Recent interest in Confucianism has a tendency to suffer from essentialism and idealism, manifested in a variety of ways. One example is to think of Confucianism in terms of the views attributed to one representative of the tradition, such as Kongzi (Confucius) (551-479 BCE) or Mengzi (Mencius) (372 - 289 BCE) or one school or strand of the tradition, most often the strand or tradition associated with Mengzi or, in the later tradition, that formed around the commentaries and interpretation of Zhu Xi (1130-1200). Another such tendency is to think of Confucianism in terms of its manifestations in only one country; this is almost always China for the obvious reasons that China is one of the most powerful and influential states in the world today. A third tendency is to present Confucianism in terms of only one period or moment in the tradition; for example, among ethical and political philosophers, pre-Qin Confucianism-usually taken to be the writings attributed to Kongzi, Mengzi, and, if we are lucky, Xunzi (479-221 BCE)-often is taken as "Confucianism." These and other forms of essentialism and idealism have led to a widespread and deeply entrenched impression that Confucianism is thoroughly homogenous and monolithic (these often are "facts" mustered to support the purportedly oppressive, authoritarian, and constricted nature of the tradition); such impressions can be found throughout East Asia and dominate in the West. This is quite deplorable for it gives us no genuine sense of the creatively rich, philosophically powerful, highly variegated, and still very much open-ended nature of the Confucian tradition. This volume addresses this misconstrual and misrepresentation of Confucianism by presenting a philosophically critical account of different Confucian thinkers and schools, across place (China, Korea, and Japan) and time (the 10th to 19th centuries).

About the Author
Philip J. Ivanhoe (Ph.D. Stanford University) is Chair Professor of East Asian and Comparative Philosophy and Religion at City University of Hong Kong, where he also serves as director of the Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy (CEACOP), the Laboratory on Korean Philosophy in Comparative Perspectives, and the project Eastern and Western Conceptions of Oneness, Virtue, and Human Happiness. He specializes in the history of East Asian philosophy and religion and its potential for contemporary ethics.

Reviews
The book is, indeed, an interestingly written, accessible scholarly work that can be warmly recommended to both general readers and to the specialists of East Asian religions and cultural traditions. * Lehel Balogh, Religious Studies Review *
Philip J. Ivanhoe's Three Streams is a brillant book of striking breadth and depth. * Ya Zuo, Bowdoin College, China and Asia *
The book is, indeed, an interestingly written, accessible scholarly work that can be warmly recommended to both general readers and to the specialists of East Asian religions and cultural traditions. * Lehel Balogh, Hokkaido University, Religious Studies Review *
It is to Ivanhoe's credit that he has managed to introduce, in a compact form, key ideas from a number of important East Asian Neo-Confucian thinkers and their critics. If the details of Neo-Confucianism are not as well known in the English-speaking world as the works of the early or classical Confucians (e.g., Confucius, Mencius and Xunz&i), the works of the Korean and Japanese Neo-Confucians are even less so. Ivanhoe's book adds to the accessibility of these traditions...And this is an achievement in its own right. * Hui Chieh Loy, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
The East Asian philosophical tradition is one of the most sophisticated and powerful in world history, yet only a limited number of philosophers from the tradition have been introduced to a Western audience. In this wide-ranging work, Ivanhoe explores the richness of Confucian philosophy across China, Japan, and Korea from the tenth through nineteenth centuries. Ivanhoe succeeds in demonstrating the complexity and subtlety of the tradition, while presenting it in a clear and accessible language. A truly exceptional work. * Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History, Harvard University *
Three Streams is an artistic and philosophical masterpiece. Ivanhoe traces the legacy of Mengzi's theory of the four moral sprouts over two millennia into the heart of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese lived philosophy. The inspired, poetic translations are all Ivanhoe's, and the lessons of these three streams for contemporary naturalistic ethics and moral psychology are plentiful. Three Streams is an exemplary work in cross-cultural philosophy. * Owen Flanagan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy, Duke University *
Philip J. Ivanhoe, unlike most scholars who cannot be immersed in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditions at the same time, makes a great contribution to the introduction of Confucian philosophy in the East Asian context by juxtaposing three great traditions and analyzing the key concepts embedded in these traditions. Not every major Confucian philosopher in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history is tackled, but relevant historical figures and their philosophical reflections on learning and the moral heart-mind are seamlessly interwoven into the narratives and arguments of this book. * Guoxiang Peng, Qiu Shi Distinguished Professor of Chinese Philosophy, Intellectual History and Religions, Zhejiang University *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190492014
Author Philip J. Ivanhoe
Format Hardback
Page Count 262
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 241mm * 28mm