Dao, Learning, Politics (on Confucian intellectuals)

Author: (American) Tu Weiming, translated by Qian Wenzhong and Sheng Qin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-10-01
Features: This book is a work by American-Chinese scholar Tu Weiming on the study of Confucian intellectuals. It includes nine papers that establish his academic status. The first four chapters explore the conceptual systems of the classical period, highlighting the spiritual tendencies of Confucian intellectuals. The middle three chapters examine the characteristics of the Neo-Confucian era during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. The last two chapters reflect on the modern significance of Confucianism. From this book, one can glimpse the author's profound knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. What is particularly valuable is that the author uses modern Western methods and discourse to re-integrate traditional Confucianism, making it highly innovative. The author's reflections and expressions are brilliant, and his critiques of figures are also very fair, with little bias. This book is a highly valuable academic work that offers a unique perspective. The nine articles included in this book are divided into three interconnected parts.
Part One explores the conceptual framework and symbolic resources of the classical period, focusing on the concepts of Dao, learning, and governance. The emphasis lies in the moral metaphysics that marks the spiritual tendencies of Confucian intellectuals. The core values embodied by Confucius and his disciples, through self-cultivation and the pursuit of personal excellence, laid the foundation for the ethical framework of the Confucian era.
Part Two consists of three chapters, offering a journey into the intellectual landscape of Confucianism. From the perspective of deeply meaningful interpretive methods, it vividly portrays the nature of Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism inherited the legacy of classical Confucianism, and the pluralism embedded within it largely determines the Confucian belief that, through self-effort as a public act, human circumstances can be transformed.