From Chronicle to Canon: The Hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn according to Tung Chung-shu (Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature and Institutions)

Queen, Sarah A.

ISBN 10: 0521482267 / ISBN 13: 9780521482264

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1996

About this Item

A meticulous analysis of Tung Chung-shu's importance in Chinese philosophy and religion. Series Editor(s): Hannan, Patrick; Twitchett, Denis. Series: Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature & Institutions. Num Pages: 304 pages, 2 b/w illus. BIC Classification: 1FPC; 3B; 3D; 3H; HBJF; HPDF. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 228 x 152 x 21. Weight in Grams: 620. . 1996. Illustrated. hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780521482264

Bibliographic Details

• Title: From Chronicle to Canon: The Hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn according to Tung Chung-shu (Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature and Institutions)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521482267
• ISBN 13: 9780521482264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Every general account of the development of Chinese thought makes mention of Tung Chung-shu (195-105 BCE) as one of the pivotal philosophers of the Han. His Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn established the first state-sponsored Confucian orthodoxy, and created a view of the ruler and his role in government that was focal in political discussion for two thousand years. The author has carefully scrutinized this text for authenticity, and her book represents the most systematic account yet of Tung Chung-shu's importance in Chinese philosophy and religion.

From the Back Cover

Every general account of the development of Chinese thought makes mention of Tung Chung-shu (ca. 195 - 105 B.C.E.) as one of the pivotal philosophers of the Han (206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.). Tung's interpretations helped establish the first state-sponsored Confucian Canon, and created an ideal of the ruler and his role in government that was central to political discussion for two thousand years. The lengthy work attributed to him, the Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn (Ch'un-ch'iu fan-lu), has long been viewed as an important text for understanding the development of Chinese Confucianism. Professor Queen provides a new reading of this text and concludes that it was compiled several centuries after Tung's death, sometime between the third and sixth centuries C.E., from Tung's authentic writings and other materials not authored by him. By historizing the Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn, Queen allows a new view of Tung Chung-shu, one that sees his hermeneutics evolving not outside of history, but in relation to the political factors and doctrinal discourses that defined his day. Queen challenges the common assumption that Tung's purpose was to legitimate the political status quo. The author argues that Tung was a reformist, intent on persuading the emperor, whose power was institutionally unlimited, to accept voluntarily the role of sage-priest and become the ritual center of the realm, separated by his self-discipline from the business of governance for which his officials were responsible. From chronicle to canon also addresses Chinese religious phenomena. Approaching "scripture" not as a literary genre but as a religiohistorical phenomenon, Queen illuminates the nature ofConfucian spirituality both in its own right and in relation to Western traditions of religiosity and textuality.