Book Review: Mencius and Early Chinese Thought

Authors

Kwong-loi Shun
Deborah A. Sommer (司馬黛蘭), Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Roles

Author: Kwong-loi Shun

Book Reviewer: Deborah Sommer, Gettysburg College

Document Type

Review

Publication Date

1-1998

Department 1

Religious Studies

Abstract

This is the first of a projected three-volume series on "the nature of Confucian-Mencian ethical thought." This volume, as well as a projected second volume, highlights important passages and concepts from the Mencius for close exegetical analysis, and compares them insightfully with such works as the Analects, the Guanzi, and the Mozi. Comparative philosophical interpretation of these concepts is planned for a projected volume three. By separating textual analysis from modem philosophical interpretation, Shun attempts to consider early Chinese concepts on their own terms, as far as that is possible, without viewing them through the lens of contemporary Western categories. One might argue that "ethical thought" is itself a Western category, but Shun's attempt to describe Mencius' ideas as directly as possible is commendable. His discussion of such concepts as heaven, the human "nature," self-cultivation, and benevolence is marked by clarity and precision. [excerpt]

Comments

Original version is available from the publisher at: http://www.maneyonline.com/toc/jcr/26/1

DOI

10.1179/073776998805306949

Recommended Citation

Sommer, Deborah. Review of Mencius and Early Chinese Thought, by Kwong-loi Shun (Stanford University Press, 1997). Journal of Chinese Religions 26.1 (January 1998): 184-185.