Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics
Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics is an essential, all-access guide to the core texts of East Asian civilization and culture. Essays address frequently read, foundational texts in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, as well as early modern fictional classics and nonfiction works of the seventeenth century. Building strong links between these writings and the critical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, this volume shows the vital role of the classics in the shaping of Asian history and in the development of the humanities at large.

Wm. Theodore de Bary focuses on texts that have survived for centuries, if not millennia, through avid questioning and contestation. Recognized as perennial reflections on life and society, these works represent diverse historical periods and cultures and include the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Xunxi, the Lotus Sutra, Tang poetry, the Pillow Book, The Tale of Genji, and the writings of Chikamatsu and Kaibara Ekken. Contributors explain the core and most commonly understood aspects of these works and how they operate within their traditions. They trace their reach and reinvention throughout history and their ongoing relevance in modern life.

With fresh interpretations of familiar readings, these essays inspire renewed appreciation and examination. In the case of some classics open to multiple interpretations, de Bary chooses two complementary essays from different contributors. Expanding on debates concerning the challenges of teaching classics in the twenty-first century, several pieces speak to the value of Asia in the core curriculum. Indispensable for early scholarship on Asia and the evolution of global civilization, Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics helps one master the major texts of human thought.
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Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics
Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics is an essential, all-access guide to the core texts of East Asian civilization and culture. Essays address frequently read, foundational texts in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, as well as early modern fictional classics and nonfiction works of the seventeenth century. Building strong links between these writings and the critical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, this volume shows the vital role of the classics in the shaping of Asian history and in the development of the humanities at large.

Wm. Theodore de Bary focuses on texts that have survived for centuries, if not millennia, through avid questioning and contestation. Recognized as perennial reflections on life and society, these works represent diverse historical periods and cultures and include the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Xunxi, the Lotus Sutra, Tang poetry, the Pillow Book, The Tale of Genji, and the writings of Chikamatsu and Kaibara Ekken. Contributors explain the core and most commonly understood aspects of these works and how they operate within their traditions. They trace their reach and reinvention throughout history and their ongoing relevance in modern life.

With fresh interpretations of familiar readings, these essays inspire renewed appreciation and examination. In the case of some classics open to multiple interpretations, de Bary chooses two complementary essays from different contributors. Expanding on debates concerning the challenges of teaching classics in the twenty-first century, several pieces speak to the value of Asia in the core curriculum. Indispensable for early scholarship on Asia and the evolution of global civilization, Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics helps one master the major texts of human thought.
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Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

by Wm. Theodore De Bary (Editor)
Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

by Wm. Theodore De Bary (Editor)

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Overview

Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics is an essential, all-access guide to the core texts of East Asian civilization and culture. Essays address frequently read, foundational texts in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, as well as early modern fictional classics and nonfiction works of the seventeenth century. Building strong links between these writings and the critical traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, this volume shows the vital role of the classics in the shaping of Asian history and in the development of the humanities at large.

Wm. Theodore de Bary focuses on texts that have survived for centuries, if not millennia, through avid questioning and contestation. Recognized as perennial reflections on life and society, these works represent diverse historical periods and cultures and include the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Xunxi, the Lotus Sutra, Tang poetry, the Pillow Book, The Tale of Genji, and the writings of Chikamatsu and Kaibara Ekken. Contributors explain the core and most commonly understood aspects of these works and how they operate within their traditions. They trace their reach and reinvention throughout history and their ongoing relevance in modern life.

With fresh interpretations of familiar readings, these essays inspire renewed appreciation and examination. In the case of some classics open to multiple interpretations, de Bary chooses two complementary essays from different contributors. Expanding on debates concerning the challenges of teaching classics in the twenty-first century, several pieces speak to the value of Asia in the core curriculum. Indispensable for early scholarship on Asia and the evolution of global civilization, Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics helps one master the major texts of human thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780231153973
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication date: 08/02/2011
Pages: 432
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Wm. Theodore de Bary (1919–2017) was John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and provost emeritus of Columbia University. His many books include Waiting for the Dawn, Message of the Mind, and Learning for One’s Self, as well as Sources of Japanese Tradition and Sources of Korean Tradition, all published by Columbia University Press.

Table of Contents

Preface. The Great "Civilized" Conversation: Cases in Point, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
1. Asian Classics as the Great Books of the East, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
2. Asia in the Core Curriculum, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
3. Why We Read the Analects of Confucius, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
4. Mencius, by Irene Bloom
5. Laozi, by Franciscus Verellen
6. Zhuangzi, by Paul Contino
7. Xunzi, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
8. The Lotus Sutra, by Wing-tsit Chan
9. The Teaching of Vimalakīrti, by Robert A. F. Thurman
10(a). The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, by Philip Yampolsky
10(b). The Platform Sutra as a Chinese Classic, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
11. Tang Poetry: A Return to Basics, by Burton Watson
12. Journey to the West, by C. T. Hsia
13. A Dream of Red Mansions, by C. T. Hsia
14. Zhu Xi and the Four Books, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
15. Waiting for the Dawn: Huang Zongxi's Critique of the Chinese Dynastic System
(Wm. Theodore de Bary
16(a). The Tale of Genji as a Japanese and World Classic, by Haruo Shirane
16(b). Passion and Poignancy in The Tale of Genji, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
17. The Pillow Book, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
18. Kamo no Chōmei's "An Account of My Hut", by Paul Anderer
19. The Tale of the Heike, by Paul Varley
20(a). Kenkō's Essays in Idleness, by Donald Keene
20(b). Kenkō and Montaigne in Tandem, by James Mirollo
21(a). The Poetry of Matsuo Bashō, by Haruo Shirane
21(b). Matsuo Bashō, by Donald Keene
22. Chikamatsu, by Donald Keene
23. Saikaku's Five Women Who Loved Love, by Wm. Theodore de Bary
24. Kaibara Ekken's Precepts for Daily Life in Japan, by Mary Evelyn Tucker
25. The Contemporary Meaning of T'oegye's Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning, by Michael C. Kalton
26. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng, by JaHyun Kim Haboush
27. The Song of the Faithful Wife Ch'unhyang, by Rachel E. Chung
28. Reading and Teaching The Tale of Kieu, by Conrad Schirokauer
Index
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