A Concise History of Confucianism

This book is a readable and insightful analytical work that steadily traces and analyzes the historical development of Confucianism in China. This book is structured chronologically and discusses the developing positions of Confucianism across different periods in the Chinese history. Each chapter focuses on a number of key questions and perspectives pertaining to Confucian thoughts and ideas, for example, ‘Benevolence’ and ‘Propriety’ in Pre-Qin Confucianism, studies of Mencius and Xunzi, and Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty . In addition, this book pays special and extensive attention to ideas of New Confucianism, its concepts, and formation. This book is written in a simple yet comprehensible style. It aims to broaden and deepen studies of Confucianism via its stage-by-stage discussion about the historical development of Confucian thoughts. Both academic specialists and ordinary readers will find the book helpful and inspiring in its clear and vivid delineation, analysis, and debate about the essence, function, and role of Confucianism in traditional and modern societies alike.

The Author: Gan Chunsong is a Professor of Philosophy and Doctoral Supervisor at the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. He is currently Dean of the College of Philosophy and Doctoral Supervisor at Nankai University. Professor Gan specializes in studies of Confucian thoughts and classics, modern philosophical thoughts, Chinese political philosophy, and he proposes research progress in the institutionalization of philosophy. His major publications include Institutionalization of Confucianism and Its Disintegration, Institutional Confucianism, and Introduction to Confucianism.

The Translator: Yan Mengmeng is an assistant professor of English Literature at Peking University. She received her undergraduate honours degree in English Literature at the University of St Andrews, and was awarded her MA and PhD in English Literature by Durham University. Dr Yan has recently published her monograph, Foreignness and Selfhood: Sino-British Encounters in English Literature of the Eighteenth Century (Routledge, 2022).