New Discussion on Classical and Modern Confucian Studies

Author: Wang Baoyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This is an academic monograph on ancient Chinese Confucian classics. The book employs both historical research and philosophical analysis to examine and discuss various aspects of Confucian classics, including their origins, canonical systems, schools, figures, philosophical and political thoughts, as well as their history of debates. In the field of Confucian studies, there are many unresolved questions, such as: When was the formation of the textual tradition of the Confucian classics completed? From which regions did the ancient and modern textual traditions originate? How did the Rites of Zhou rise to the top among the Three Rites? How did the Book of Changes become the first of the Five Classics? And so on. The book addresses these questions one by one, offering numerous original insights. In the revised section, it explores the impact of the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty on the history of Confucianism and tentatively traces the historical development from the Bao Shu Commentaries on the Changes to Wang Bi's Commentary on the Changes. It also provides a new interpretation of the dominant ideology of official scholarship in the Tang Dynasty. Through an in-depth study of Confucian classics during China's prosperous historical periods, the book constructs a fresh interpretive framework for traditional culture and attempts to influence the cultural direction of contemporary related issues in China.