Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy

by Philip J. Ivanhoe (Editor), Bryan W. Van Norden (Editor)

This new edition offers expanded selections from the works of Kongzi (Confucius), Mengzi (Mencius), Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), and Xunzi (Hsun Tzu); two new works, the dialogues Robber Zhi and White Horse ; a concise general introduction; brief introductions to, and selective bibliographies for, each work; and four appendices that shed light on important figures, periods, texts, and terms in Chinese thought.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, China, History, Religion, School, Classics

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

Philip J. Ivanhoe is an historian of Chinese thought, particularly of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. He is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong.

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a specialist in Chinese philosophy, but I've been developing a teaching competency and I'm now regularly teaching a lower level Asian philosophy course that includes a unit on classical Chinese philosophy. This is a helpful book for beginners with mostly accessible, readable translations. Sometimes I wonder if maybe longer and more robust introductions to each school would help, but the short introductions are adequate with some help from a teacher or other sources.

[Eric Farnsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completed this for a college summer school course in 2022. It has the writings of different Masters of classical Chinese philosophy.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I left the book with an understanding of Yi and Li. The historic roles of individuals in a Confucius system and why Confucianism was so relevant when it was at its height.

A former philosophy professor told me that it has some of the most accurate translations from the Analects. Furthermore, the text doe a nice job at showing how certain movements and schools of thought were highly reactive, like Taoism.

This is a highly academic text. I found myself struggle at times to push through. In part, because this book pushes primary sources and works to give exposure to classical thinking.

There were moments when I found the text a bit too dry and academic.

[Dmk · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely compilation. Yes, it's incomplete, but do you really want to read those seven books completely? There were all the important passages, those you may came across in your life, those mostly cited. And books are served in appropriate length. 'Cause even thought Daodejing is beatyful boook I can't imagine reading whole book, it's so repetative... and it's not the only book on which I have this opinion.

I highly recommend this book, it gives you insight in their writing styles, in their philosophy (but I can't tell how accesible it's for true beginner) but without overhelming you with... you know, these books are cryptic and written in not very reader-friendly style.

[Emily Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of books by the most prominent Chinese philosophers. It was nice having the whole collection in one book, it made it easier to compare and contrast the different schools of thought. Some of the translation is bias and not exact on the terms. Ivanhoe also uses a lot of footnotes to explain historical context, terms and meanings, which is helpful. But I think he focuses on his opinion a little too much. Over all a good book to have if you are at all interested in Chinese Philosophy.

[Jaena Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, clear translation of a number of Chinese philosophers: Kongzi, Mengzi, Xunzi, etc. The general introductions for each philosopher were also very good, and helped to frame the philosophers' texts in the periods in which they lived. When selecting this class, I was worried that my unfamiliarity with Chinese philosophy would make it difficult, but having this as a textbook made all the difference.

[Jonathan Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just reading this book will make you a better person. Nobody spends the time to think about what it is to be right, virtuous, or just anymore. Consider the perspectives of the sages and see how you can implement their teachings. This volume helps contextualize the texts with footnotes that explain historical references and where the philosophers agreed and disagreed. If you agree with Han Fei, though, please do not run for president.

[Aeden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Works in this edition include Analects, Mozi, Mengzi, Daodejing (the full text), Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, "White Horse" and "Robber Zhi". A great introduction to a lot of different modes of thought.

I'm continually struck by the parallels between the dialectic amongst this group, and that which I am more familiar with, in Western philosophy.

[Galatea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A useful anthology that brings together an abridged collection of the works of the most famous Chinese philosophers before the Qin unification.

The words used are in Pinyin, the romanization system I grew up with, instead of the older Wade-Giles system, which was the standard before, or any of the romanization systems before that. Thus, 莊子, personal name 莊周, is "Zhuangzi", as opposed to "Chuang Tzu", "Chuang Zhou", or (how the fuck) "Kwang Tse". Similarly, 墨子 is "Mozi", instead of "Mo-tzu", "Mo Tse", or (butchering worse than how White people make 'Chinese food',) "Micius".

As someone with a infant's level of Chinese, reading these while consulting the original text on ctext.org was an absolute joy, and I found that doing so helped me appreciate the beauty of not just the words themselves but the effort of the translation that went into it.

That being said, here's my individual reviews of each philosopher:

Confucius: Old boomer. Desired for a golden age of political and social stability exemplified by the sage-kings of myth, such as Yao, Shun, and Yu, and thought that the best thing to approximate the virtue these sage-kings had was through following the rituals, the texts, and the standards of conduct they left behind, exemplified by the actions of other ritualists, or "Erudites". Interestingly, in Chinese, the term you'd use for "Confucianism" has no real parallel, with Confucius' thought being called 儒家 (The Ru school of thought), which is somewhat closer to what Confucius describes himself as, as basically a preserver and transmitter of tradition, like the Classicists' classicist.

Mozi: Hated fancy stuff, one of the first people to advocate for public welfare and for cuts on spending. Led a paramilitary group of disciples who went around try to do their own thing. Classical China's hippies basically.

Mengzi: Soft boy who believes in you. Believe in the him that believes in you.

the Daodejing: Where did he come from, where did he go? Where did he come from, old man Joe

Zhuangzi: This man just shitposted his way through life and everyone loved him for it. Goals tbh

Xunzi: Soft boy who heard that being edgy and militaristic was the new cool, so he starts negging and talking shit about you to your face in hopes that he'll help you realize your flaws. Says that people are assholes by nature but that means that trying to be better makes all the difference.

Han Feizi: An apologist for authoritarian military dictatorship. He was part of the ruling family of the state of Han, as evidenced by his family name, and his writings were about how to maintain one's grip on power in an age of growing political conflict, social instability, and war. His philosophy would be a fundamental influence on the ideology of Zheng, the king of Qin, who would go on to unify China under his rule, becoming Qin Shihuang, or "Qin, the First Emperor [of China]", leading to an extremely oppressive government where all dissent, written or verbal, would be stomped out. That being said, his works are extremely persuasive and well-written, proposing genuine solutions for the problems on how a government is to survive mediocre, even incompetent officials or rulers, and how society may be held together so that a state may maintain autonomous. Said solutions always assumed the worst of people, and the tradeoff for social security, in his eyes, was absolute centralized power, and absolute devotion to "The Way(道) of the King”. In an ironic twist, Han Fei, being one of the greatest philosophers of this period of Chinese philosophy, also had a direct hand in bringing its violent, bloody end.

Also, everybody shits on the state of Song 宋 for some reason.

The one thing everybody, Confucians, Daoists, and even proto-Fascist Han Feizi had in common was telling their audience to "Not be like the man from Song." (Mengzi, 2A2, Zhuangzi Chapter 1, Han Feizi chapter 49)

I mean

damn

ok

[Christian M · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone like myself, who is interested in philosophy but has had very little prior exposure to classical Chinese thinkers, this book provides a good introduction. The editors have selected key chapters and added a lot of comments, some of them quite useful for the novice, others directed to the advanced student.
The variety of perspectives and views expressed by these thinkers is most amazing. As somebody who was raised and educated in Central Europe, it struck me that thinkers of this very different time and culture struggled with very much the same questions as the classic Greek philosophers did at about the same time. Many of these questions we continue to discuss centuries later. They dealt with a wide variety of topics including ethics and the way to lead a good life, the role of nature versus nurture in human development, political theory ranging from very idealistic views to a kind of Machiavellian pragmatism, religion and the power of fate as part of the human condition. Some of the answers seem foreign to us, set in a very different cultural contexts, but many others ring unbelievably familiar and as actual and relevant to our lives as ever before. I am particularly impressed by the diversity of opinions and the controversial discussions that apparently were going on among followers of the various intellectual schools more than 2,000 years ago.
Overall, not an easy read, but recommendable, if you want to venture into ancient Chinese thought and marvel at the universiality of the human quest to understand our existence.

[Jonah Dunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woohoo! I'm done! This is two eminent analytic Confucians' (my label, not theirs) anthology of selections from early Chinese philosophical classics: the Analects of Kongzi (Confucius), the Mozi, the Mengzi (Mencius), the Daodejing (Laozi), the Zhuangzi, the Xunzi, and the Hanfeizi (Han Fei). Plus we've got Gongsun Long's On the White Horse, here to represent the "School of Names" (philosophy of language) and the Robber Zhi dialogue from the Zhuangzi's miscellaneous chapters, here to represent (albeit speculatively) the ethical egoism of Yang Zhu. It's perhaps unproductive to try evaluating the entire collection taken together, since such a diversity of intellectual currents are represented. Indeed, because of its diversity, I could space it out between other reading (and, alas, gaming)--and because of its density, I often felt the need to. So what I will say is that this is a prime sampling platter of this rich and varied period in global intellectual history, which treats these texts as artifacts in their historical context, but also as vessels for ideas, lines of questioning, and arguments which we may breathe qi into today.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this for a Chinese philosophy class last year, but I only just around to finishing it! It’s an excellent grouping of some of the most foundational Chinese texts in philosophy, giving you a wide smattering of similar and opposing views. These works are so incredibly rich, and I wish we as a Western culture studied Chinese philosophy more! There’s a lot to grapple with, a lot to learn, and more than a few similarities at the end of the day. An excellent introduction into this vast wealth of knowledge and learning.

[Benjamin Lipscomb]

I am marking this "read," though I omitted the selections from Han Fei, not having room on my syllabus for everything in Ivanhoe and Van Norden's anthology. But it might be a long time until I get around to that last bit, and with an anthology, I think it's plausible to say that reading 90% of it is reading it. I'll forego a rating as an acknowledgment of the oddity of the situation. I would absolutely recommend the book, though: for cost, coverage, and helpful notes.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a friend who studied Chinese language and culture at a university level, and proved to be an excellent introduction to the breadth of early Chinese philosophy. Is one that I’ll continue to return to, and I plan to explore further the writings of a couple of those surveyed here.

[Emily W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read this for a class, and ended up loving it!

[Logan Streondj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book especially the first few chapters. But the later chapters were obviously derivative critiques with no substance of their own.

It was nice to hear about the virtuous sage kings.

[Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sample

[Z.J. Rubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Undeniably the best introduction to Chinese philosophy that you can find. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get into Chinese philosophy. The translations and commentary are the highest quality.

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yippee I learned so much!!

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Works well as a beginner's guide for undergraduate students, or the patient english reader, on philosophy from China before it came under unified rule under its first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. This book will be a useful means of passing the threshold between knowing Confucian one-liners to knowing the major theories of 'Kongzi' and the ability to form your own unique opinions on him and the other sux thinkers chosen.

What I didn't find so helpful was when I was doing my final exam with the use of our books, and the index was a collection of notes on key terms rather than a traditional index with a word and all the page numbers one could hope for. But in the editors' defense, good luck trying to find 'nature' when every thinker they've selected has pages of things to say on the subject.

[William Cai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some translations are slack. Overall, it is a good collection of classical Chinese philosophy texts. My favorite section is Zhuangzi. What a fun, interesting guy.

[Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read the third edition of this book but could not find it on here! I first read this book in 2022 but I reread it this past semester in full for the course Early Chinese Philosophy.

Great read. Contains the writings of multiple authors and philosophers in different periods of ancient China. The translation is easy to follow but definitely check out footnotes to gather additional context and information, especially if a particular quote resonates with you.

My favorite part to read was Zhuang Zi, a Daiost philosopher, because of his unique and puzzling style of writing. He expresses his ideas in the form of riddles and stories that you have to pick apart to find meaning. I found it to be fascinating and fun, although definitely time consuming if you are taking the analysis seriously.

Here are two quotes I liked.

“Liezi rides about on the wind. It’s wonderful! He’s gone two weeks at a time. His attitude toward wealth is unconventional. But, though he manages to avoid walking, he still relies on something. If he could chariot the norms of Heaven and earth and ride the changes in the six mists to wander the inexhaustible, then what would there be to rely on? Hence it is said that perfect people have no self, spiritual people have no accomplishment, and sagely people have no name” (Chapter 1, p. 226).

“Even so, there is a problem. Knowledge depends on something before it can be fitting. But what it depends on has not yet been fixed. So how do I know that what I call “Heaven” is not really human and what I call “human” is not really Heaven? Only when there are true people can we have true knowledge” (Chapter 6, p. 250).

[Neal Tognazzini · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my summer projects was to start preparing for a new class that I’ll teach starting in January, on Classical Chinese Philosophy. So I read my way through this wonderful collection of excerpts from the seven philosophers in that tradition: Kongzi, Mozi, Mengzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. This will be my primary text for that course, and it is equal parts fascinating and challenging. A good recipe for a college course, I think.

UPDATE, 5.12.23 - I'm now in the midst of teaching this class, and I just finished reading through these selections again, while working through them with my students. I got a lot more out of it this time around, and I'm already looking forward to doing it again the next time I teach this class.

[Bahia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pretty good primer on the basics of Kongzi, Mengzi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Laozi, and Han Feizi. Some of the readings are a bit dense, but that's to be expected. The editor is very good and the intros to each section provide good overviews of the life and beliefs of each philosophers, plus pretty detailed footnotes. I read this for class and probably would not have picked it up otherwise, but if you want a refresher or introduction to these philosophers I think it's a good selection of works.

[Maria Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome collection of Chinese philosophy. Read it in undergrad, then stupidly took it home to NM; bought another copy for grad school and still pick it up every once in a while. Has a lot of essentials.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the concerns and issues shared in modernity have been discussed and held by people over the ages. Some of the insights offered here, and the questions posed, expose a reader to alternative approaches to current concerns.

[R. August · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to all the major thinkers, though I think I appreciated PJ Ivanhoe's work more of roughly the same title more.

[Nick Pelonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very convenient, has the entire "Daodejing," some of "The Analects," and more (Mohism, Legalism) all in one book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite sure how I feel about this book yet, just started.

[Daisy Battersby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I neither enjoyed it nor despised it, it was okay, although I disagree with a lot of the points of views of the philosophers included.