"THIS CULTURE OF OURS." Intellectual Transitions in T ang and Sung China.

Bol, Peter K.

ISBN 10: 0804723613 / ISBN 13: 9780804723619

Published by Stanford University, Stanford CA 1994., 1994

About this Item

Reprint. 8vo. x + 519pp. Occasional light pencil underlining, ownership inscription to half title. Paperback in slightly faded original wrapps. with black spine lettered in white, some minor wear to corners. ISBN 0804723613 US$10.

Seller Inventory # 204207

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "THIS CULTURE OF OURS." Intellectual Transitions in T ang and Sung China.
• Publisher: Stanford University, Stanford CA 1994.
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804723613
• ISBN 13: 9780804723619
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • TRAVEL

About this title

Synopsis

This book traces the shared culture of the Chinese elite from the seventh to the twelfth centuries. The early T'ang definition of 'This Culture of Ours' combined literary and scholarly traditions from the previous five centuries. The late Sung Neo-Confucian movement challenged that definition. The author argues that the Tang-Sung transition is best understood as a transition from a literary view of culture - in which literary accomplishment and mastery of traditional forms were regarded as essential - to the ethical orientation of Neo-Confucianism, in which the cultivation of one's innate moral ability was regarded as the goal of learning. The author shows that this transformation paralleled the collapse of the T'ang order and the restoration of a centralized empire under the Sung, underscoring the connection between elite formation and political institutions.

From the Back Cover

“Bol’s book is a major accomplishment, intellectual history at its best. Every serious student of the history and the literary and intellectual culture of traditional China will want to read Bol’s study and will need to take it into account.” —Choice