Author: Erica Fox Brindley
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824833864
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
Conventional wisdom has it that the concept of individualism was absent in early China. In this uncommon study of the self and human agency in ancient China, Erica Fox Brindley provides an important corrective to this view and persuasively argues that an idea of individualism can be applied to the study of early Chinese thought and politics with intriguing results. She introduces the development of ideological and religious beliefs that link universal, cosmic authority to the individual in ways that may be referred to as individualistic and illustrates how these evolved alongside and potentially helped contribute to larger sociopolitical changes of the time, such as the centralization of political authority and the growth in the social mobility of the educated elite class. Starting with the writings of the early Mohists (fourth century BCE), Brindley analyzes many of the major works through the early second century BCE by Laozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi, as well as anonymous authors of both received and excavated texts. Changing notions of human agency affected prevailing attitudes toward the self as individual—in particular, the onset of ideals that stressed the power and authority of the individual, either as a conformist agent in relation to a larger whole or as an individualistic agent endowed with inalienable cosmic powers and authorities. She goes on to show how distinctly internal (individualistic), external (institutionalized), or mixed (syncretic) approaches to self-cultivation and state control emerged in response to such ideals. In her exploration of the nature of early Chinese individualism and the various theories for and against it, she reveals the ways in which authors innovatively adapted new theories on individual power to the needs of the burgeoning imperial state. With clarity and force, Individualism in Early China illuminates the importance of the individual in Chinese culture. By focusing on what is unique about early Chinese thinking on this topic, it gives readers a means of understanding particular "Chinese" discussions of and respect for the self.
Author: Donald J. Munro
Publisher: Univ Microfilms Incorporated
ISBN: 9780804706827
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
A classic study of Chinese philosophy
Author: Shaun Rein
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118926722
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
China's changing course, and sustainable success requires a shift in strategy The End of Copycat China helps business executives and investors understand how China's economy is shifting from one based on heavy investment to one on services and consumption by providing insight that help shape effective strategy. Drawing from over 50,000 interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity investors, private Chinese companies, and multinationals, this book describes how Chinese firms are increasingly focused on innovation rather than copying what worked in America and how consumers are evolving with their hopes, dreams and aspirations. China's growth model of the last three decades is becoming increasingly ineffective, as relying on heavy investment and exports is becoming less and less feasible. Fifty percent of China's growth in 2013 stemmed from consumption, the government is establishing a Free Trade zone in Shanghai and ending the dominance of state-owned enterprises. This book provides a roadmap for companies and investors looking to navigate these changes and capture emerging trends, with deep insight and practical guidance on what innovation looks like in the new China. Survey the development of innovation taking place in China's economy, from an insider's perspective Consider the changes that must take place to shore up the broken growth model Examine the consumer trends emerging in the midst of rapid market evolution Understand how China's rise will impact its neighbors like Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia China's dramatic shift toward consumption presents a tremendous opportunity for foreign business, but traditional tactics are outdated at best, financially fatal at worst, as local competitors focus on innovation and move up the value chain and as consumers look for new brands and categories to spend money on. New strategies are needed to keep pace with the changing regulatory and consumer environments, and "business as usual" won't get very far. The End of Copycat China is the business guide to this emerging market, with expert guidance from the inside.
Author: Bret Hinsch
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442251794
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 173
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Book Description
This distinctive and enlightening book explores the invention and development of tea drinking in China, using tea culture to explore the profound question of how Chinese have traditionally expressed individuality. Western stereotypes portray a culture that values conformity and denigrates the individual, but Bret Hinsch convincingly explodes this facile myth. He argues that although Chinese embrace a communitarian ethos and assume that the individual can only thrive within a healthy community, they have also long respected people with unique traits and superior achievements. Hinsch traces how emperors, scholars, poets, and merchants all used tea connoisseurship to publicly demonstrate superior discernment, gaining admiration by displaying individuality. Acknowledging central differences with Western norms, Hinsch shows how personal distinction nevertheless constitutes an important aspect of Chinese society. By linking tea to individualism, his deeply researched book makes an original and influential contribution to the history of Chinese culture.
Author: Erica Brindley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107084784
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 303
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Book Description
A richly empirical discussion of ethnic identity formation in the ancient world, presenting the peoples of China's southern frontier.
Author: Vitalij Aronovič Rubin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy, Chinese
Languages : en
Pages : 149
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Book Description
Author: Curie Virág
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190498811
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
This book traces the genealogy of early Chinese conceptions of emotions, as part of a broader inquiry into evolving conceptions of self, cosmos and the political order. It seeks to explain what was at stake in early philosophical debates over emotions and why the mainstream conception of emotions became authoritative.
Author: Arthur Versluis
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195076583
Category : Asia
Languages : en
Pages : 364
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Book Description
Arthur Versluis offers a comprehensive study of the relationship between the American Transcendentalists and Asian religions. He argues that an influx of new information about these religions shook nineteenth-century American religious consciousness to the core. With the publication of ever more material on Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, the Judeo-Christian tradition was inevitably placed as just one among a number of religious traditions. Fundamentalists and conservatives denounced this influx as a threat, but the Transcendentalists embraced it, poring over the sacred books of Asia to extract ethical injunctions, admonitions to self-transcendence, myths taken to support Christian doctrines, and manifestations of a supposed coming universal religion.
Author: Erica Fox Brindley
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438443137
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
Explores the religious, political, and cultural significance attributed to music in early China. In early China, conceptions of music became important culturally and politically. This fascinating book examines a wide range of texts and discourse on music during this period (ca. 500100 BCE) in light of the rise of religious, protoscientific beliefs on the intrinsic harmony of the cosmos. By tracking how music began to take on cosmic and religious significance, Erica Fox Brindley shows how music was used as a tool for such enterprises as state unification and cultural imperialism. She also outlines how musical discourse accompanied the growth of an explicit psychology of the emotions, served as a fundamental medium for spiritual attunement with the cosmos, and was thought to have utility and potency in medicine. While discussions of music in state ritual or as an aesthetic and cultural practice abound, this book is unique in linking music to religious belief and demonstrating its convergences with key religious, political, and intellectual transformations in early China.
Author: Michael Schuman
Publisher: Civitas Books
ISBN: 046502551X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Confucius is perhaps the most important philosopher in history. Today, his teachings shape the daily lives of more than 1.6 billion people. Throughout East Asia, Confucius’s influence can be seen in everything from business practices and family relationships to educational standards and government policies. Even as western ideas from Christianity to Communism have bombarded the region, Confucius’s doctrine has endured as the foundation of East Asian culture. It is impossible to understand East Asia, journalist Michael Schuman demonstrates, without first engaging with Confucius and his vast legacy. Confucius created a worldview that is in many respects distinct from, and in conflict with, Western culture. As Schuman shows, the way that East Asian companies are managed, how family members interact with each other, and how governments see their role in society all differ from the norm in the West due to Confucius’s lasting impact. Confucius has been credited with giving East Asia an advantage in today’s world, by instilling its people with a devotion to learning, and propelling the region’s economic progress. Still, the sage has also been highly controversial. For the past 100 years, East Asians have questioned if the region can become truly modern while Confucius remains so entrenched in society. He has been criticized for causing the inequality of women, promoting authoritarian regimes, and suppressing human rights. Despite these debates, East Asians today are turning to Confucius to help them solve the ills of modern life more than they have in a century. As a wealthy and increasingly powerful Asia rises on the world stage, Confucius, too, will command a more prominent place in global culture. Touching on philosophy, history, and current affairs, Confucius tells the vivid, dramatic story of the enigmatic philosopher whose ideas remain at the heart of East Asian civilization.
