Wei-Bin Zhang offers an authoritative guide to the philosophy of Confucianism and its impact in the Confucian regions, covering mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam and Singapore. All, except Singapore, employed Confucianism as the state ideology before the West came to East Asia. The differences and similarities between the variety of Confucian schools are examined. The author concludes that the philosophical and ethical principles of Confucianism will assist in the industrialization and democratization of the region.

Seventeen scholars from varying fields here consider the implications of Confucian concerns--self-cultivation, regulation of the family, social civility, moral education, well-being of the people, governance of the state, and universal peace--in industrial East Asia.

This book illustrates the six elements of Confucius' teachings: Philosophy of Life Ethics, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Creation, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Providence and Philosophy of Peace. It explains the value and significance of Confucius' teachings and also focuses on the modernization of the teachings. It ascertains that "to understand Confucius is to understand China, the Chinese people, Chinese history and Chinese culture."

This volume makes available for the first time in English a collection of the work of historian Yi Tae-Jin. Over the course of his career, he has done path-breaking research that covers virtually the entire Chosōn period (1392-1910) from the Koryō-Chosōn transition to the Kojong period and Korea's takeover by Japan in 1910. One of the focal points of his scholarship has been to reinterpret Neo-Confucianism as a dynamic force in Korean history. The first half of this volume is devoted to his seminal work on the historical factors behind the founding of the Chosōn dynasty. He has shown how the rise of Neo-Confucianism during the Koryō-Chosōn transition was tied to unprecedented advances in agriculture and medicine that led to a fundamental socio-economic transformation of Korea. A new social class emerged that became a leading force behind the new dynasty and adopted Neo-Confucianism as its ideology. One of the underlying concerns of his scholarship has been to overcome the legacy of Japanese colonial scholarship on Korean historiography. His work refutes the notion of Korea as a "Hermit Kingdom" that was stagnant for centuries before its opening to the West. The second half of the volume includes some of his work on modernization efforts in the late Chosōn period, as well as some of his more direct critiques of the continuing influence of Japanese historiography in Korea.

This book is part of a broad examination of Confucianism and its implications for modernization of the Confucian regions (covering mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Singapore). It is mainly concerned with the industrialization and modernization of Taiwan. To help readers understand the process of modernization, the book provides an introduction to the history of Taiwan and to Confucianism and its modern implications. As far as social and economic principles are concerned, Taiwan's modernization is, according to the author, characterized by Americanization and modernizing Confucian manifestations. The book demonstrates that Taiwan has actually provided an important case study not only for the capitalist spirit of overseas Chinese, but also for possible implications of Confucianism for modernization. The unique character of this book is that in explaining Taiwan's modernization, it deals not only with economic and social issues, but also examines the philosophical foundations, an endeavor which no other author has systematically made before.

The Question for Twentieth-Century China has been the integration of tradition and modernity. In this collection of essays written over a period of some twenty years (1987-2006), Chen Lai reflects on the question in an informative and original way. He reads behind the political slogans and engages with the thought both of Max Weber, Talcott Parsons and Western sociology, and representative Chinese thinkers, notably Feng Youlan and Liang Shuming. While the focus is on China, the book also appeals to anyone interested in this fascinating question of how to modernise whilst retaining the positive values of tradition. Chen Lai s unique and balanced grasp of society marks him out as the foremost thinker in China on this topic today.

Confucianism and Reflexive Modernity offers an excellent example of a dialogue between East and West by linking post-Confucian developments in East Asia to a Western idea of reflexive modernity originally proposed by Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, and Scott Lash in 1994. The author makes a sharp confrontation with the paradigm of Asian Value Debate led by Lee Kwan-Yew and defends a balance between individual empowerment and flourishing community for human rights, basically in line with Juergen Habermas, but in the context of global risk society, particularly from an enlightened perspective of Confucianism. The book is distinguished by sophisticated theoretical reflection, comparative reasoning, and solid empirical argument concerning Asian identity in transformation and the aspects of reflexive modernity in East Asia.