Transition to Neo-Confucianism

Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Confucianism
Cover of the book Transition to Neo-Confucianism by Anne  D. Birdwhistell, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anne D. Birdwhistell ISBN: 9780804765749
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: August 1, 1989
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Anne D. Birdwhistell
ISBN: 9780804765749
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: August 1, 1989
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

The Sung Neo-Confucian synthesis is one of the two great formative periods in the history of Confucianism. Shao Yung (1011-77) was a key contributor to this synthesis, and this study attempts to make understandable the complex and highly theoretical thought of a philosopher who has been, for the most part, misunderstood for a thousand years. It is the first full-length study in any language of Shao Yung's philosophy. Using an explicit metaphilosophical approach, the author examines the implicit and assumed aspects of Shao Yung's thought and shows how it makes sense to view his philosophy as an explanatory theory. Shao Yung explained all kinds of change and activity in the universe with six fundamental concepts that he applied to three realms of reality: subsensorial "matter," the phenomenal world of human experience, and the theoretical realm of symbols. The author also analyzes the place of the sage in Shao's philosophy. Not only would the sage restore political and moral unity in society, but through his special kind of knowing he also would restore cosmological unity. Shao's recognition that the perceiver had a critical role in making and shaping reality led to his ideal of the sage as the perfect knower. Utilizing Shao's own device of a moving observational viewpoint, the study concludes with an examination of the divergent interpretations of Shao's philosophy from the eleventh to the twentieth century. Because Shao took very seriously numerological aspects of Chinese thought that are often greatly misunderstood in the West (e.g., the I Ching), the study is also a very good introduction to the epistemological implications of an important strand of all traditional Chinese philosophical thought.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Sung Neo-Confucian synthesis is one of the two great formative periods in the history of Confucianism. Shao Yung (1011-77) was a key contributor to this synthesis, and this study attempts to make understandable the complex and highly theoretical thought of a philosopher who has been, for the most part, misunderstood for a thousand years. It is the first full-length study in any language of Shao Yung's philosophy. Using an explicit metaphilosophical approach, the author examines the implicit and assumed aspects of Shao Yung's thought and shows how it makes sense to view his philosophy as an explanatory theory. Shao Yung explained all kinds of change and activity in the universe with six fundamental concepts that he applied to three realms of reality: subsensorial "matter," the phenomenal world of human experience, and the theoretical realm of symbols. The author also analyzes the place of the sage in Shao's philosophy. Not only would the sage restore political and moral unity in society, but through his special kind of knowing he also would restore cosmological unity. Shao's recognition that the perceiver had a critical role in making and shaping reality led to his ideal of the sage as the perfect knower. Utilizing Shao's own device of a moving observational viewpoint, the study concludes with an examination of the divergent interpretations of Shao's philosophy from the eleventh to the twentieth century. Because Shao took very seriously numerological aspects of Chinese thought that are often greatly misunderstood in the West (e.g., the I Ching), the study is also a very good introduction to the epistemological implications of an important strand of all traditional Chinese philosophical thought.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book The Agony of Greek Jews, 1940–1945 by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Making the Transition by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Servants of Globalization by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Collaborative Evaluations by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Public Universities and Regional Growth by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Companies on a Mission by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book The Colonial Origins of Ethnic Violence in India by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book The Charity of War by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book The Prince of This World by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Hard Times by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Building Colonial Cities of God by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Life as Politics by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book The American Yawp by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
Cover of the book Tough Choices by Anne  D. Birdwhistell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy