Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Preliminary Considerations and Conventions Chapter I: The World into which Confucius Came Chapter II: What Confucius Taught Chapter III: The Formation of Classical Confucianism Chapter IV: Confucian Ascendancy in the Han Dynasty Chapter V: Blending Confucianism with Other Worldviews Chapter VI: Confucianism and Challenges from a Foreign Land Chapter VII: The Renaissance Period of Confucianism Chapter VIII: Conversations with Master Zhu Chapter IX: Confucianism in New Homes and New Hearts Chapter X: The Contemporary Period A Quick Guide to Pronunciation Illustrations, Maps and Picture Credits Glossary of Titles Glossary of Names and Terms Works Cited

Promotional Information

It is arguably Confucianism, not Communism, which lies at the core of China's deepest sense of self. This introduction argues rather that Confucianism is profoundly spiritual, and must be treated as such. It offers coverage of the tradition's sometimes neglected metaphysics, and its varied manifestations in education, art, literature and culture.

About the Author

Ronnie L. Littlejohn is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Asian Studies, Belmont University, Nashville. He is the author of Daoism: An Introduction (I.B.Tauris, 2009) and co-edited, with Jeffrey Dippmann, Riding the Wind: New Essays on the Daoist Classic, the Liezi (also 2009).

Reviews

'China has 'arrived', and Ronnie Littlejohn helps us know this antique culture better. In his entirely accessible introduction, Littlejohn has done the academy the timely service of resourcing the best contemporary research in sinology to tell the compelling story of a living Confucianism as it has meandered through the dynasties to flow down to our present time.' - Roger T Ames, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawai'i