Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography covers the major references used to write this blog.  There are other references that are handled by using links within the blog.  Links are used when the connection is a specialty or novelty resource intended to extend the experience of the blog.  For example, when discussing ritual, I linked to a web page that gave a detailed list of each element of a ritual.  In another example when discussing sacred geography, I linked to a delightful site that allows the viewer an interactive look at the UNESCO site Qufu.

Armstrong, Karen. The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions. New York: Knopf, 2006. This book describes the beginning of the older Wisdom Traditions: Judaism, Daoism and Confucianism, Greek philosophical rationalism, Hinduism and Buddhism.  Her thesis is that these traditions were tested and forged during the Axial Age of 900 to 200 BCE in responses to changes in human civilization.  All these traditions were quite different but they all developed the religious quality of compassion.  In Confucianism compassion is called ren.

Ching, Julia. Chinese Religions. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1993. Ching begins her book with a chapter titled 'Europe and China Compared'.  Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, this comparison stretches through the whole book.  At times this is helpful in understanding a concept.  At other times it makes the Chinese concepts conform too much to Western lines.  It is most unfortunate when Chinese religion is being fit into Western definitions.  Is it eminent or immanent, is this mystic similar to that Western mystic?  Is Buddhism the most Western of Eastern religions (she says yes)?  However, she does describe all of the religions of China with insight and energy.  This book was written before the Chinese revival of Confucianism, and therefore does not address it.

Cohen, Myron and Stephen F. Teiser, faculty consultants. Living in the Chinese Cosmos: Understanding Religion in Late-Imperial China (1644-1911).The Asia for Educators Program at Columbia University. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/main/credits.htm.  This is a wonderful on-line resource for putting Chinese religion in context.  It covers the split between Confucianism, Popular, Taoism and Buddhism. There is discussion of the class system and how it affects (and affected) Chinese religion.  It's very understandable but not pitched at a simple level.  The dates cover the most recent stretch of time before the Communist revolution and do not pretend to cover modern day beliefs.

 Fieser, James. Scriptures of the World's Religions. City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2007.  This contains scriptures from all the world's Wisdom Traditions.  For Confucianism it contains the Analects written by Confucius.  It also contains the writings of Mencius, Xunzi, Yang Xiong, Han Yu, Zhou Dunyi, Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming.  There is also a strong section of Daoist scriptures.  Each section contains some discussion of the tradition but for the most part the scriptures stand alone.  It's a great book, however, these resources are now available at multiple websites.

Hays, Jeff, "Facts and Details: Organized Confucianism"
http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=87&catid=3&subcatid=9.  Jeff Hays is an English teacher in Japan.  He created this web site dedicated to Japan and China for fellow travelers. He wanted to provide the type of information he was looking for as he traveled but could not find.  His site contains well organized information about Confucian temples and schools. 

 Oxnam, Robert, "Three Confucian Values" President Emeritus, Asia Society http://pascal.iseg.utl.pt/~cesa/Three%20Confucian%20Values.pdf.  This is a teaching lecture that cuts to the chase on what Confucianism is about.  Very readable, and it gives the Chinese characters for the different values and shows their roots.

Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. SanFrancisco:Harper, 1991. Huston Smith's essay on Confucianism in this book is such a joy to read.  This was my first introduction to Confucianism and read it on my own as evening, night-stand reading several years ago.  It is such a generous essay; with a clear message of how Confucianism fit into Chinese society, dealt with issues no other religion addressed, but still was transcendence.  After reading this, I had no patience with the "is Confucianism a religion?" essays.

Taylor, Rodney. The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism. Albany:State University of New York Press, 1990.  This book is a collection of Dr Taylor's essays on Confucianism.  His thesis is that Confucianism is a religion and that it's highest expression is the making of a Sage.