East Asian Modernity and Western Modernity

Author: Xia Guang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: The modern significance of Confucianism seems to have been discussed by many for many times, so this book can be somewhat considered a repetition of old tunes. However, the author does not intend to solely advocate for modern New Confucianism. This book aims to compare modernity in East Asia and the West from a cultural perspective. The central argument of this book is that modernity in East Asia and the West represents two different models of modernity in the context of globalization, and the differences between them are primarily related to their respective cultural traditions. It must be admitted that this viewpoint itself is not novel. However, based on the literature the author has reviewed, there is still a lack of in-depth and systematic theoretical analysis regarding how different cultural traditions influence corresponding models of modernity. The author does not dare to claim to have achieved this, but only made some attempts in this direction. The basic framework of this book evolved from the author's doctoral dissertation (Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, 1997). During the writing of the dissertation, the author benefited greatly from the supervisor Irving M. Zeitlin and the other two members of the dissertation committee, Julia Ching and Wsevolod W. Isajiw, and wishes to express deep gratitude here. Additionally, many teachers, classmates, friends, and the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto provided significant assistance during the writing process, which is detailed in the Acknowledgements of the original dissertation. Due to space constraints, these will not be elaborated upon here.