Confucius

Peimin Ni is professor of philosophy at Grand Valley State University and visiting professor at the University of Hawaii and the University of Hong Kong. He is author of many works on Confucianism, including On Confucius (2002), Confucius, Making the Way Great (2010), and chapters on “Confucius” and “The Philosophy of Confucius” in the Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy (2011) and the Dao Companion to Classical Confucian Philosophy (2014), respectively. He is former president of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (2010-2012) and the Association of Chinese Philosophers in America (1997-1999). He has been a keynote speaker at the UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, the European Science Foundation meetings, World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations,” and Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. He is also editor-in-chief of the ACPA (Association of Chinese Philosophers in North America) series of Chinese and Comparative Philosophy.

• PrefaceChronologyChapter I. Confucius as a Historical FigureLong, Long Ago, There Was a TimeA Man from a Humble BackgroundThe Life Story Continues …The Second EpochNew Challenges and the Third EpochChapter II. Confucius as a Spiritual LeaderA Wooden Bell-ClapperHumans are Part of HeavenMandate and DestinyImmortality and the Meaning of LifeInter-religiosityChapter III. Confucius as a PhilosopherOne Cannot Be Fully a Human in SolitudeBorn to Become a HumanWhat Makes A Vessel Sacred?Naming Means IlluminatingHit the Mark ConstantlyChapter IV. Confucius as a Political ReformerIdeal Society—Harmony and HolismSageliness Within and Kingliness WithoutNames and Rituals as Political DevicesThe Freedom of Needing No ChoiceUprightness and JusticeChapter V. Confucius as an EducatorThe Kind of EducationSix ArtsLearning, Thinking, and EmbodimentMethod of EducationChapter VI. Confucius as a PersonThe “ZENG Dian Spirit”Elitist?Sexist?Honesty and SincerityAfter All, the Master Is a HumanBibliographyIndex of Quotes from the AnalectsIndex of Names and Subjects

In this thematic, well-written portrait, Confucius is less an authoritarian, ultra-stern traditionalist concerned with squeezing everything into a rigid theoretical role and ritual structure and more a thoughtful guide to each individual’s unique spiritual and ethical life, a life in which ritual and role mostly set the table for a life ending in mastery, or gongfu. Ni's emphasis on a truly important side of Confucius’s philosophy is interesting, and he offers some thoughtful, innovative takes on Confucius’s philosophy. This approach also allows the author to defend Confucius from common criticisms and even allows opposing later Confucians Mencius and Xunzi. Focusing on gongfu helps keep individuals from reducing Confucian thought into their own deontological/consequentialist principle-oriented frameworks…. [T]his is an interesting text with insightful passages and challenging interpretations worth pondering.Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.