The Quest for Ecstatic Morality in Early China

There is an intense love of freedom evident in the "Xing zi mingchu," a text last seen when it was buried in a Chinese tomb in 300 B.C.E. It tells us that both joy and sadness are the ecstatic zenith of what the text terms "qing." Combining emotions into qing allows them to serve as a stepping stone to the Dao, the transcendent source of morality for the world. There is a process one must follow to prepare qing: it must be beautified by learning from the classics written by ancient sages. What is absent from the process is any indication that the emotions themselves need to be suppressed or regulated, as is found in most other texts from this time. The Confucian principles of humanity and righteousness are not rejected, but they are seen as needing our qing and the Dao. Holloway argues that the Dao here is the same Dao of Laozi's Daode jing. As a missing link between what came to be called Confucianism and Daoism, the "Xing zi mingchu" is changing the way we look at the history of religion in early China. "Holloway displays fine knowledge of the scholarly literature while remaining steadfast in his conviction that the Guodian manuscripts have to be engaged on their own terms rather than being pigeonholed into prefabricated philosophical categories."--Paul R. Goldin, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania"Holloway's concise study of the challenging and enigmatic Guodian text Xing zi mingchu provides a meticulous exegesis and translation of a recently unearthed early exploration of the philosophical and religious implications of qing/emotions. What is striking about the Xing zi mingchu is the text's elaborate analysis of the conflicted role of qing/emotions in achieving the complex goal of unity within and with the Dao. Holloway convincingly demonstrates how this ability to employ the protean psychological and cosmological qualities of the emotions is essential for the task of self-cultivation. Holloway gives us the sense of listening in on the beginning of a conversation about the debate concerning the emotions that will resonate throughout the long history of Chinese philosophy."--John Berthrong, Boston University School of TheologyPREFACE ; INTRODUCTION ; CHAPTER 1: QING, FROM CONFLICT TO ECSTASY ; CHAPTER 2: THE ROLE OF NATURE IN A WORLD OF FRICTION ; CHAPTER 3: HAVING FUN WITH THE DAO ; CHAPTER 4: ABSOLUTE VERSUS RELATIVE MORALITY ; CHAPTER 5: THE RECTIFICATION OF NAMES ; APPENDIX ; NOTES ; BIBLIOGRAPHY