Philosophy, Philology, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century China: Li Fu and the Lu-Wang School under the Ch'ing

by C. S. Huang

Overview

This book explains the general intellectual climate of the early Ch'ing period, and the political and cultural characteristics of the Ch'ing regime at the time. Professor Huang brings to life the book's central characters, Li Fu and the three great emperors he served: K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng, and Chien-lung. Although the author's main concern is to explain the contributions of Li Fu to the Lu-Wang school of Confucianism, he also gives a clear, succinct account of the Lu-Wang and Ch'eng-Chu schools from the twelfth century to the eighteenth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521482257
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/24/1995
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature and Institutions
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The original argument (1): 'Chu Hsi versus Lu Hsiang-shan' (Chu-Lu i T'ung): a philosophical interpretation; 2. The original argument (2): Wang Yang-ming and the problematic of 'Chu Hsi versus Lu Hsiang-shan'; 3. The critical dimension in the Confucian mode of thinking: the conception of the Way as the basis for criticism of the political establishment; 4. Li Fu: an example of the Lu-Wang scholar in the Ch'ing (1): his life; 5. Li Fu: an example of the Lu-Wang scholar in the Ch'ing (2): his thought; 6. Li Fu and the philological turn; 7. The price of having a sage-emperor: the assimilation of the Tradition of the Way by the political establishment in the light of Emperor K'ang-hsi's governance.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is a pioneering work on its subject.....What Chin-shing Huang has achieved is a lucid, amazingly well-researched, and well-organized book....The book is worth reading by both specialist and nonspecialist." China Review International

"Chin-shing Huang is to be commended for his delivery to the scholarly world of the first book-length study of Li Fu....This book...is well thought out....This book is a pioneering work on its subject since there is no existing study which so meticulously examines Li Fu as a philosopher. Obviously Huang is well qualified to carry out this study. Despite the complexity of the subject, he analyzes everything with clarity and an understanding of its relevance. A careful observer, he is able to grasp firmly the many issues involving the two Neo-Confucian Schools....the author has taken a risk in dealing with such a profound and difficult subject, but the risk has been well worthwhile. What Chin-shing Huang has achieved is a lucid, amazingly well-researched and well organized book....The book is worth reading by both specialists and nonspecialists." Pei Huang, China Review International

From the Publisher