Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Edited by: Wm. Theodore De Bary

Columbia University Press | 2011

https://doi.org/10.7312/deba15396

Overview
Contents

About this book

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.

Author information

Wm. Theodore de Bary is the John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and provost emeritus of Columbia University and past president of the Association for Asian Studies. He has written extensively on Confucianism in East Asia and is the coeditor of Sources of East Asian Tradition, Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Japanese Tradition, and Sources of Korean Tradition.

Reviews

These accessible essays will be valuable to anyone with an interest in the traditions and literatures of East Asia.

Patricia Greer, St. John's College, Santa Fe:
This collection of essays about East Asian great books, by outstanding scholars in the field, addresses the issue of why these books are classics. Wm. Theodore de Bary's essays offer approaches to reading these books that are essential to understanding them. Scholars and advanced students in Asian studies will find this book very valuable.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Preface. The Great “Civilized” Conversation: Cases in Point Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xi
1. Asian Classics as the Great Books of the East Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2. Asia in the Core Curriculum Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	30
3. Why We Read the Analects of Confucius Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	44
4. Mencius Irene Bloom Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	57
5. Laozi Franciscus Verellen Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	72
6. Zhuangzi Paul Contino Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	80
7. Xunzi Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	93
8. The Lotus Sūtra Wing-tsit Chan Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	110
9. The Teaching of Vimalakīrti Robert A. F. Thurman Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	120
10(a). The Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch Philip Yampolsky Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	128
10(b). The Platform Sūtra as a Chinese Classic Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	136
11. Tang Poetry: A Return to Basics Burton Watson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	149
12. Journey to the West C. T. Hsia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	159
13. A Dream of Red Mansions C. T. Hsia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	174
14. Zhu Xi and the Four Books Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	187
15. Waiting for the Dawn : Huang Zongxi’s Critique of the Chinese Dynastic System Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	199
16(a). The Tale of Genji as a Japanese and World Classic Haruo Shirane Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	209
16(b). Passion and Poignancy in The Tale of Genji Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	220
17. Th e Pillow Book Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	231
18. Kamo no Chōmei’s “An Account of My Hut” Paul Anderer Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	241
19. The Tale of the Heike Paul Varley Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	248
20(a). Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness Donald Keene Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	257
20(b). Kenkō and Montaigne in Tandem James Mirollo Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	265
21(a). The Poetry of Matsuo Bashō Haruo Shirane Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	275
21(b). Matsuo Bashō Donald Keene Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	287
22. Chikamatsu Donald Keene Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	301
23. Saikaku’s Five Women Who Loved Love Wm. Theodore de Bary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	310
24. Kaibara Ekken’s Precepts for Daily Life in Japan Mary Evelyn Tucker Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	321
25. The Contemporary Meaning of T’oegye’s Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning Michael C. Kalton Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	335
26. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng JaHyun Kim Haboush Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	352
27. The Song of the Faithful Wife Ch’unhyang Rachel E. Chung Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	365
28. Reading and Teaching The Tale of Kieu Conrad Schirokauer Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	376
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	389

Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Details

Formats