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Loading... Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung (original 1957; edition 1971)by Herrlee Creel
Work InformationChinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung by Herrlee Glessner Creel (1957)
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Belongs to Publisher SeriesMentor Books (MD269)
A summary of Chinese thought and philosophy including Confucianism, the ideas of Mo-tsu and Mencius, Taoism, Legalism and their variations and adaptations. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)181.1Philosophy and Psychology Ancient, medieval and eastern philosophy Asian Far East and South AsiaLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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However, Creel becomes considerably more critical regarding both texts and concepts as he moves on to Mo Tzu, Mencius, the Taoists, Hsun Tzu, the Legalists, etc. There’s still simplification, but this can’t be avoided in such a short work, and his combining philosophical with political history is quite helpful. This is particularly true as Chinese philosophy has often had a pronounced political orientation (even Taoism, in reacting against this focus), as many of the leading thinkers served in government or aspired to, and as the state and emperors have typically aligned themselves publicly with a particular philosophy (with varying degrees of sincerity).
Another strength is the book’s inclusion of post-classical philosophy, continuing through the Communist state’s establishment. It’s hard to find brief, popular works on Chinese philosophy that cover its entire history, much less ones that do it well and place ideas in historical and political context (Fung Yu-Lan’s Short History may be another, but I’ve just started it). Necessarily the result is a synopsis rather than treatment in depth, but Creel does this quite well. In little space he sheds considerable light on the philosophical eclecticism of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism’s introduction to China and its evolution and impacts there, neo-Confucianism, reactions against it, and Western influence.
This background is helpful in trying to understand China’s difficulties and struggles during the twentieth century, and Creel gives a very plausible explanation for the quick and fairly widespread acceptance of Communism by both the Chinese people and the intellectuals. At the end of the book he lapses again into some breezy generalizations and perhaps a touch of romanticizing, although not without some useful insights. Overall it’s a very good book and one wishes Creel were available for a final word on China today.
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