Daniel K. Gardner

To understand China, it is essential to understand Confucianism. First formulated in the sixth century BCE, the teachings of Confucius would come to dominate Chinese society, politics, economics, and ethics. In this Very Short Introduction, Daniel K. Gardner explores the major philosophical ideas of the Confucian tradition, showing their profound impact on state ideology and imperial government, the civil service examination system, domestic life, and social relations over the course of twenty-six centuries. Gardner focuses on two of the Sage's most crucial philosophical problems-what makes for a good person, and what constitutes good government-and demonstrates the enduring significance of these questions today. This volume shows the influence of the Sage's teachings over the course of Chinese history--on state ideology, the civil service examination system, imperial government, the family, and social relations--and the fate of Confucianism in China in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as China developed alongside a modernizing West and Japan. Some Chinese intellectuals attempted to reform the Confucian tradition to address new needs; others argued for jettisoning it altogether in favor of Western ideas and technology; still others condemned it angrily, arguing that Confucius and his legacy were responsible for China's feudal, ''backward'' conditions in the twentieth century and launching campaigns to eradicate its influences. Yet Chinese continue to turn to the teachings of Confucianism for guidance in their daily lives. In addition to a survey of the philosophy and history of Confucianism, Gardner offers an examination of the resurgence of Confucianism in China today, and explores what such a revival means for the Chinese government and the Chinese people. About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

A Very Short Introduction

Confucianism

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- From the Five Classics to the Four Books: A Schematic Overview -- The Ta-hsueh before Chu Hsi -- Chu Hsi's Work on the Ta-hsueh -- Chu Hsi's Reading of the Ta-hsueh -- Notes -- Preface to the Greater Learning in Chapters and Verses -- Chinese Text of the Ta-Hsueh Chang-Chü and the "Chi Ta-Hsueh Hou" -- Bibliography -- Glossary -- Index -- Harvard East Asian Monographs.

Neo-Confucian Reflection on the Confucian Canon

Chu Hsi and the Ta-hsueh

When Deng Xiaoping introduced market reforms in the late 1970s, few would have imagined what the next four decades would bring. China's GDP has grown on average nearly 10 percent annually since, and its economy is now the second largest in the world. Forty years ago, the Flying Pigeon bicycle ruled the roads; today, China is the world's largest car market. And if forty years ago you looked out across the Huangpu River from the Bund in Shanghai, you would have seen farmland and a few warehouses and wharves; now you see the stunning, futuristic cityscape of Pudong. The material progress of the past forty years has been staggering -- a source of pride for the Chinese people, as well as a source of legitimacy for the ruling Chinese Communist Party. But that progress has come at great cost: the extreme pollution of China's air, water, and soil has taken a stark toll on human health. In Environmental Pollution in China: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Daniel K. Gardner examines the range of factors -- economic, social, political, and historical -- contributing to the degradation of China's environment. He also covers the public response to the widespread pollution; the measures the government is taking to clean up the environment; and the country's efforts to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels and develop clean sources of energy. Concise, accessible, and authoritative, this book serves as an ideal primer on one of the world's most challenging environmental crises.

What Everyone Needs to Know®

Environmental Pollution in China

What Everyone Needs to Know

Confucius

Professor of History Daniel Gardner

This text explains the significance of Zhu Xi's interpretation of the Confucian tradition and of the genre of commentary in Eastern philosophy.

Canon, Commentary, and the Classical Tradition

Zhu Xi's Reading of the Analects

In this engaging volume, Daniel Gardner explains the way in which the Four Books--Great Learning, Analects, Mencius, and Maintaining Perfect Balance--have been read and understood by the Chinese since the twelfth century. Selected passages in translation are accompanied by Gardner's comments, which incorporate selections from the commentary and interpretation of the renowned Neo-Confucian thinker, Zhu Xi (1130-1200). This study provides an ideal introduction to the basic texts in the Confucian tradition from the twelfth through the twentieth centuries. It guides the reader through Zhu Xi's influential interpretation of the Four Books, showing how Zhu, through the genre of commentary, gave new coherence and meaning to these foundational texts. Since the Four Books with Zhu Xi's commentary served as the basic textbook for Chinese schooling and the civil service examinations for more than seven hundred years, this book illustrates as well the nature of the standard Chinese educational curriculum.

The Basic Teachings of the Later Confucian Tradition

The Four Books

Dwight W Morrow Professor of History Daniel K Gardner

This compact volume shows how the Four Books -- the Greater Learning, the Analects, the Mencius, and the Doctrine of the Mean -- have been read and understood by the Chinese since the twelfth century. Included are selected passages in translation, accompanied by Daniel Gardner's comments and the selected commentary of Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the renowned Neo-Confucian thinker. The book provides an introduction to the later imperial Confucian tradition; introduces the reader to Zhu Xi's commentarial understanding of the Four Books; suggests how Neo-Confucians, like Zhu Xi, through commentary, gave coherence and meaning to the Four Books collectively; and illustrates the nature of the standard educational curriculum.

Daniel K. Gardner

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