Dao Companion to Classical Confucian Philosophy

Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy #3

by Vincent Shen (Editor)

This book is the first in its kind, in that it offers a handbook on the Philosophy of Classical Confucianism in both historical and systematic approach. This book will first present its major philosophers and their texts, such as "Confucius and the Analects", Zisi and his writings, "Mencius and the Mencius", "Xunzi and the Xunzi", and philosophical texts in other fundamental Confucian Scriptures, such as the "Yijing" ("Book of Changes"), the "Liji" ("Book of Rites"), and the "Shangshu" ("Book of Documents"). Since there are some philosophical ideas comparable to today's philosophical concern yet uncovered by the previous focus on philosophers and their related texts, we will develop them in some chapters dealing with feeling and emotion, aesthetic appreciation, knowledge and truth, ethics and moral psychology, the concept of harmony, self-cultivation and its relation with ultimate reality, philosophy of history etc. Some chapters will discuss the interaction of Classical Confucianism with other contemporary schools and the relevance of their ideas in today's context. Up to now, there is no other book that provides the same level of comprehensiveness and analysis. All contributors are experts in the field, ranging from senior scholars to outstanding early career scholars.

410 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009