Mortality in Traditional Chinese Thought (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) - Softcover

Olberding, Amy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1438435622 ISBN 13: 9781438435626

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2012

Synopsis

A wide-ranging exploration of traditional Chinese views of mortality.

Mortality in Traditional China is the definitive exploration of a complex and fascinating but little-understood subject. Arguably, death as a concept has not been nearly as central a preoccupation in Chinese culture as it has been in the West. However, even in a society that seems to understand death as a part of life, responses to mortality are revealing and indicate much about what is valued and what is feared. This edited volume fills the lacuna on this subject, presenting an array of philosophical, artistic, historical, and religious perspectives on death during a variety of historical periods. Contributors look at material culture, including findings now available from the Mawangdui tomb excavations; consider death in Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions; and discuss death and the history and philosophy of war.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Mortality in Traditional Chinese Thought is the definitive exploration of a complex and fascinating but little-understood subject. Arguably, death as a concept has not been nearly as central a preoccupation in Chinese culture as it has been in the West. However, even in a society that seems to understand death as a part of life, responses to mortality are revealing and indicate much about what is valued and what is feared. This edited volume fills the lacuna on this subject, presenting an array of philosophical, artistic, historical, and religious perspectives on death during a variety of historical periods. Contributors look at material culture, including findings now available from the Mawangdui tomb excavations; consider death in Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions; and discuss death and the history and philosophy of war.

About the Author:

Amy Olberding is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma.

Philip J. Ivanhoe is Reader-Professor of Philosophy at the City University of Hong Kong. His many books include Religious and Philosophical Aspects of the Laozi (coedited with Mark Csikszentmihalyi) and Essays on Skepticism, Relativism, and Ethics in the Zhuangzi (coedited with Paul Kjellberg), both also published by SUNY Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1438435622
• ISBN 13: 9781438435626
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 324
• Editor: Ivanhoe Philip J.