What Is Modernity?: Writings of Takeuchi Yoshimi

by Yoshimi Takeuchi

Overview

Regarded as one of the foremost thinkers in Japanese postwar intellectual history, Takeuchi Yoshimi questioned the very nature of thought, emphasizing that thinking is less a subjective act than an opening to alterity. His works were central in drawing Japanese attention to the problems inherent in western colonialism and to the cultural importance of Asia, especially China. This book represents the first appearance of Takeuchi's essays in English translation and explores Japanese modernity, literature, and nationalism as well as Chinese intellectual history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900231133271
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2005
Series:	Weatherhead Books on Asia
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Takeuchi Yoshimi (1910-1977) was an eminent scholar, literary and social critic, and sinologist. He was the translator of Lu Xun's works into Japanese. Richard Calichman is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at the City College of New York, CUNY. He is the author of Takeuchi Yoshimi: Displacing the West.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Ways of Introducing Culture—Focusing Upon Lu Xun
What Is Modernity?
The Question of Politics and Literature
Hu Shi and Dewey
Overcoming Modernity
Asia as Method

Editorial Reviews

Reading Takeuchi... sheds light on key issues in discussions of postmodernism, nationalism, and postcolonialism.

Choice

Highly recommended as a valuable text.

Journal of Japanese Studies - Steven Heine