Ways of heaven : an introduction to Chinese thought / Roel Sterckx.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sterckx, Roel, 1969- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

China--History.

China.

History.

China--Civilization.

Civilization.

Philosophy, Chinese.

Physical Description:

xv, 481 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First US edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, 2019.

Summary:

"A brilliant history of ancient China's masters of philosophy -- and how they help us understand China today. In Ways of Heaven, leading China scholar Roel Sterckx offers an engrossing introduction to classical China's world of ideas. Drawing on evocative examples from philosophical texts, literature, and everyday life over centuries of Chinese history, Sterckx introduces major thinkers and traditions, illuminates key concepts like the dao, qi, yin, and yang, and examines questions of leadership, social order, death, nature, and more. He also reveals how these ideas shape contemporary China, from table manners at a traditional banquet, to the Chinese obsession with education and family, to the rhetoric of political leaders and the nation's grand strategy. Essential reading for students, travelers, businesspeople, and anyone curious about this rising global power, Ways of Heaven shows that to comprehend China today we must learn to think Chinese."--Publisher's website.

Contents:

China in time and space

The way (Dao) and its ways

The art of government

The individual and the collective

Behaving ritually

Spirits and ancestors

The world of nature

Work and wealth

Food for thought.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 435-449) and index.

Other Edition:

Reproduction of: 9780241385906 Sterckx, Roel, 1969- London : Pelican, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2019

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9781541618442

1541618440

OCLC:

1117773908