Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
An exploration of Chinese during a time of monumental change, the period after the fall of the Han dynasty.
Exploring a time of profound change, this book details the intellectual ferment after the fall of the Han dynasty. Questions about "heaven" and the affairs of the world that had seemed resolved by Han Confucianism resurfaced and demanded reconsideration. New currents in philosophy, religion, and intellectual life emerged to leave an indelible mark on the subsequent development of Chinese thought and culture. This period saw the rise of xuanxue ("dark learning" or "learning of the mysterious Dao"), the establishment of religious Daoism, and the rise of Buddhism. In examining the key ideas of xuanxue and focusing on its main proponents, the contributors to this volume call into question the often-presumed monolithic identity of this broad philosophical front. The volume also highlights the richness and complexity of religion in China during this period, examining the relationship between the Way of the Celestial Master and local, popular religious beliefs and practices, and discussing the relationship between religious Daoism and Buddhism.
"...the rich level of scholarship … and the breadth of topics examined, will ensure that the volume will be useful for a wide range of scholarly interests." — Dao
"...Chan and Lo have deeply enriched our understanding of early medieval China (220–589 CE)." — Journal of Chinese Religions
"…a welcome addition to the growing body of literature on medieval China." — Philosophy East & West
Introduction
Alan K. L. Chan
1. Sage Nature and the Logic of Namelessness: Reconstructing He Yan’s Explication of Dao
Alan K. L. Chan
2. Tracing the Dao: Wang Bi’s Theory of Names
Jude Soo Meng Chua
3. Hexagrams and Politics: Wang Bi’s Political Philosophy in the Zhouyi zhu
Tze Ki Hon
4. Li in Wang Bi and Guo Xiang: Coherence in the Dark
Brook Ziporyn
5. The Sage without Emotion: Music, Mind, and Politics in Xi Kang
Ulrike Middendorf
6. The Ideas of Illness, Healing, and Morality in Early Heavenly Master Daoism
Chi Tim Lai
7. Imagining Community: Family Values and Morality in the Lingbao Scriptures
Stephen R. Bokenkamp
8. What is Geyi, After All?
Victor H. Mair
9. The Buddharaja Image of Emperor Wu of Liang
Kathy Cheng Mei Ku
10. Social and Cultural Dimensions of Reclusion in Early Medieval China
Alan Berkowitz
11. Destiny and Retribution in Early Medieval China
Yuet Keung Lo
Contributors
Index