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A collection of seminal primary readings on the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of China, Sources of Chinese Tradition, Volume 1 has been widely used and praised for almost forty years as an authoritative resource for scholars and students and as a thorough and engaging introduction for general readers. Here at last is a completely revised and expanded edition of this classic sourcebook, compiled by noted China scholars Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom. Updated to reflect recent scholarly developments, with extensive material on popular thought and religion, social roles, and women's education, this edition features new translations of more than half the works from the first edition, as well as many new selections.
Arranged chronologically, this anthology is divided into four parts, beginning at the dawn of literate Chinese civilization with the Oracle-Bone inscriptions of the late Shang dynasty (1571--1045 B.C.E.) and continuing through the end of the Ming dynasty (C.E. 1644). Each chapter has an introduction that provides useful historical context and offers interpretive strategies for understanding the readings.
The first part, The Chinese Tradition in Antiquity, considers the early development of Chinese civilization and includes selections from Confucius's Analects, the texts of Mencius and Laozi, as well as other key texts from the Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist schools. Part 2, The Making of a Classical Culture, focuses on Han China with readings from the Classic of Changes ( I Jing), the Classic of Filiality, major Han syntheses, and the great historians of the Han dynasty. The development of Buddhism, from the earliest translations from Sanskrit to the central texts of the Chan school (which became Zen in Japan), is the subject of the third section of the book. Titled Later Daoism and Mahayana Buddhism in China, this part also covers the teachings of Wang Bi, Daoist religion, and texts of the major schools of Buddhist doctrine and practice. The final part, The Confucian Revival and Neo-Confucianism, details the revival of Confucian thought in the Tang, Song, and Ming periods, with historical documents that link philosophical thought to political, social, and educational developments in late imperial China.
With annotations, a detailed chronology, glossary, and a new introduction by the editors, Sources of Chinese Tradition will continue to be a standard resource, guidebook, and introduction to Chinese civilization well into the twenty-first century.
List of contents
Self and Society in the Ming
Neo-Confucian Education, by Wm. Thedore deBary
Ideological Foundations of Late Imperial China, by Wm. Theodore deBary, Edward Farmer, John Dardess
Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucian Program, by Wm. Theodore deBary
Neo-Confucianism: The Philosophy of Human Nature and the Way of the Sage
The Confucian Revival in the Song
Social Life and Political Culture in the Tang
4. The Confucian Revival and Neo-Confucianism
Schools of Buddhist Practice, by Leon Hurvitz, Daniel Stevenson, Philip B. Yampolsky, Chun-fang Yu
Schools of Buddhist Doctrine, by Leon Hurvitz, Burton Watson, Daniel Stevenson, George Tanabe, Wing-Tsit Chan
The Introduction of Buddhism, by Leon Hurvitz, Tsai Heng-ting
Daoist Religion, by Franciscus Verellen, Nathan Sivin, et al.
Learning of the Mysterious, by Richard John Lynn, Wing-tsit Chan, Irene Bloom
3. Later Daoism and Mahyana Buddhism in China
The Great Han Historians, by Burton Watson
The Economic Order, by Burton Watson, Wm. Theodore deBary
The Imperial Order and Han Syntheses
Syncretic Visions of State, Society, and Cosmos, by Harold Roth, Sarah Queen, Nathan Sivin
The Han Reaction to Qin Despotism
2. The Making of a Classical Culture
Legalists and Militarists
The Evolution of the Confucian Tradition in Antiquity
The Way of Laozi and Zhuangzi
Mozi: Utilitarianism, Uniformity, and Universal Love, by Burton Watson
Confucius and the Analects, by Irene Bloom
Classical Sources of Chinese Tradition, by Burton Watson, David S. Nivison, Irene Bloom
The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of the Late Shang Dynasty, by David N. Keightley
1. The Chinese Tradition in Antiquity
About the author
Edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom
Summary
A collection of primary readings on the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of China, this text provides a resource for scholars and students and an introduction for general readers.
