Dao Companion to China’s fa Tradition:The Philosophy of Goveance by Impartial Standards (Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, 19)

by: Yuri Pines (Editor)

Publisher: Springer

Edition: 2024th

Publication Date: 2024/8/17

Language: English

Print Length: 701 pages

ISBN-10: 3031536290

ISBN-13: 9783031536298

Book Description

This volume offers the most comprehensive introduction to the ideas of ancient Chinese thinkers who looked to perfect a political system thru the emphasis on impersonal standards, laws, and norms (fa). This book covers the works of these thinkers, misleadingly dubbed Legalists, as well as the controversies they aroused, the legacy they left behind, and their potential relevance. The fa thinkers contributed decisively to the formation of China’s first unified empire in 221 BCE, but this contribution was not widely acknowledged. Their derision of the moralizing discourse of their rivals, dismissal of independent intellectuals as self-serving hypocrites, and advocacy of a powerful centralized state did not endear them to most Chinese literati. To a certain extent, these reservations remain visible in mode research, which explains why a comprehensive study of the fa traditions is still lacking. This volume fills that gap.The first of four parts introduces major texts and thinkers of the fa tradition from the Warring States (453-221 BCE) to the Former Han (206/202 BCE-9 CE) periods. The second part analyzes the major ideas of the fa texts, including concepts of fa and their implementation in political and legal spheres, views of human nature, state-society relations, rulership, morality in politics, the evolutionary view of history, and philosophy of language. The third part focuses on the changing attitudes toward fa ideas in imperial and mode China. The fourth part explores the ideas of fa advocates from a comparative perspective―both against intellectual currents in early China and Weste traditions such as Machiavellianism and totalitarianism. This book serves as a reference for students and researchers in ancient Chinese history and thought, and comparatists in the field of political philosophy.

About the Author

This volume offers the most comprehensive introduction to the ideas of ancient Chinese thinkers who looked to perfect a political system thru the emphasis on impersonal standards, laws, and norms (fa). This book covers the works of these thinkers, misleadingly dubbed Legalists, as well as the controversies they aroused, the legacy they left behind, and their potential relevance. The fa thinkers contributed decisively to the formation of China’s first unified empire in 221 BCE, but this contribution was not widely acknowledged. Their derision of the moralizing discourse of their rivals, dismissal of independent intellectuals as self-serving hypocrites, and advocacy of a powerful centralized state did not endear them to most Chinese literati. To a certain extent, these reservations remain visible in mode research, which explains why a comprehensive study of the fa traditions is still lacking. This volume fills that gap.The first of four parts introduces major texts and thinkers of the fa tradition from the Warring States (453-221 BCE) to the Former Han (206/202 BCE-9 CE) periods. The second part analyzes the major ideas of the fa texts, including concepts of fa and their implementation in political and legal spheres, views of human nature, state-society relations, rulership, morality in politics, the evolutionary view of history, and philosophy of language. The third part focuses on the changing attitudes toward fa ideas in imperial and mode China. The fourth part explores the ideas of fa advocates from a comparative perspective―both against intellectual currents in early China and Weste traditions such as Machiavellianism and totalitarianism. This book serves as a reference for students and researchers in ancient Chinese history and thought, and comparatists in the field of political philosophy.

未经允许不得转载：Wow! eBook » Dao Companion to China’s fa Tradition:The Philosophy of Goveance by Impartial Standards (Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, 19)