Read Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

Erica Fox Brindley

4.9/5 (29348 ratings)

Description:Conventional wisdom has it that the concept of individualism was absent in early China. In this uncommon study of the self and human agency in ancient China, Erica Fox Brindley provides an important corrective to this view and persuasively argues that an idea of individualism can be applied to the study of early Chinese thought and politics with intriguing results. She introduces the development of ideological and religious beliefs that link universal, cosmic authority to the individual in ways that may be referred to as individualistic and illustrates how these evolved alongside and potentially helped contribute to larger sociopolitical changes of the time, such as the centralization of political authority and the growth in the social mobility of the educated elite class. Starting with the writings of the early Mohists (4th century BCE), Brindley analyzes many of the major works through the early 2nd century BCE by Laozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi, as well as anonymous authors of both received and excavated texts. Changing notions of human agency affected prevailing attitudes toward the self as individual--in particular, the onset of ideals that stressed the power and authority of the individual, either as a conformist agent in relation to a larger whole or as an individualistic agent endowed with inalienable cosmic powers and authorities. She goes on to show how distinctly internal (individualistic), external (institutionalized), or mixed (syncretic) approaches to self-cultivation and state control emerged in response to such ideals. In her exploration of the nature of early Chinese individualism and the various theories for and against it, she reveals the ways in which authors innovatively adapted new theories on individual power to the needs of the burgeoning imperial state. With clarity and force, Individualism in China illuminates the importance of the individual in Chinese culture. By focusing on what is unique about early Chinese thinking on this topic, it gives readers a means of understanding particular "Chinese" discussions of and respect for the self.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics. To get started finding Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: —

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0824833864

Description: Conventional wisdom has it that the concept of individualism was absent in early China. In this uncommon study of the self and human agency in ancient China, Erica Fox Brindley provides an important corrective to this view and persuasively argues that an idea of individualism can be applied to the study of early Chinese thought and politics with intriguing results. She introduces the development of ideological and religious beliefs that link universal, cosmic authority to the individual in ways that may be referred to as individualistic and illustrates how these evolved alongside and potentially helped contribute to larger sociopolitical changes of the time, such as the centralization of political authority and the growth in the social mobility of the educated elite class. Starting with the writings of the early Mohists (4th century BCE), Brindley analyzes many of the major works through the early 2nd century BCE by Laozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi, as well as anonymous authors of both received and excavated texts. Changing notions of human agency affected prevailing attitudes toward the self as individual--in particular, the onset of ideals that stressed the power and authority of the individual, either as a conformist agent in relation to a larger whole or as an individualistic agent endowed with inalienable cosmic powers and authorities. She goes on to show how distinctly internal (individualistic), external (institutionalized), or mixed (syncretic) approaches to self-cultivation and state control emerged in response to such ideals. In her exploration of the nature of early Chinese individualism and the various theories for and against it, she reveals the ways in which authors innovatively adapted new theories on individual power to the needs of the burgeoning imperial state. With clarity and force, Individualism in China illuminates the importance of the individual in Chinese culture. By focusing on what is unique about early Chinese thinking on this topic, it gives readers a means of understanding particular "Chinese" discussions of and respect for the self.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics. To get started finding Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

More Books

Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China

Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE by Erica Fox Brindley (2015-09-03)

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE by Erica Fox Brindley (2015-09-03)

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE by Erica Fox Brindley (September 03,2015)

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE by Erica Fox Brindley (September 03,2015)

Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics by Erica Fox Brindley (2010-07-16)

Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics by Erica Fox Brindley (2010-07-16)

[(Ancient China and the Yue : Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE)] [By (author) Erica Fox Brindley] published on (September, 2015)

[(Ancient China and the Yue : Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE-50 CE)] [By (author) Erica Fox Brindley] published on (September, 2015)

[(Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China)] [Author: Erica Fox Brindley] published on (July, 2013)

[(Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China)] [Author: Erica Fox Brindley] published on (July, 2013)

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, C.400 Bce-50 Ce

Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, C.400 Bce-50 Ce