Details

Subject(s)

• Guilt [Browse]
• Philosophy, Chinese—To 221 B.C. [Browse]
• Shame [Browse]

Series

• Veröffentlichungen des Ostasien-Instituts der Ruhr-Universität Bochum ; 68. [More in this series]
• Veröffentlichungen des Ostasien-Instituts der Ruhr-Universität, Bochum 68

Summary note

The concept of having done something wrong is an integral part of normative thinking and thus a human universal. With regard to the early Chinese world of ideas and the resulting Confucian value system, consensus has it that the normative forces of ?shame? have played a particularly strong role in the conceptualization and assessments of wrongdoings. 0This study aims to broaden our understanding of these processes by examining a group of synonyms associated with different states of ?guilt? (i.e. the fact of having committed something wrong), in the course of their historical development during the pre-Qin period (appr. 1250?221 BCE). By outlining the synchronic conceptual differences and diachronic changes of these synonyms and framing them in their sociopolitical context, this attempts to relate the early history of a concept that has so far received little scholarly attention. The results of this study offer many surprises and show overall that the concept of guilt in early Chinese texts is much more nuanced than previously assumed. They provide impressive evidence of the emergence and growth of several expert discourses on the subject of guilt, thus challenging the notion of early China as a representative of a ?shame culture.?

Source of description

Description based upon online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed June 3, 2020).

ISBN

• 3447199628 (electronic book)
• 9783447199629 (electronic book)

OCLC

1153307245

Statement on responsible collection description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...