Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Cook Ding
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- Create Date：2021-06-08 07:54:24
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Roel Sterckx
- ISBN：014198483X
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Summary
Shortlisted for the PEN Hessel-Tiltman Prize
'A terrific book， rich and endlessly thought provoking。 。 。 If you are looking for one book to understand the core ideas of Chinese civilisation， read this' - Michael Wood
An engrossing history of ancient Chinese philosophy and culture from an eminent Cambridge expert
We are often told that the twenty-first century is bound to become China's century。 Never before has Chinese culture been so physically， digitally， economically or aesthetically present in everyday Western life。 But how much do we really know about its origins and key beliefs？ How did the ancient Chinese think about the world？
In this enlightening book， Roel Sterckx， one of the foremost experts in Chinese thought， takes us through centuries of Chinese history， from Confucius to Daoism to the Legalists。 The great questions that have occupied China's brightest minds were not about who and what we are， but rather how we should live our lives， how we should organise society and how we can secure the well-being of those who live with us and for whom we carry responsibility。
With evocative examples from philosophy， literature and everyday life， Sterckx shows us how the ancient Chinese have shaped the thinking of a civilization that is now influencing our own。
'A terrific book， rich and endlessly thought provoking。 。 。 If you are looking for one book to understand the core ideas of Chinese civilisation， read this' - Michael Wood
An engrossing history of ancient Chinese philosophy and culture from an eminent Cambridge expert
We are often told that the twenty-first century is bound to become China's century。 Never before has Chinese culture been so physically， digitally， economically or aesthetically present in everyday Western life。 But how much do we really know about its origins and key beliefs？ How did the ancient Chinese think about the world？
In this enlightening book， Roel Sterckx， one of the foremost experts in Chinese thought， takes us through centuries of Chinese history， from Confucius to Daoism to the Legalists。 The great questions that have occupied China's brightest minds were not about who and what we are， but rather how we should live our lives， how we should organise society and how we can secure the well-being of those who live with us and for whom we carry responsibility。
With evocative examples from philosophy， literature and everyday life， Sterckx shows us how the ancient Chinese have shaped the thinking of a civilization that is now influencing our own。
Reviews
Alex L
，
Very approachable introduction to some of the key ideas from Chinese history and today。
jzthompson
，
I always admire the shameless brass neck of these books where the introduction hints that understanding ancient China is key to the China of today。。。。 and then the actual text gives the impression that the author finds anything more recent than a thousand years ago an irrelevant distraction at best。So no， this probably isn't the place for a bucaneering young entrepreneur out to conquer the world to start on the 'understanding China' front。 It *is* a very wide ranging overview of the concerns of I always admire the shameless brass neck of these books where the introduction hints that understanding ancient China is key to the China of today。。。。 and then the actual text gives the impression that the author finds anything more recent than a thousand years ago an irrelevant distraction at best。So no， this probably isn't the place for a bucaneering young entrepreneur out to conquer the world to start on the 'understanding China' front。 It *is* a very wide ranging overview of the concerns of the ancient Chinese philosophers。 Most of the intros I have read so far cover Chinese thinkers views on the good life and the good society， and this is well covered here with the familiar cast of characters present， this book broadens out the perspective to go into more depth on the entire Chinese cosmology and magico-religious importance of ancestor worship and qi and such like。 Placing things into an entire world system。 I think on balance I found the very short introduction to confucianism more satisfying and exciting， some bits of this did drag a little， but I'm very glad I read this as well。 I think I'd have made a good imperial bureaucrat。 。。。more
Vivi
，
If I could only say one word about this book I'd say that Confucius was one hell of a prissy。 But well， obviously， there's much more to it。 The book is truly a comprehensive and accessible overview of Chinese thought。 Often times， when I read 'Chinese world' inspired fiction （not limited to just the ''Western ones" - this includes native material too）， I find the essence of the stories lacking a little something。 While reading this， it clicked for me。 "Western" fiction often displays an understa If I could only say one word about this book I'd say that Confucius was one hell of a prissy。 But well， obviously， there's much more to it。 The book is truly a comprehensive and accessible overview of Chinese thought。 Often times， when I read 'Chinese world' inspired fiction （not limited to just the ''Western ones" - this includes native material too）， I find the essence of the stories lacking a little something。 While reading this， it clicked for me。 "Western" fiction often displays an understanding of the world in an Asian fusion like sense， and at worst， a 21st-century update of orientalism。 "Native" Chinese fiction， on the other hand， babbles and quotes out of context those ancient old farts into the respective Xianxia， Wuxia， and other genres。 And modern Chinese politicians （or their scriptwriters as the author so aptly says） aren't excluded from this fiction-making with their favorite quotes for instance， "Within the four seas， all men are brothers （Analects 12。5）"。 Nor are the parents， who decided it best to serve their 21st-century daughters with constant reminders from 女誡/Nu jie about 'womanly virtue'， 'womanly speech'， 'womanly manners'， and 'womanly work'。 Keep in mind that the source material is from around 48-116 CE。 We're talking about the Roman conquest times here。 Yet what kind of nourishing ground of thought would allow such dogmatic sayings to survive to this very day， down to the moment when I cross my legs and immediately all previous generation females begin admonishing my unwomanly behaviors？I cannot say it enough。 The author has painted a knowledgable and complex landscape of Classic Chinese thought examining the Confucian， Daoist， Legalists， and so on and all their contradictions， branches， and birthing conditions。 There is not much analysis as it functions more like a reference book， and yet it offers much more than a typical reference。 I'd best describe it as a collection of essays on the various realms of ancient Chinese philosophy and all those oldsters' thoughts and gripes about it。 It's so info-packed and tastefully witty。 As much as there were Confucian proponents， there were fiery opponents who would criticize everything and nothing。 What is the best way to serve all and one， or all before one， or one before all， or you know what - just give up on everything？ Welcome to Sinology 101。 Bring this book to the big family gatherings as your weapon of choice if you will， but it would go against all sensible reasons to bring it to contend with those in the motherland。 You might join the ancients for real in the afterlife。If you're a dumb dumb like me who can't read the primary sources yourself then I'd highly recommend this。 。。。more
Laurence Westwood
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Fantastic and accessible overview
Lukas Sommer
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I am worried my rating of this book is a little harsh。 The reason why I didn’t rank it any higher is because I expected something different。 I expected the book to deal more with the following two questions: “How do these [Chinese] ideas differ from Western philosophy？“ and “Why does it matter today？”， as the paperback version reads。 Instead I felt like the only question answered was the third one， admittedly， also written on the book’s cover: “How did the ancient Chinese think about the world？” I am worried my rating of this book is a little harsh。 The reason why I didn’t rank it any higher is because I expected something different。 I expected the book to deal more with the following two questions: “How do these [Chinese] ideas differ from Western philosophy？“ and “Why does it matter today？”， as the paperback version reads。 Instead I felt like the only question answered was the third one， admittedly， also written on the book’s cover: “How did the ancient Chinese think about the world？”。 The “ancient” was supposed to be all-caps， I guess。 。。。more
Wing
，
It is obvious that Professor Sterckx is an ardent sinologist who has studied tons of primary texts and is able to quote them aptly and effortlessly。 This book is an overview and is truly comprehensive。 It is also sympathetic and almost but not quite apologetic。 Recent archeological finds and appreciation of the present-day sociopolital developments are incorporated into the narrative。 The occasional ironic humour with taste is a delight。 Overall it is more a description rather than a critique。 T It is obvious that Professor Sterckx is an ardent sinologist who has studied tons of primary texts and is able to quote them aptly and effortlessly。 This book is an overview and is truly comprehensive。 It is also sympathetic and almost but not quite apologetic。 Recent archeological finds and appreciation of the present-day sociopolital developments are incorporated into the narrative。 The occasional ironic humour with taste is a delight。 Overall it is more a description rather than a critique。 The followings are my own， perhaps fragmented， observations。Ancient Chinese philosophers showed a tendency to be keen observers of correlations and heuristics， and were arduous builders of ideological systems。 These systems were essentially closed and not always subjected to empirical checks。 Metaphysics was expectedly speculative， and a disregard towards ontology was striking。Various political theories emerged and resembled， to an extent， modern day conservative traditionalists， laissez-faire minarchists， utilitarian pacifists， and fascists。 Their characteristics may be explained by the fact that they were gestated during periods of seemingly unending military strife。Views on human nature were penetrating but marred by habitual dogmatism and didacticism。 The obsession to pursue regularity and stability within the framework of rank and hierarchy betrayed the unavoidable sclerosis and self-referential circular arguments。 There were pervasive inclinations to formalise the commonsensical， to regulate the instinctual， to moralise and politicise the banal。 All these were developed with an elitist mindset that fantasised the infantilizing of the populace。The chapter on religion is interesting。 Ancestral worship is inherently tribal and pragmatic。 Whilst laboriously stipulated， the lack of any firm ontological basis renders it relatively flexible， even tolerant。 The chapter that follows describes a habit of apophenic allegorisation which reads morality into every single item in the universe。 As a person who can and have read some of the ancient texts myself， I think this compendium is masterfully succinct and invigoratingly insightful。 All the major ancient schools of thoughts are covered with flair。 Five stars。 。。。more
Nicholas Little
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