Confucian Cultures of Authority

Peter D. Hershock · Roger T. Ames

Feb 2012 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

This volume examines the values that have historically guided the negotiation of identity, both practical and ideal, in Chinese Confucian culture, considers how these values play into the conception and exercise of authority, and assesses their contemporary relevance in a rapidly globalizing world. Included are essays that explore the rule of ritual in classical Confucian political discourse; parental authority in early medieval tales; authority in writings on women; authority in the great and long-beloved folk novel of China Journey to the West; and the anti-Confucianism of Lu Xun, the twentieth-century writer and reformer. By examining authority in cultural context, these essays shed considerable light on the continuities and contentions underlying the vibrancy of Chinese culture.

While of interest to individual scholars and students, the book also exemplifies the merits of a thematic (rather than geographic or area studies) approach to incorporating Asian content throughout the curriculum. This approach provides increased opportunities for cross-cultural comparison and a forum for encouraging values-centered conversation in the classroom.

About the author

Peter D. Hershock is Coordinator of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu. His books include Chan Buddhism. Roger T. Ames is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and editor of Philosophy East & West. His many books include the translation (with D. C. Lau) of the classic Chinese work Sun Bin: The Art of Warfare, also published by SUNY Press.