The transcendental and the mundane : Chinese cultural values in everyday life

"Through investigation of Chinese cultural ideals and life practices, Prof. Cho-yun Hsu constructs an original portrait of Chinese spiritual life. Apart from focusing on the exalted subtleties of the scholarly elite, Prof. Hsu pays more attention to the everyday people's cultural idea. By examining their daily practices (including eating, living, medical practices, poems, songs, art, and literature) and "collective memory" such as legends, he seeks to clarify Chinese ideas concerning the universe, human life and nature, from traditional times down to the present day. Different from Judeo-Christian tradition centered on "God," the spiritual life of the Chinese people develops around ideas of being "human," and thus cultivating an interactive relationship between man, time, and space. Cho-yun Hsu considers the mode and direction of Chinese culture will impact the future of the entire world. Based on his observation, Western civilization represented by Europe and America nowadays is on the verge of a great change. The problems they are facing, including various crises of alienation and separation from nature, are, in terms of their basic origins, problems for which Western civilization lacks the resources to arrive at a solution. Thus, Chinese culture centered on the man and on the idea of intimate, interdependent relations between man and nature, might offer another solution. It is expected that, by integrating its features into modern civilization, Chinese culture can continue to prosper and be of benefit to the future of the world." -Amazon.com

Revisiting the foundation of Chinese spiritual life, the prestigioushistorian Cho-yun Hsu seeks a way to connect Chinese culturewith the world.This book is an insightful and lively discussion of the spiritual life of the Chinese people. Through investigation of cultural ideals and life practices, Professor Cho-yun Hsu constructs an original portrait of Chinese cultural values. Apart from the exalted subtleties of the scholarly elite, he pays much attention to everyday people's daily practices and collective memory, seeking to clarify Chinese ideas concerning the universe, human life, and nature, from traditional times down to the present day.Professor Hsu contends the problems Western civilization is facing nowadays, including various crises of alienation and separation from nature, are ones that it lacks resources to solve. He believes Chinese humanistic culture might offer another way forward and be of benefit to the future of the world.-------------A work of passionate humanism, this book is a heartfelt call to the world to take seriously the best aspects of traditional Chinese culture in order to avoid a looming catastrophe.—Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning authorProfessor Hsu is deservedly a legend in Chinese Studies, and this book only adds to a long and distinguished publication record by an innovative scholar who has contributed to an enormous range of disciplines. Like all of Hsu's works, this can be read with pleasure and profit, as it is studded with insights drawn from antiquity to contemporary history. Highly recommended.—Michael Nylan, Sather Professor of History, University of California at BerkeleyProfessor Hsu undertakes a sweeping review of the beliefs, values, and visions that constitute Chinese civilizations from the ancient times to the present. Historically engaged and critically provocative, it is a must-read for anyone interested in Chinese Studies.—David Der-wei Wang, Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard UniversityThis account of traditional Chinese ways of thinking and being by one of the world's most eminent Sinologists is an invaluable witness to lived Chinese cultural history and its overriding ideal of harmony. Not since Lin Yutang's My Country and My People has there been such an accessibly erudite tribute to one of the world's great civilizations.—John Lagerwey, Research Professor of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong KongIt is a masterpiece that digs deeply into the roots of problems and their underlying values in modern Chinese society in a tradition that goes as far back as to the formative stage of Chinese civilization. Reading through the lines of the book, there is a deep sense of passion and concern for the future of the humankind.—Li Feng, Professor of Early Chinese History and Archaeology, Columbia University

Half title page Endorsement Full title page Copyright Contents Chronology of Chinese Dynasties Translator’s Foreword Foreword by Ying-shih Yu Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Searching for the Spirit of Chinese Culture 1. Life Aesthetics in Time and Space 2. The World of Heaven and Earth, Humans and Gods 3. Legends and Ghost Stories 4. A Plural, Interactive Order: The Five Elements, Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Cooking 5. The Ever-Changing Universe 6. The Meaning of Life 7. The Many Gods Who Protect the People 8. Secular Religion 9. The Human Networks that Bind Us 10. The World Revealed in Novels Conclusion: A New Life for Chinese Culture