Mencius - Softcover

3.83

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Softcover

ISBN 10: 1582430209 ISBN 13: 9781582430201

Publisher: Counterpoint, 1999

This ancient text records the teachings of Mencius, China’s ya sheng, or "second sage." A philosopher who worked in the fourth century b.c., Mencius studied with the grandson of Confucius and is credited with the development of orthodox Confucianism. Divided into seven chapters, Mencius is composed largely of conversations between the great philosopher and the rulers he sought to guide. Sometimes mystical, sometimes poetic, these teachings are often unpredictable, with startling insights that bring the narrative to life. David Hinton’s Mencius reveals for the first time the literary vibrancy of this great philosopher and the earnestness behind his faith in humanity.

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Review:

While "Mencius" may be generally more 'accessible' when compared with other classical Chinese texts, as P. J. Ivanhoe observes, it is still a challenge to capture in translation the flavor of its fine prose and the force of its arguments. This, I think, is precisely what Bloom sets out to do, and we are richly rewarded for her effort. Her translation is eminently reliable and has a graceful directness and simplicity. Ivanhoe's introduction helpfully highlights key ethical, political, and religious views and relates them to relevant contemporary philosophical debates. This book will be widely used and consulted by scholars.--Alan K. L. Chan, National University of Singapore

Synopsis:

This new translation makes the teachings of ancient Chinas second sage relevant for contemporary readers.. This ancient text records the teachings of Mencius, Chinas ya sheng , or second sage. A philosopher who worked in the fourth century b.c., Mencius studied with the grandson of Confucius and is credited with the development of orthodox Confucianism. Divided into seven chapters, Mencius is composed largely of conversations between the great philosopher and the rulers he sought to guide. Sometimes mystical, sometimes poetic, these teachings are often unpredictable, with startling insights that bring the narrative to life. David Hintons Mencius reveals for the first time the literary vibrancy of this great philosopher and the earnestness behind his faith in humanity. This ancient text records the teachings of Mencius (4th C. b.c.e.), the second originary sage in the Confucian tradition, which has shaped Chinese civilization for over two thousand years. In a culture that makes no distinction between those realms we call the heart and the mind, Mencius was the great thinker of the heart, and it was he who added the profound inner dimensions to the Confucian vision.

Given his emphasis on the heart, it isnt surprising that his philosophical method is literary in nature: story and anecdote full of human drama and poetic turns of thought. Indeed, the text is considered a paragon of literary eloquence and style.Menciuss strikingly contemporary empiricism represented a complete secularization of the spiritualist concepts of governance that had dominated China for over a millennium. He invested the humanist Confucian vision with its inner dimensions by recognizing that the individual is an integral part of a self-generating and harmonious cosmos. He saw all the spiritual depths of that cosmology inside us, and this led to a mystical faith in the inherent nobility of human beings. In his chaotic and war-ravaged times, he was therefore passionate in his defense of the people. Indeed, he advocated a virtual democracy in which a governments legitimacy depended upon the assent of the people. Such is the enduring magic of the Mencian heart--full of compassionate and practical concern for the human condition, and yet so empty that it contains the ten thousand transformations of the entire cosmos.This volume is the second in a series of translations presenting the four central masterworks of ancient Chinese thought: classics that will stand as definitive translations for our era.

Series translator David Hinton is known for the poetic fluency he brings to his award-winning work. His new versions are not only inviting and immensely readable, but they also apply a much-needed consistency to key terms in these texts, lending structural links and philosophical rigor to a canon that has only been rendered in a hodgepodge of styles. Other titles in the series are: Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters (1997), The Analects (1988), Tao Te Ching (1999).

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