The articles assembled in this volume present an important selection of Professor Jao Tsung-iâs research in the field of the early Chinese intellectual tradition, especially as it concerns the human condition. Whether his focus is on myth, religion, philosophy or morals, Jao consistently aims to describe how the series of developments broadly associated with the Axial Age unfolded in China. He is particularly interested in showing how early China had developed its own notion of transcendence as well as a system of prediction and morals that enabled man to act autonomously, without recourse to divine providence.
Joern Peter Grundmann is an assistant professor of Chinese Literature at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on early Chinese conceptual history.
Collected Works of Jao Tsung-i: Series Introduction Translatorâs Foreword Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of Illustrations Timeline
âPart 1
Part 2: The Gods of Time and Space: Cosmogony and Myths of Origin in Ancient China and Beyond
Introduction
1 A Preliminary Comparison of Creation Myths and the Origins of Man in Epics from China and Beyond
âA Preamble to the Near Eastern Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish)
2 The Dualist Paradigm of Ancient Chinese History
â1ââ2ââ3â3 On the Daoist âGenesisâ
4 An Investigation into the Chart of Pangu ç¤å¤
âAn account of Eastern Han murals from the Shu Region Depicting the Image of âPanguâ as Seen by Renowned Personalities from the Tang and Song Periods
âSupplementary Note
Part 3: Attuning to Time and Space: Hemerology, Astrology and Correlative Thought in Early China
Introduction
5 On the Meaning of the Chu Silk Manuscript
6 An Explanation of the Phenomena Called âXiang Weiââ 象緯 and âDe Niâ å¾·å¿ in the Chu Silk Manuscript
â1âChen Wei æ¨ç¦ Reads Chen Wei è¾°ç·¯ (Weft of Constellations)
â2âBecoming Confused and Diverting from the [Proper] Movements
â3ââGaining and Regressingâ and the Planet Saturn
â4âYears with Fuzzy Stars
â5âNi å¿ (Concealment) and De Ni å¾·å¿ (the Concealment of Virtue)
Resolving Doubts: From Divine Providence to Moral Standards and Human Agency
8 Moral Speculation and the Conception of a Sky God
â1âThe Beginnings of the Worship of Di å¸ and the Deity of Heaven
â2âThe Graph de å¾· in Writings from the Yin and Zhou Periods
â3âStanding in Awe of Heavenâs Daunting Authority and the Establishment of the Idea of jing de ç¶å¾· (Honoring de)
â4âThe Interrelation of Politics and Morals within the Conception of the Heavenly Mandate
â5âThe Mental Worries and Anxieties That Led to the Composition of the Changes (Yi æ) and the Establishment of Cultivated de
9 Rationalism and the Idea of Divine Law (Selection)
â1âThe Changing Positions of the Gods and of Man
â2âDe å¾· (Rewards) and xing å (Punishments)
â3âFive Elements Thought and the Cosmological Meaning of de-Propriety (德禮)
â4âHeavenâs Laws and the Laws of de
â5âConclusion
Bibliography Index
Post-graduate students and scholars in the field of early China studies, comparative studies of the ancient world and history of scholarship in China.