Humanity and Self-Cultivation: Essays in Confucian Thought

This first paperback edition of a classic text includes a new preface by the author, and a new introductory essay on "Tu Wei-ming`s Confucianism" by Robert Cummings Neville, Dean of the School of Theology at Boston University. The 12 essays in this volume concisely illustrate the inherent "religiousness" of Confucianism, one of the most influential systems of thought on earth. Through an intensive focus on the Confucian process of self-cultivation, noted author and teacher Tu Wei-ming aggressively explores the spiritual dimension of this tradition. These essays soundly establish the significance of Confucianism, in China as well as throughout the entire world, for the modern society and individual. Tu Wei-ming is professor of Chinese history and philosophy at Harvard University and director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute.