Finding Wisdom in East Asian Classics

Wm. Theodore de Bary is the John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and provost emeritus of Columbia University and past president of the Association for Asian Studies. He has written extensively on Confucianism in East Asia and is the coeditor of Sources of East Asian Tradition, Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Japanese Tradition, and Sources of Korean Tradition.

This collection of essays about East Asian great books, by outstanding scholars in the field, addresses the issue of why these books are classics. Wm. Theodore de Bary's essays offer approaches to reading these books that are essential to understanding them. Scholars and advanced students in Asian studies will find this book very valuable. -- Patricia Greer, St. John's College, Santa Fe These accessible essays will be valuable to anyone with an interest in the traditions and literatures of East Asia. Choice

• Preface. The Great "Civilized" Conversation: Cases in Point, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 1. Asian Classics as the Great Books of the East, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 2. Asia in the Core Curriculum, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 3. Why We Read the Analects of Confucius, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 4. Mencius, by Irene Bloom 5. Laozi, by Franciscus Verellen 6. Zhuangzi, by Paul Contino 7. Xunzi, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 8. The Lotus Sutra, by Wing-tsit Chan 9. The Teaching of Vimalakirti, by Robert A. F. Thurman 10(a). The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, by Philip Yampolsky 10(b). The Platform Sutra as a Chinese Classic, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 11. Tang Poetry: A Return to Basics, by Burton Watson 12. Journey to the West, by C. T. Hsia 13. A Dream of Red Mansions, by C. T. Hsia 14. Zhu Xi and the Four Books, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 15. Waiting for the Dawn: Huang Zongxi's Critique of the Chinese Dynastic System (Wm. Theodore de Bary 16(a). The Tale of Genji as a Japanese and World Classic, by Haruo Shirane 16(b). Passion and Poignancy in The Tale of Genji, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 17. The Pillow Book, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 18. Kamo no Chomei's "An Account of My Hut", by Paul Anderer 19. The Tale of the Heike, by Paul Varley 20(a). Kenko's Essays in Idleness, by Donald Keene 20(b). Kenko and Montaigne in Tandem, by James Mirollo 21(a). The Poetry of Matsuo Basho, by Haruo Shirane 21(b). Matsuo Basho, by Donald Keene 22. Chikamatsu, by Donald Keene 23. Saikaku's Five Women Who Loved Love, by Wm. Theodore de Bary 24. Kaibara Ekken's Precepts for Daily Life in Japan, by Mary Evelyn Tucker 25. The Contemporary Meaning of T'oegye's Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning, by Michael C. Kalton 26. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, by JaHyun Kim Haboush 27. The Song of the Faithful Wife Ch'unhyang, by Rachel E. Chung 28. Reading and Teaching The Tale of Kieu, by Conrad Schirokauer Index