Confucian Wisdom for the 21st Century


Book Description

"This is a new English presentation of Confucian wisdom as contained in the Four books (Si shu) .... Confucius was not a philosopher, for his thoughts and truths were not derived by logic. Rather, his wisdom reflected good common sense and insight inherited from his forefathers." -- Preface.




Great Equal Society, The: Confucianism, China And The 21st Century


Book Description

Confucianism is the guiding creed for a quarter of mankind, yet hardly anyone has explained it in plain terms — until now. Written in a style both intelligible and enjoyable for the global audience, The Great Equal Society distils the core ideas of the major Confucian classics and shows how their timeless wisdom can be applied to the modern world. It also introduces pragmatic suggestions emanating from Confucius and his followers for ensuring good governance, building a humane economy and educating moral leaders.The book's core message of inner morality, first expounded by Confucius millennia ago, will resonate on both sides of the Pacific, and its sweeping survey of the hot topics today — dysfunctional government, crony capitalism, and the erosion of ethics in both Wall Street and Main Street, among others — will breathe new life to Confucian teachings while providing much-needed answers to our urgent social problems.The Great Equal Society is written by Young-oak Kim, a Korean thinker whom Wikipedia describes as “the nation's leading philosopher dealing with public issues and explaining Oriental philosophy to the public,” and Jung-kyu Kim, a talented trilingual writer who has published works in English, Japanese and Korean.




Confucian Reflections


Book Description

Confucian Reflections: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times is about the early Chinese Confucian classic the "Analects" Lunyu, attributed to the founder of the Confucian tradition, Kongzi (551-479 bce) and who is more commonly referred to as "Confucius" in the West. Philip J. Ivanhoe argues that the Analects is as relevant and important today as it has proven to be over the course of its more than 2000 year history, not only for the people who live in East Asian societies but for all human beings. The fact that this text has inspired so many talented people for so long, across a range of complex, creative, rich, and fascinating cultures offers a strong prima facie reason for thinking that the insights the Analects contains are not bound by either the particular time or cultural context in which the text took shape.




Confucius from the Heart


Book Description

Now available in the U.S. and already one of China's all-time bestsellers, "Confucius from the Heart" stands as an inspirational work that teaches readers how to apply Confucian wisdom to their everyday lives. Full-color illustrations throughout.




Reconceptualizing Confucian Philosophy in the 21st Century


Book Description

This book comprises 30 chapters representing certain new trends in reconcenptualizing Confucian ideas, ideals, values and ways of thinking by scholars from China and abroad. While divergent in approaches, these chapters are converged on conceptualizing and reconceptualizing Confucianism into something philosophically meaningful and valuable to the people of the 21st century. They are grouped into three parts, and each is dedicated to one of the three major themes this book attempts to address. Part one is mainly on scholarly reviews of Confucian doctrines by which new interpretations will be drawn out. Part two is an assembled attempt to reexamine Confucian concepts, in which critiques of traditional views lead to new perspectives for perennial questions. Part three is focused on reinterpreting Confucian virtues and values, in the hope that a new sense of being moral can be gained through old normative forms.




Wealth and Power


Book Description

Two leading experts on China evaluate its rise throughout the past one hundred fifty years, sharing portraits of key intellectual and political leaders to explain how China transformed from a country under foreign assault to a world giant.




Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities:


Book Description

This book examines the ways in which China’s universities have changed in the dramatic move to a mass stage which has unfolded since the late 1990s. Twelve universities in different regions of the country are portrayed through the eyes of their students, faculty and leaders. The book begins with the national level policy process around the move to mass higher education. This is followed by an analysis of the views of 2,300 students on the 12 campuses about how the changes have affected their learning experiences and civil society involvement. The 12 portraits in the next section are of three comprehensive universities, three education-related universities, three science and technology universities, and three newly emerging private universities. The final chapter sketches the contours of an emerging Chinese model of the university, and explores its connections to China’s longstanding scholarly traditions







Cross-Textual Reading of Ecclesiastes with the Analects


Book Description

Various cross-textual readings have been attempted between the Christian Bible and Chinese literature. Using cross-textual hermeneutics, this study centers on the political wisdom of Ecclesiastes and the Analects, and its goal is to demonstrate that both texts offer wisdom pointers for human survival amid uncertain sociopolitical realities. Chapter 1 introduces the vibrant interaction of biblical wisdom literature within the ancient Near East and highlights some of its political connections. The openness of wisdom literature is then proposed to support this present effort of cross-textual research. Chapter 2 offers readings of eight passages that communicate Qoheleth's political wisdom in Ecclesiastes. Chapter 3 centers on the Analects and on some notable passages that relate to Confucius' political ideas. Chapter 4 seeks to demonstrate the dialogical dynamics between the two works by exploring specific hermeneutical connections. In conclusion, readers will come to understand the distinctive and collective political insights of both wisdom texts. That is, this study suggests contextualized ideas for living wisely from within both a faith tradition and a native tradition.




The Global Foundations of Public Relations


Book Description

The Global Foundations of Public Relations: Humanism, China and the West explores the growing humanistic turn in public relations processes and proposes that this has compelling parallels in the roots of Chinese philosophies. As the leader of growth and power across the Pacific Rim, public relations in China is not developing in isolation from the West, but via mutual accommodations and culturally complex interactions. By collecting cases and reflections on PR practices from both Chinese and Western scholars, the chapters propose that Chinese philosophies are playing a role in the development of modern Chinese PR practices, and – focusing less on the obvious differences and contracts – seek to highlight their spiritual, philosophical and political confluences. The conclusions drawn enhance and advance our understanding of public relations globally. This innovative work is of interest to educators and researchers in the fields of public relations, strategic communications, and public diplomacy.




Recent Books