[PDF] The Tao Encounters The West eBook

Author : Chenyang Li
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 31,26 MB
Release : 1999-04-01
Category : History
ISBN : 1438410808

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The relation between liberal democracy and Confucianism is explored by author Chenyang Li as he argues for a Chinese future where both coexist as independent value systems. This relationship is shown through a comparative study of Chinese and Western ideas and philosophies of being, truth, language, ethics, religion, and values. The book covers a wide range of philosophers and philosophies, including Aristotle, Zhuang Zi, Heidegger, Confucius, Kripke, and feminist care ethics. Li shows how a comparative approach to different patterns of thinking in Chinese and Western traditions sheds light on the intelligibility of Chinese multiple ethico-religious practice, which in turn supports the claim that democracy and Confucianism can coexist as independent value systems. In addition, Li's comparative study of different patterns of thinking in Chinese and Western traditions sheds light on the "harmony" model of Chinese philosophy and culture.

Author : Chenyang Li
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 28,37 MB
Release : 1999-01-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780791441350

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Examines liberal democracy and Confucianism as two value systems and argues for a future where both coexist as independent value systems in China.

Author : J.J. Clarke
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 31,45 MB
Release : 2002-01-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1134625286

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In this book, J.J. Clarke shows us how Taoist texts, ideas, and practices have been assimilated within a whole range of Western ideas and agendas. We see how Chinese thinkers such as Lao-tzu and Chuang tzu, along with practices such as Feng Shui and Tai Chi, have been used as a key Western inspiration in religion, philosophy, ethics, politics, ecology and health. The Tao of the West not only provides a fascinating introduction to Taoism, it also offers a timely insight into the history of the West's encounter with this ancient tradition, and into the issues arising from inter-cultural dialogue. Anyone interested in understanding the key influence Taoism has had on the West will welcome and embrace this book.

Author : David E. Mungello
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 18,26 MB
Release : 2005
Category : History
ISBN : 9780742538146

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In the twenty-first century, China has emerged as the leading challenger to U.S. global dominance. China is often seen as a sleeping giant, emerging out of poverty, backwardness, and totalitarianism and moving toward modernization. However, history shows that this vast country is not newly awakening, but rather returning to its previous state of world eminence. With this compelling perspective in mind, D. E. Mungello convincingly shows that contemporary relations between China and the West are far more like the 1500-1800 period than the more recent past. This fully revised second edition retains the clear and concise qualities of its predecessor, while developing important new social and cultural themes such as gender, sexuality, music, and technology. Drawing from the author's thirty years of experience teaching world history, this book illustrates the importance of history to students and general readers trying to understand today's world.

Author : Peter D. Hershock
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 31,15 MB
Release : 2012-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0791481565

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This volume examines the values that have historically guided the negotiation of identity, both practical and ideal, in Chinese Confucian culture, considers how these values play into the conception and exercise of authority, and assesses their contemporary relevance in a rapidly globalizing world. Included are essays that explore the rule of ritual in classical Confucian political discourse; parental authority in early medieval tales; authority in writings on women; authority in the great and long-beloved folk novel of China Journey to the West; and the anti-Confucianism of Lu Xun, the twentieth-century writer and reformer. By examining authority in cultural context, these essays shed considerable light on the continuities and contentions underlying the vibrancy of Chinese culture. While of interest to individual scholars and students, the book also exemplifies the merits of a thematic (rather than geographic or area studies) approach to incorporating Asian content throughout the curriculum. This approach provides increased opportunities for cross-cultural comparison and a forum for encouraging values-centered conversation in the classroom.

Author : David L. Hall
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 23,24 MB
Release : 1987-10-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780887063770

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Thinking Through Confucius critically interprets the conceptual structure underlying Confucius' philosophical reflections. It also investigates "thinking," or "philosophy" from the perspective of Confucius. That authors suggest that an examination of Chinese philosophy may provide an alternative definition of philosophy that can be used to address some of the pressing issues of the Western cultural tradition.

Author : Robert E. Carter
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 19,3 MB
Release : 2012-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0791490300

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In Encounter with Enlightenment, Robert E. Carter puts forth the East, and specifically Japan, as a source of possible solutions to the world's social, economic, and environmental problems. Not only is the book a sustained scholarly analysis of both the religious and philosophical roots of Japan's distinctive ethical approach to life, but it also provides the Western reader with a context for understanding Eastern values—values that although familiar to the West tend to be deemphasized. Encounter with Enlightenment begins a horizontal fusion between East and West, and establishes a common ground for mutual understanding and for working toward an ethical approach that could resolve some of the earth's difficulties.

Author : Brook Ziporyn
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 35,46 MB
Release : 2012-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0791487164

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The Penumbra Unbound is the first English language book-length study of the Neo-Taoist thinker Guo Xiang (d. 312 C.E.), commentator on the classic Taoist text, the Zhuangzi. The author explores Guo's philosophy of freedom and spontaneity, explains its coherence and importance, and shows its influence on later Chinese philosophy, particularly Chan Buddhism. The implications of his thought on freedom versus determinism are also considered in comparison to several positions advanced in the history of Western philosophy, notably those of Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Fichte, and Hegel. Guo's thought reinterprets the classical pronouncements about the Tao so that it in no way signifies any kind of metaphysical absolute underlying appearances, but rather means literally "nothing." This absence of anything beyond appearances is the first premise in Guo's development of a theory of radical freedom, one in which all phenomenal things are "self-so," creating and transforming themselves without depending on any justification beyond their own temporary being.

Author : Red Pine
Publisher : Catapult
Page : 251 pages
File Size : 21,47 MB
Release : 2009-08-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1582439427

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In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life. But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains — the historical refuge of ancient hermits — he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains. Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter's discovery is more than a revelation, and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.

Author : Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 30,38 MB
Release : 2012-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0791481794

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Confucianism and Women argues that Confucian philosophy—often criticized as misogynistic and patriarchal—is not inherently sexist. Although historically bound up with oppressive practices, Confucianism contains much that can promote an ethic of gender parity. Attacks on Confucianism for gender oppression have marked China's modern period, beginning with the May Fourth Movement of 1919 and reaching prominence during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. The West has also readily characterized Confucianism as a foundation of Chinese women's oppression. Author Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee challenges readers to consider the culture within which Confucianism has functioned and to explore what Confucian thought might mean for women and feminism. She begins the work by clarifying the intellectual tradition of Confucianism and discussing the importance of the Confucian cultural categories yin-yang and nei-wai (inner-outer) for gender ethics. In addition, the Chinese tradition of biographies of virtuous women and books of instruction by and for women is shown to provide a Confucian construction of gender. Practices such as widow chastity, footbinding, and concubinage are discussed in light of Confucian ethics and Chinese history. Ultimately, Rosenlee lays a foundation for a future construction of Confucian feminism as an alternative ethical ground for women's liberation.