Many of the historical sources discussed in this volume pre-date the advent of Hanyu Pinyin and employ systems such as Chinese postal romanization (for place names), Wade-Giles, or Cantonese renderings. Due to their historical nature, these are preserved in all cases and, when appropriate, are followed by Hanyu Pinyin romanization in parentheses on the first instance in each chapter. In most other cases, Chinese characters will be romanized with Hanyu Pinyin.
There are a few instances when quotations or specific terms will remain in Chinese characters without romanization, because they are being used to elucidate sinological or translational nuances. In Chapter 1, to respect the contributor’s preference, Hanyu Pinyin romanization will include tone marks and the terms “Ruist” or “Ruism” will be employed instead of the more common terms “Confucian” or “Confucianism.”