Reading Ji Kang's Essays: Xuanxue in Early Medieval China
David Chai, "Reading Ji Kang's Essays: Xuanxue in Early Medieval China"
English | ISBN: 0367353636 | 2021 | 250 pages | PDF | 9 MB
English | ISBN: 0367353636 | 2021 | 250 pages | PDF | 9 MB
This is the first English-language book on the philosophy of Ji Kang. Moreover, it offers the first systematic treatment of his philosophy, thus filling a significant gap in English-language scholarship on early medieval Chinese literature and philosophy.
David Chai brings to light Ji Kang’s Neo-Daoist heritage and explores the themes in his writings that were derived from classical Daoism, most notably the need for humanity to return to a more harmonious co-existence with Nature to further our own self-understanding. His analysis is unique in that it balances translation and annotation with expositing the creative philosophizing of Neo-Daoism. Chai analyzes the entirety of Ji Kang’s essays, exploring his philosophical reflections on music, aesthetics, ethics, self-cultivation, and fate.
Reading Ji Kang/s Essays will be of interest to scholars and students of Chinese philosophy and literature. It offers the first comprehensive philosophical examination of a heretofore neglected figure in Neo-Daoism.