Defining the Bronze Age: Sources and Limitations
Oracle-Bone Inscriptions: Fallibility and Interpretation
“The Deity’s Command” and “Heaven’s Mandate”
Looking for Philosophy in the Documents
The End of the Bronze Age and the Rise of Doubt
Oracle-Bone Inscriptions: Fallibility and Interpretation
“The Deity’s Command” and “Heaven’s Mandate”
Looking for Philosophy in the Documents
The End of the Bronze Age and the Rise of Doubt
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A relatively small number of keywords are so important to the study of classical Chinese philosophy that any insight into their etymology and semantic range would amply repay the effort of inquiry. The familiar difficulties of Chinese... more
A relatively small number of keywords are so important to the study of classical Chinese philosophy that any insight into their etymology and semantic range would amply repay the effort of inquiry. The familiar difficulties of Chinese historical linguistics have impeded the comprehension of these keywords just as they have impeded the comprehension of every other aspect of the language. Philosophical texts in other languages rarely present commensurate hurdles. Most keywords of classical Greek and Roman philosophy, for example, are well understood from a linguistic point of view. Even Sanskrit philosophical terms usually pose fewer linguistic problems than Chinese ones. As research in the history of the Chinese language progresses, however, some keywords are slowly but surely beginning to reveal their mysteries. Decades having passed since the pioneering research by linguists such as Peter A. Boodberg (1979: 26-40) and Mei Tsu-lin (1994), the time is ripe for review. The following aperçu relies primarily on the Old Chinese reconstruction system of William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart (2014), but many of the relevant phenomena would be discernible in competing systems as well.
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This chapter reviews the aspects of Mencius that did and did not interest Han-dynasty writers. With the help of digital concordances, it is easy to discover that many of the passages considered crucial today were rarely, if ever, cited in... more
This chapter reviews the aspects of Mencius that did and did not interest Han-dynasty writers. With the help of digital concordances, it is easy to discover that many of the passages considered crucial today were rarely, if ever, cited in the Han. These include the parable of the infant about to fall into a well (2A.6), the debate with a Mohist named Yi Zhi 夷之 (3A.5), and the concept of liangzhi 良知 (7A.15), which, since Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472–1528), has been considered a cornerstone of Mencian ethics. The chapter discusses other key passages that are never mentioned in Han sources. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and thus one cannot simply infer that these passages were unknown in the Han dynasty, but it remains significant that they were not regarded as essential to understanding Mencius’s philosophy. The conclusion will explore the differences between Mencius’s reception in the Han dynasty and his Neo-Confucianized reception today.
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Ten years after the publication of "Heng Xian and the Problem of Studying Looted Artifacts" in Dao, this rejoinder to critics begins by recapitulating my original argument, then considers the leading objections that have appeared in the... more
Ten years after the publication of "Heng Xian and the Problem of Studying Looted Artifacts" in Dao, this rejoinder to critics begins by recapitulating my original argument, then considers the leading objections that have appeared in the interim. After dispensing with two trivial and ad hominem responses (that I am a hypocrite and an imperialist), the discussion focuses on the one serious objection, namely, that the benefits of studying looted artifacts outweigh the costs. I conclude with my reasons for disagreeing with this judgment.
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This is our response to Jens Østergaard Petersen’s review of our
book Lu Jia’s New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty.
book Lu Jia’s New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty.
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After decades of attempts, comparisons between classical Chinese and Greco-Roman philosophy have had limited success. While there have been some productive lines of inquiry (for example, comparing early Confucian ethics to virtue ethics... more
After decades of attempts, comparisons between classical Chinese and Greco-Roman philosophy have had limited success. While there have been some productive lines of inquiry (for example, comparing early Confucian ethics to virtue ethics as represented by Aristotle), the overall record is disappointing because concepts such as Plato's theory of forms or Aristotle's emphasis on syllogism have proved incommensurable with most classical Chinese ways of thinking. But much of the problem can be attributed to the habit of comparing Chinese thinkers to Plato and Aristotle without asking whether they are the most suitable philosophers for this purpose. For most of the twentieth century, Hellenistic philosophy was scarcely considered. Yet very recently, provocative similarities have been identified between Chinese philosophy and Stoicism, especially Epictetus. In this paper, I argue that these parallels are even more significant than previous scholarship has recognized (I hope to convince the reader that some of them are staggering), and conclude by asking why we find such parallels in the first place. My claim will not be direct or even indirect transmission; this is a case, to borrow a distinction from evolutionary biology, of analogous rather than homologous development.
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A study of economic cycles and price theory in early Chinese texts, especially Yuejue shu 越絕書 and Guanzi 管子.
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Readers sometimes wonder why China’s first philosophical burgeoning took place during a singularly chaotic period, the aptly named Warring States. Would people really have taken a break from killing each other to engage in refined... more
Readers sometimes wonder why China’s first philosophical burgeoning took place during a singularly chaotic period, the aptly named Warring States. Would people really have taken a break from killing each other to engage in refined philosophical debate? The truth is that the people who were doing the refined philosophizing were not the people doing the killing: they were advising the people doing the killing, usually for a good salary. We may like to think of ancient Chinese philosophers as high-minded gentlemen rather than venal careerists, but even high-minded gentlemen need to eat, and the necessities of life were most readily obtained by serving a ruler who wished to profit from their expertise.
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Recent studies of the canonical Five Ranks (wudeng 五等, known from Mencius 5B.2 and related texts) by Li Feng and Yuri Pines contain many useful observations, but neither one discusses the etymologies. Most of the titles can be shown to... more
Recent studies of the canonical Five Ranks (wudeng 五等, known from Mencius 5B.2 and related texts) by Li Feng and Yuri Pines contain many useful observations, but neither one discusses the etymologies. Most of the titles can be shown to originate in kinship terms and reflect the early Chinese conception of political power as supervening on lineage status. Traditional Sinology, both in East Asia and in the West, has unjustifiably contented itself with examining usage and graphic variation, without considering etymology, which is possible only by considering the forms in Old Chinese. Etymology being an inexact science, the ideas offered below are necessarily tentative, but I hope they will help us overcome the fusty renderings "duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron," which vary from occasionally defensible (marquis) to wholly preposterous (viscount).
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Invited response to Paul J. D'Ambrosio et al., “Incongruent Names: A Theme in the History of Chinese Philosophy,” Dao 17.3 (2018), 305-30.
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This article uses evidence from digital databases to re-examine two controversial issues regarding the “Six Criteria” (liufa 六法) of painting listed by Xie He 謝赫 (d. after 532) in the preface to his Gu huapin lu 古畫品錄: (1) their syntax and... more
This article uses evidence from digital databases to re-examine two controversial issues regarding the “Six Criteria” (liufa 六法) of painting listed by Xie He 謝赫 (d. after 532) in the preface to his Gu huapin lu 古畫品錄: (1) their syntax and phrasing, and (2) the origin and connotations of qiyun 氣韻, the most famous of the six. Despite recent claims to the contrary, the series of six numbered clauses taking the form “X, Y shi ye 是也” is unremarkable for the language of the time; moreover, the application of the Six Criteria in the subsequent biographies discloses that they are listed in decreasing order of importance. While the meaning and connotations of qiyun are impossible to state succinctly because they vary from one source to another, it is used (like similar phrases, such as yayun 雅韻 and shenyun 神韻) both to praise people’s character and as an aesthetic quality pertaining to music, literature, and art.
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Published in Michael Hunter and Martin Kern, eds., Confucius and the Analects Revisited (2018).
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Entry on Xunzi for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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Introduction to A Concise Companion to Confucius (Wiley Blackwell, 2017)
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Introduction to the newly published Routledge Handbook of Early Chinese History (2018)
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One longstanding criticism of Chinese thought is that is not truly “philosophical” because it lacks viable protocols of argumentation. Thus it qualifies at best as “wisdom”; Confucius, for example, might provide valuable guidance, or... more
One longstanding criticism of Chinese thought is that is not truly “philosophical” because it lacks viable protocols of argumentation. Thus it qualifies at best as “wisdom”; Confucius, for example, might provide valuable guidance, or thoughtful epigrams to ponder, but nothing in the way of formal reasoning that would permit his audience to reconstruct and reconsider his arguments in any conceivable context.
This criticism seems to be based on the tacit premise that acceptable argumentation must be deductive, whereas most famous Chinese arguments tend to be non-deductive. This paper will survey the types of non-deductive argumentation commonly found in Chinese philosophy. One of the most prolific is appeal to example, which is the basis of the strong interest in anecdotes as a genre of philosophical literature from the Springs and Autumns at least through the Six Dynasties.
There are important examples of deductive argument as well, which will be briefly reviewed.
Whether these observations are sufficient to rescue Chinese thought from the wilderness of “wisdom” and enshrine it in the halls of “philosophy” will be left for the reader to decide, but a conception of “philosophy” that can account for Chinese thought is naturally more interesting than one that cannot.
This criticism seems to be based on the tacit premise that acceptable argumentation must be deductive, whereas most famous Chinese arguments tend to be non-deductive. This paper will survey the types of non-deductive argumentation commonly found in Chinese philosophy. One of the most prolific is appeal to example, which is the basis of the strong interest in anecdotes as a genre of philosophical literature from the Springs and Autumns at least through the Six Dynasties.
There are important examples of deductive argument as well, which will be briefly reviewed.
Whether these observations are sufficient to rescue Chinese thought from the wilderness of “wisdom” and enshrine it in the halls of “philosophy” will be left for the reader to decide, but a conception of “philosophy” that can account for Chinese thought is naturally more interesting than one that cannot.
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“氣”作爲一個含義豐富的字，與相當多的概念相互關聯，表現出極爲複雜的内涵。但“氣”是中國哲學中的重要命題，所以歷來的研究者都希望梳理出“氣”的概念史。最近白一平（Ｗｉｌｌｉａｍ Ｈ． Ｂａｘｔｅｒ）和沙加爾（Ｌａｕｒｅｎｔ Ｓａｇａｒｔ）重構“氣”爲Ｃ． ｑｈｐｓ，其中Ｃ表示不確定的輔音，與“吸”顯示出明顯的聯繫；而ｑｈｐ則表示呼吸。毫無疑，“氣”的基本含義是“呼吸”（ｂｒｅａｔｈ），而所有其他感官... more
“氣”作爲一個含義豐富的字，與相當多的概念相互關聯，表現出極爲複雜的内涵。但“氣”是中國哲學中的重要命題，所以歷來的研究者都希望梳理出“氣”的概念史。最近白一平（Ｗｉｌｌｉａｍ Ｈ． Ｂａｘｔｅｒ）和沙加爾（Ｌａｕｒｅｎｔ Ｓａｇａｒｔ）重構“氣”爲Ｃ． ｑｈｐｓ，其中Ｃ表示不確定的輔音，與“吸”顯示出明顯的聯繫；而ｑｈｐ則表示呼吸。毫無疑，“氣”的基本含義是“呼吸”（ｂｒｅａｔｈ），而所有其他感官
（ｓｅｎｓｅｓ）都從它派生出來。本文在此基礎上繼續對“氣”及其相關概念如陰陽、五行等進行研究，闡述“氣”之所以在中國上古時期能夠作爲重要概念的三個主要原因
及其積極意義：（１）“氣”以“神靈”的形式允許了疾病的概念化；（２）“氣”能賦予“天命”政治承襲理論合法性的地位；（３）傳統認爲可藉學習控制“氣”以獲得非凡力量。最後爲求使研究更完整，本文亦對“氣”的局限性作一討論。
（ｓｅｎｓｅｓ）都從它派生出來。本文在此基礎上繼續對“氣”及其相關概念如陰陽、五行等進行研究，闡述“氣”之所以在中國上古時期能夠作爲重要概念的三個主要原因
及其積極意義：（１）“氣”以“神靈”的形式允許了疾病的概念化；（２）“氣”能賦予“天命”政治承襲理論合法性的地位；（３）傳統認爲可藉學習控制“氣”以獲得非凡力量。最後爲求使研究更完整，本文亦對“氣”的局限性作一討論。
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Although the Shang dynasty sometimes seems archaic and alien from the point of view of later periods, there are important elements of Shang culture that persevered in recognizable forms, even after allowing for adaptation to new... more
Although the Shang dynasty sometimes seems archaic and alien from the point of view of later periods, there are important elements of Shang culture that persevered in recognizable forms, even after allowing for adaptation to new historical realities, beyond the Zhou conquest in 1045 B.C. These points of continuity being generally underappreciated, five of the most salient are sketched below, in the hope of spurring renewed interest in China’s first historical dynasty: the ritual use of writing, particularly as a mode of communication with the spirit world; the status of Chinese as the sole written language; the notion that some days are auspicious and others inauspicious; a patrilocal and patrilineal family structure that nevertheless accommodated mothers within its ritual order; and “the Deity’s command” (di ling). In keeping with the genre of “brief communication,” the examples adduced are illustrative rather than exhaustive; a full study of these themes would require an entire monograph.
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Heng Xian is a previously unknown text reconstructed by Chinese scholars out of a group of more than 1,200 inscribed bamboo strips purchased by the Shanghai Museum on the Hong Kong antiquities market in 1994. The strips have all been... more
Heng Xian is a previously unknown text reconstructed by Chinese scholars out of a group of more than 1,200 inscribed bamboo strips purchased by the Shanghai Museum on the Hong Kong antiquities market in 1994. The strips have all been assigned an approximate date of 300 B.C.E., and Heng Xian allegedly consists of thirteen of them, but each proposed arrangement of the strips is marred by unlikely textual transitions. The most plausible hypothesis is one that Chinese scholars do not appear to take seriously: that we are missing one or more strips. The paper concludes with a discussion of the hazards of studying unprovenanced artifacts that have appeared during China's recent looting spree. I believe the time has come for scholars to ask themselves whether their work indirectly abets this destruction of knowledge.
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From Constance A. Cook and Paul R. Goldin, eds. A Source Book of Ancient Chinese Bronze Inscriptions, Early China Monograph Series 7 (Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, 2016).
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Introduction to the Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei (2012)
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One of the challenges of reading ancient Chinese philosophical texts is to recognize that certain keywords have attained significantly different senses in the more recent language, and to try to reconstruct, on the basis of contemporary... more
One of the challenges of reading ancient Chinese philosophical texts is to recognize that certain keywords have attained significantly different senses in the more recent language, and to try to reconstruct, on the basis of contemporary documents, what these terms would have meant to classical audiences. One such term is zhong 忠, which is often mechanically translated as "loyalty." Throughout the imperial period, and in many Eastern Zhou contexts, zhong did indeed mean something very similar to loyalty. However, simply plugging in the word "loyalty" every time one encounters zhong can lead to seriously incorrect translations, especially when dealing with texts from before the third century BCE. This article discusses a range of complex early meanings including "treating people right," "being honest with oneself in dealing with others," and "adjudicating a case fairly." In addition, the relationship with zhong 中 is explored by means of a revealing Western Zhou bronze inscription.
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This paper considers sexual macrobiotic techniques of ancient China in their cultural and religious milieu, focusing on the text known as Secret Instructions of the Jade Bedchamber, which explains how the Spirit Mother of the West,... more
This paper considers sexual macrobiotic techniques of ancient China in their cultural and religious milieu, focusing on the text known as Secret Instructions of the Jade Bedchamber, which explains how the Spirit Mother of the West, originally an ordinary human being like anyone else, devoured the life force of numerous young boys by copulating with them, and thereby transformed herself into a famed goddess. Although many previous studies of Chinese sexuality have highlighted such methods (the noted historian R.H. van Gulik was the first to refer to them as 'sexual vampirism'), it has rarely been asked why learned and intelligent people of the past took them seriously. The inquiry here, by considering some of the most common ancient criticisms of these practices, concludes that practitioners did not regard decay as an inescapable characteristic of matter; consequently it was widely believed that, if the cosmic processes were correctly understood, one could devise techniques that may forestall senectitude indefinitely.
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First full translation into English of a newly excavated bamboo text from the Shanghai Museum collection, which features a cosmogonic or genesis account of the universe
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This bibliography contains more than 800 items and will be continuously updated.
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This bibliography comprises ca. 1,800 entries and will be continuously updated.
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This bibliography, which contains approximately 15,500 entries, aims to be inclusive from the Neolithic through the pre-Buddhist era and is continuously updated. I used to upload the file to my department website, but it can no longer... more
This bibliography, which contains approximately 15,500 entries, aims to be inclusive from the Neolithic through the pre-Buddhist era and is continuously updated. I used to upload the file to my department website, but it can no longer handle such large uploads!
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A response to misrepresentations of my work in Michael R. Slater, “Xunzi on Heaven, Ritual, and the Way,” Philosophy East and West 68.3 (2018), 887-908.
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Originally published in Warring States Papers 1 (2010), 75-78. I have been slowly updating it over the years.
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Originally published in Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (2001), and revised over the years.
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A corrected version of the article that was published with editorial mistakes in Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38.1 (2011)
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This book presents the foundations of classical Chinese aesthetic discourse--roughly from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages--with the following animating questions: What is art? Why do we produce it? How do we judge it?... more
This book presents the foundations of classical Chinese aesthetic discourse--roughly from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages--with the following animating questions:
What is art?
Why do we produce it?
How do we judge it?
The arts that garnered the most theoretical attention during this time period were music, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and the book considers the reasons why these four were privileged. Whereas modern artists most likely consider themselves musicians or poets or calligraphers or painters or sculptors or architects, the pre-modern authors who produced the literature that established Chinese aesthetics prided themselves on being wenren, “cultured people,” conversant with all forms of art and learning. Other comparisons with Western theories and works of art are presented at due junctures.
What is art?
Why do we produce it?
How do we judge it?
The arts that garnered the most theoretical attention during this time period were music, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and the book considers the reasons why these four were privileged. Whereas modern artists most likely consider themselves musicians or poets or calligraphers or painters or sculptors or architects, the pre-modern authors who produced the literature that established Chinese aesthetics prided themselves on being wenren, “cultured people,” conversant with all forms of art and learning. Other comparisons with Western theories and works of art are presented at due junctures.
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Ancient Chinese economic thought has never been related to the evidence of economic practice. We know how state economies were supposed to be run in theory, but not the degree to which economic thought re ected everyday economic activity.... more
Ancient Chinese economic thought has never been related to the evidence of economic practice. We know how state economies were supposed to be run in theory, but not the degree to which economic thought re ected everyday economic activity. Moreover, it is still not clear to what extent economic thought constituted a separate eld of inquiry and was independent of fundamental cultural notions or political considerations. Finally, why was there so much more sustained interest in political economy in China than anywhere else? This book sets out to consider such questions through contextualised analyses of both received and newly excavated sources on economic thought and practice.
Acknowledgments
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Elisa Levi Sabattini and Christian Schwermann
1 Economic Cycles and Price Theory in Early Chinese Texts
Paul R. Goldin
2 Agriculturalism and Beyond: Economic Thought of The Book of Lord Shang
Yuri Pines
3 Situating the “Qingzhong” 輕重 Chapters of the Guanzi 管子
Hans van Ess
4 Feng Xuan Buys Rightness, Gongyi Xiu Expels His Wife: Economic Exemplars in the Warring States and Early Han
Andrew Meyer
5 Between Command and Market: Credit, Labour, and Accounting in the Qin Empire (221–207 BCE)
Maxim Korolkov
6 The Economic Activities of a Qin Local Administration: Qianling County, Modern Liye, Hunan Province, 222–209 BCE
Robin D.S. Yates
7 To Ban or Not to Ban: Jia Yi on Copper Distribution and Minting Coins
Elisa Levi Sabattini
8 The First Chinese Economic Impact on Asia: Distribution and Usage of Monies in Early China in Synchronic and Diachronic Perspective
Yohei Kakinuma
Index
Acknowledgments
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Elisa Levi Sabattini and Christian Schwermann
1 Economic Cycles and Price Theory in Early Chinese Texts
Paul R. Goldin
2 Agriculturalism and Beyond: Economic Thought of The Book of Lord Shang
Yuri Pines
3 Situating the “Qingzhong” 輕重 Chapters of the Guanzi 管子
Hans van Ess
4 Feng Xuan Buys Rightness, Gongyi Xiu Expels His Wife: Economic Exemplars in the Warring States and Early Han
Andrew Meyer
5 Between Command and Market: Credit, Labour, and Accounting in the Qin Empire (221–207 BCE)
Maxim Korolkov
6 The Economic Activities of a Qin Local Administration: Qianling County, Modern Liye, Hunan Province, 222–209 BCE
Robin D.S. Yates
7 To Ban or Not to Ban: Jia Yi on Copper Distribution and Minting Coins
Elisa Levi Sabattini
8 The First Chinese Economic Impact on Asia: Distribution and Usage of Monies in Early China in Synchronic and Diachronic Perspective
Yohei Kakinuma
Index
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Lu Jia's New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty is a readable yet accurate translation by Paul R. Goldin and Elisa Levi Sabattini. Celebrated as “a man-of-service with a mouth [skilled] at persuasion”, Lu Jia... more
Lu Jia's New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty is a readable yet accurate translation by Paul R. Goldin and Elisa Levi Sabattini.
Celebrated as “a man-of-service with a mouth [skilled] at persuasion”, Lu Jia (c. 228-140 BCE) became one of the leading figures of the early Han dynasty, serving as a statesman and diplomat from the very beginning of the Han empire. This book is a translation of Lu Jia’s New Discourses, which laid out the reasons for rise and fall of empires. Challenged by the new Emperor to produce a book explaining why a realm that was conquered on horseback cannot also be ruled on horseback, Lu Jia produced New Discourses, to great acclaim.
Celebrated as “a man-of-service with a mouth [skilled] at persuasion”, Lu Jia (c. 228-140 BCE) became one of the leading figures of the early Han dynasty, serving as a statesman and diplomat from the very beginning of the Han empire. This book is a translation of Lu Jia’s New Discourses, which laid out the reasons for rise and fall of empires. Challenged by the new Emperor to produce a book explaining why a realm that was conquered on horseback cannot also be ruled on horseback, Lu Jia produced New Discourses, to great acclaim.
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Forthcoming from Princeton University Press
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The subject of sex was central to early Chinese thought. Discussed openly and seriously as a fundamental topic of human speculation, it was an important source of imagery and terminology that informed the classical Chinese conception of... more
The subject of sex was central to early Chinese thought. Discussed openly and seriously as a fundamental topic of human speculation, it was an important source of imagery and terminology that informed the classical Chinese conception of social and political relationships. This sophisticated and long-standing tradition, however, has been all but neglected by modern historians. In The Culture of Sex in Ancient China, Paul Rakita Goldin addresses central issues in the history of Chinese attitudes toward sex and gender from 500 B.C. to A.D. 400.
A survey of major pre-imperial sources, including some of the most revered and influential texts in the Chinese tradition, reveals the use of the image of copulation as a metaphor for various human relations, such as those between a worshiper and his or her deity or a ruler and his subjects. In his examination of early Confucian views of women, Goldin notes that, while contradictions and ambiguities existed in the articulation of these views, women were nevertheless regarded as full participants in the Confucian project of self-transformation. He goes on to show how assumptions concerning the relationship of sexual behavior to political activity (assumptions reinforced by the habitual use of various literary tropes discussed earlier in the book) led to increasing attempts to regulate sexual behavior throughout the Han dynasty. Following the fall of the Han, this ideology was rejected by the aristocracy, who continually resisted claims of sovereignty made by impotent emperors in a succession of short-lived dynasties.
Erudite and immensely entertaining, this study of intellectual conceptions of sex and sexuality in China will be welcomed by students and scholars of early China and by those with an interest in the comparative development of ancient cultures.
A survey of major pre-imperial sources, including some of the most revered and influential texts in the Chinese tradition, reveals the use of the image of copulation as a metaphor for various human relations, such as those between a worshiper and his or her deity or a ruler and his subjects. In his examination of early Confucian views of women, Goldin notes that, while contradictions and ambiguities existed in the articulation of these views, women were nevertheless regarded as full participants in the Confucian project of self-transformation. He goes on to show how assumptions concerning the relationship of sexual behavior to political activity (assumptions reinforced by the habitual use of various literary tropes discussed earlier in the book) led to increasing attempts to regulate sexual behavior throughout the Han dynasty. Following the fall of the Han, this ideology was rejected by the aristocracy, who continually resisted claims of sovereignty made by impotent emperors in a succession of short-lived dynasties.
Erudite and immensely entertaining, this study of intellectual conceptions of sex and sexuality in China will be welcomed by students and scholars of early China and by those with an interest in the comparative development of ancient cultures.
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After Confucius is a collection of eight studies of Chinese philosophy from the time of Confucius to the formation of the empire in the second and third centuries B.C.E. As detailed in a masterful introduction, each essay serves as a... more
After Confucius is a collection of eight studies of Chinese philosophy from the time of Confucius to the formation of the empire in the second and third centuries B.C.E. As detailed in a masterful introduction, each essay serves as a concrete example of "thick description"--an approach invented by philosopher Gilbert Ryle--which aims to reveal the logic that informs an observable exchange among members of a community or society. To grasp the significance of such exchanges, it is necessary to investigate the networks of meaning on which they rely. Paul R. Goldin argues that the character of ancient Chinese philosophy can be appreciated only if we recognize the cultural codes underlying the circulation of ideas in that world. Thick description is the best preliminary method to determine how Chinese thinkers conceived of their own enterprise.
Who were the ancient Chinese philosophers? What was their intended audience? What were they arguing about? How did they respond to earlier thinkers, and to each other? Why did those in power wish to hear from them, and what did they claim to offer in return for patronage? Goldin addresses these questions as he looks at several topics, including rhetorical conventions of Chinese philosophical literature; the value of recently excavated manuscripts for the interpretation of the more familiar, received literature; and the duty of translators to convey the world of concerns of the original texts. Each of the cases investigated in this wide-ranging volume exemplifies the central conviction behind Goldin's plea for thick description: We do not do justice to classical Chinese philosophy unless we engage squarely the complex and ancient culture that engendered it.
Who were the ancient Chinese philosophers? What was their intended audience? What were they arguing about? How did they respond to earlier thinkers, and to each other? Why did those in power wish to hear from them, and what did they claim to offer in return for patronage? Goldin addresses these questions as he looks at several topics, including rhetorical conventions of Chinese philosophical literature; the value of recently excavated manuscripts for the interpretation of the more familiar, received literature; and the duty of translators to convey the world of concerns of the original texts. Each of the cases investigated in this wide-ranging volume exemplifies the central conviction behind Goldin's plea for thick description: We do not do justice to classical Chinese philosophy unless we engage squarely the complex and ancient culture that engendered it.
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Lecture for Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
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A recording is now available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSUf2z9jw8k The Chinese Bronze Age corresponds roughly to two dynasties, Shang 商 (ca. 1600-ca. 1045 B.C.) and Western Zhou 西周 (ca. 1045-771 B.C.). The name Bronze... more
A recording is now available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSUf2z9jw8k
The Chinese Bronze Age corresponds roughly to two dynasties, Shang 商 (ca. 1600-ca. 1045 B.C.) and Western Zhou 西周 (ca. 1045-771 B.C.). The name Bronze Age is defensible because these were bronze-using societies whose artifacts evince a high degree of metallurgical skill, and who left behind some of their most important documents as inscriptions on bronze vessels. Conspicuously, the surviving textual sources derive from the world of the elite, if not the very apex of power in the form of the King and his closest ministers. One of the major questions is the extent to which they believed what they wrote and transmitted. How much confidence did they have in their oracles? Did the King believe that Heaven would reward him for virtue and punish him for vice? If anyone in the Bronze Age harbored doubts about these convictions, no such record has survived. Accordingly, the Bronze Age may seem barren to philosophers, for I do not think there can be “philosophy” without doubt: the awareness that there can be other perspectives, that a moral life requires thinking for oneself and not simply living up to the expectations of some unquestioned authority. But what can be inferred? This paper will survey questions such as the interpretation of oracles, the doctrine of Heaven’s Mandate (tianming 天命), the concept of learning from history, ideals of jurisprudence, and the reasons for the collapse of Bronze Age ideology in later centuries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSUf2z9jw8k
The Chinese Bronze Age corresponds roughly to two dynasties, Shang 商 (ca. 1600-ca. 1045 B.C.) and Western Zhou 西周 (ca. 1045-771 B.C.). The name Bronze Age is defensible because these were bronze-using societies whose artifacts evince a high degree of metallurgical skill, and who left behind some of their most important documents as inscriptions on bronze vessels. Conspicuously, the surviving textual sources derive from the world of the elite, if not the very apex of power in the form of the King and his closest ministers. One of the major questions is the extent to which they believed what they wrote and transmitted. How much confidence did they have in their oracles? Did the King believe that Heaven would reward him for virtue and punish him for vice? If anyone in the Bronze Age harbored doubts about these convictions, no such record has survived. Accordingly, the Bronze Age may seem barren to philosophers, for I do not think there can be “philosophy” without doubt: the awareness that there can be other perspectives, that a moral life requires thinking for oneself and not simply living up to the expectations of some unquestioned authority. But what can be inferred? This paper will survey questions such as the interpretation of oracles, the doctrine of Heaven’s Mandate (tianming 天命), the concept of learning from history, ideals of jurisprudence, and the reasons for the collapse of Bronze Age ideology in later centuries.
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Online Zoom symposium
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This set of invited lectures will be based on my recent book, The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them. Zoom login information is on the flyer. Please note that BJT stands for Beijing Time 北京時間, i.e.... more
This set of invited lectures will be based on my recent book, The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them. Zoom login information is on the flyer. Please note that BJT stands for Beijing Time 北京時間, i.e. China Standard Time.
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After decades of attempts, comparisons between classical Chinese and Greco-Roman philosophy have had limited success. While there have been some productive lines of inquiry (for example, comparing early Confucian ethics to virtue ethics... more
After decades of attempts, comparisons between classical Chinese and Greco-Roman philosophy have had limited success. While there have been some productive lines of inquiry (for example, comparing early Confucian ethics to virtue ethics as represented by Aristotle), the overall record is disappointing because concepts such as Plato’s theory of forms or Aristotle’s emphasis on syllogism have proved incommensurable with most classical Chinese ways of thinking. But much of the problem can be attributed to the habit of comparing Chinese thinkers to Plato and Aristotle without asking whether they are the most suitable philosophers for this purpose.
For most of the twentieth century, Hellenistic philosophy was scarcely considered. Yet very recently, provocative similarities have been identified between Chinese philosophy and Stoicism, especially Epictetus. I shall argue that these parallels are even more significant than previous scholarship has recognized (I hope to convince the reader that some of them are indeed staggering), and conclude by asking why we find such parallels in the first place. My claim will not be direct or even indirect transmission; this is a case, to borrow a distinction from evolutionary biology, of analogous rather than homologous development.
For most of the twentieth century, Hellenistic philosophy was scarcely considered. Yet very recently, provocative similarities have been identified between Chinese philosophy and Stoicism, especially Epictetus. I shall argue that these parallels are even more significant than previous scholarship has recognized (I hope to convince the reader that some of them are indeed staggering), and conclude by asking why we find such parallels in the first place. My claim will not be direct or even indirect transmission; this is a case, to borrow a distinction from evolutionary biology, of analogous rather than homologous development.
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The 論語 and Its Neighbors
Zoom Metting ID: 974 2944 7336
see https://youtu.be/twxh5TQI-hY
Schedule at https://maddalenapoli.com/sitemap/blog-2/
Zoom Metting ID: 974 2944 7336
see https://youtu.be/twxh5TQI-hY
Schedule at https://maddalenapoli.com/sitemap/blog-2/
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The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania will host a one-day workshop on approaches to classical Chinese philosophical texts on Oct. 5. The event is free and open to the public, but please... more
The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania will host a one-day workshop on approaches to classical Chinese philosophical texts on Oct. 5. The event is free and open to the public, but please register using the link below (which includes a program):
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/classical-chinese-philosophical-texts-tickets-71300157691
Hope to see you there!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/classical-chinese-philosophical-texts-tickets-71300157691
Hope to see you there!
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Please note that the inane translations of titles (such as "The superfluous of The Book of Zhou") were inserted by the editors without my knowledge.
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Xunzi 荀子 (séc. III AEC) foi um filósofo confuciano, por vezes considerado o terceiro dos três grandes confucianos clássicos (após Confúcio e Mêncio). Durante a maior parte da história imperial chinesa, entretanto, Xunzi foi uma ovelha... more
Xunzi 荀子 (séc. III AEC) foi um filósofo confuciano, por vezes considerado o terceiro dos três grandes confucianos clássicos (após Confúcio e Mêncio). Durante a maior parte da história imperial chinesa, entretanto, Xunzi foi uma ovelha negra, alguém normalmente citado como um exemplo de confuciano que se extraviou ao rejeitar as convicções de Mêncio. Somente nas últimas décadas que Xunzi foi amplamente reconhecido como um dos maiores pensadores da China.