires are bad and the source of conflict. The average man cannot be controlled except by law. Unlike the Taoist, the Realist saw a strong role for government to impose external controls on people. Right and wrong have no objective meaning. It's what the rulers define as only they have the capacity "to take the long view." Of the three ways of thought, Realism is the only one that became integrated with government as a working philosophy.

These three ways of ancient Chinese thought find their kindred expressions in Western philosophy. Man is good, man is bad. Others retreat from the world to concentrate on themselves. While Western and Chinese philosophy are removed from each other physically, both come together with similar insights about the variable features of our essential and common human nature.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly yet readable overview of three classic expressions of ancient Chinese thought. Wonderful translations of Chuang Tzu and Menicus, representatives of Taoist and Confucian schools, along with selections from "The Realists", proto-totalitarians, are presented with able commentary by one of the true authorities on Chinese philosophy. Burton Watson, translator of the definitive The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (1968), considered Waley's translations "the most readable and reliable translations to date...though unfortunately represent a fraction of the text." Waley's affinity for Chuang Tzu is evident, however, all schools are given a fair presentation. On returning to this book after 30 years for a reread, I found it even better than I had remembered.

[David Lai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually find ancient Chinese philosophy to feel unreal or at best extremely banal, but this comparison of Zhuangzi, Mencius (with a bit of Mozi thrown in) and Hanfeizi was surprisingly readable, even in parts entertaining.

My copy used some old system of romanization.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drawing heavily from Chuang Tzu, Mencius, and Han Fei Tzu, Waley gives a broad overview of Confucianism, Government by Goodness, and Realism. Should be required reading for all who are interested in China. Not an easy read, but valuable, educational, and fulfilling. Specific examples are given in addition to showing the "big picture" behind the philosophies covered.

[AskHistorians]

This book has been criticized and expanded upon with the increased study of the intellectual history of China, and suffers from the traditional failure of historians to take Chinese lay-religion into account when evaluating the broader intellectual trends in China. Nevertheless, it is an excellent introduction to Chinese religious and philosophical thought.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating view of the moves between taoism, confucianism, and legalism in Ancient China. The Confucians and the Legalists seem to battle it out, with taoism hanging out like the cool kid in the corner that everyone acknowledges but no one seems to know what to do with. Very interesting stuff.

[Myke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable and pretty informative to the layman (read as: me) good foundation material.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required for my online class ... But interesting nonetheless.

[Skip Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an older book on Chinese philosophy for laymen published in 1939 and given to me as a gift by my son. It's a good, basic summary of the three main schools of thought in ancient China: Taoism, Confucianism, and Realism. It's a good introduction to these schools of thought for those without prior knowledge. I found the author to write in an engaging and easy to read manner, although I struggle with the older Wades-Giles transliteration approach, having been introduced to Chinese history and literature with the Pinyin system. The author limits his discourse to approximately 200 pages do he doesn't have the time nor the intent to delve into sociological or historical factors driving each school of thought in ancient China. I recommend this book for those new to Chinese philosophy who want a succinct overview of the main schools of thought in ancient China.

[John Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially enjoyed reading about Han Fei.

[petey pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zhuangzi GOAT

[Connor Eberhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only does this book give you an interesting insight into the philosophies of the time, but also of the history of ancient China! It’s a pretty difficult read at times, though not impossible.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up - I felt like I understood (ancient) Taoism and Confucianism better than I did before. Waley's mix of translated passages and commentary was well chosen, although I would have appreciated a bit more separation of quoted bits from authorial commentary in the Confucian and Realist sections.

Your mileage may vary, since this seems to be a surprisingly expensive ebook and otherwise quite hard to find, but it also seems like comparable works are hard to find as well.