Angle 2009 focuses primarily on two neo-Confucians – Zhu Xi and Wang
Yangming. It analyzes the notion of sagehood as handled by these two
philosophers and explicates their moral psychology, virtue ethics and their
views on education. It renders the ethical teachings of Neo-Confucianism more
engaging for contemporary readers.
How to analyze the concept of Li (translated
as principle, order, coherence, pattern, etc.) has always been a challenging
task for scholars on neo-Confucianism, and in Behuniak 2009, the author offers an
innovative interpretation using Plato’s analogy of day as the interpretative tool. It is a refreshing piece even if
readers do not accept this interpretation.
Chen,
Lai 陳來. Songming
Lixue 宋明理學. Shanghai: East China Normal University
Press, 2005. 2nd edition.
This Chinese book is
the renowned Chinese scholar Chen Lai’s introduction to Song-Ming
Neo-Confucianism. The analysis is of the more traditional style, focusing on conceptual
analysis and historical lineage.
Huang,
Siu-chi 黃秀璣. Essentials
of Neo-Confucianism: Eight Major Philosophers of the Song and Ming Periods.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
This is a somewhat
dated book in that the analysis is more traditional, but the explications of
the eight philosophers selected here are useful as introductory pieces.
Keenan,
Barry. Neo-Confucian Self-Cultivation.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2011.
This small book focuses
on the theme of self-cultivation in the
Great Learning treated by the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi. It also provides
the background in the intellectual history of Neo-Confucianism. |