Synopses & Reviews
Ta Hsüeh (Daxue) and Chung Yung (Zhongyong) are two of the central texts of early Chinese thought, encapsulating the Confucian philosophy of the Way of moral cultivation and spiritual attainment. Traditionally held to be the work of two of Confucius’s closest disciples, the books were compiled in their present form late in the second or first century bce and have occupied a central position in educational, political, and cultural life throughout East Asia for almost a thousand years. The texts focus on the connection between internal self-cultivation and the external realization of one’s moral core in the fulfillment of the practical aims of Confucian life: the observance of ritual, the proper conduct of personal relationships, and the grand enterprise of maintaining order in the state and the world.
- Includes introduction, chronological table, suggestions for further reading, notes, and appendices on basic concepts and method of argument
- These two texts complete the set of the four Confucian classics in Penguin Classics
Synopsis
Set alongside The Analects and Mencius, these two texts make up the 'Four Books' of Chinese Confucian tradition. Their depiction of the 'Way of Great Learning' focuses on the moral tenets of Confucian thinking, establishing a universal framework that links individuals with the cosmos. By drawing together key ethical and philophical, and metaphysical issues, the essays deal with the individual's development of moral character. They have long occupied a central position in the educational and political infrastructure of China, Korea and Japan, and their influence and popularity continues to grow, in the East and in the West.
About the Author
Andrew Plaks is a professor of East Asian studies at Princeton University.
Xinzhong Yao is a professor of religion and ethics at the University of Wales, Lampeter.
Table of Contents
Ta Hsüeh and Chung Yung Preface
Chronological Table of Chinese History
Introduction
Further Reading
A Note on the Translations
Ta Hsüeh The Highest Order of Cultivation
Chung Yung On the Practice of the Mean
Notes
Ta Hsüeh
Structural Analysis
The Integral Argument
Reader's Notes
Chung Yung
Structural Analysis
The Integral Argument
Reader's Notes
Appendix I. Further Discussion of Basic Concepts
Appendix II. Use of Proof-texts
Appendix III. Textual History of the Ta Hsüeh and Chung Yung