confucianism (8 Ergebnisse)

Evidence of the persistence of Confucian ritual practice in modernizing Korea. The author, Yu Chunggyo (1832-1893), was a learned Neo-Confucian literatus. His text, prescribing correct conduct for weddings, funerals, and other private and public occasions, was first printed in 1904. Provenance: a) Sam Fogg, Catalogue 19, 1998, Number 75. a) Martin Schøyen (b. 1940), the Norwegian manuscript collector, with his label on the inner rear cover and annotated tag tied to a secondary binding cord. Square octavo (215 x 205 mm). With 40 leaves written in black calligraphy on both sides only, illustrations and diagrams, contemporary annotations (some in red). Slightly later tipped-in manuscript sheet. Text in Chinese. Original brown limp covers and xianzhuang stitching of brown cord, covers lettered in black manuscript. General wear to covers, many leaves creased at margins, some split along fore edge, staining internally: good only.

First edition of this important step in the transmission of Confucianism to the West. Collie's translation, approaching the Four Books from a Christian perspective, was the successor to Joshua Marshman's The Works of Confucius (1809), the scope of which had been limited to just the first ten chapters of the Analects. Collie (d. 1828) was a member of the London Missionary Society and principal of the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca, established by Robert Morrison in 1818. "The group of missionaries organized around the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca published a series of new translations of Chinese texts and literature and, in particular, the first British translation of the Daxue by Morrison in 1812 and the complete Four Books, including the first direct English translation of the complete Lunyu [Analects], the Zhongyong, and the Mengzi by David Collie in 1828" (Kitson, p. 92). Cordier records that copies were sold for five or six Spanish piastres, depending on the presence of "le texte chinois." This is likely a reference to the seven leaves bound at the rear of this copy, which reprint a medical translation published by Sir George Staunton in Canton in 1805. The treatise, originally composed by Dr Alexander Pearson, describes Jenner's work on smallpox vaccines and the successful inoculation of several locals in Canton and Macau. Pearson was the senior East India Company surgeon in Macau and partnered with Morrison on the setting up of a medical dispensary. Cordier 1396; Löwendahl 863; Lust 723. Peter J. Kitson, Forging Romantic China: Sino-British Cultural Exchange 1760-1840, 2013. Octavo (211 x 135 mm). Chinese characters in text. With 7-leaf Chinese text (George Staunton's 1805 translation of a British treatise on the smallpox vaccination, likely printed in 1820s) bound at end. Contemporary half calf, red label, spine rule and tooled in gilt, marbled sides and edges. Title with 1829 ownership signature of William Lamb, perhaps the Bengal Army officer (1808-1867) posted to India from 1826. Binding rather worn, joints cracked but cords holding, tidemark to front endpaper and binder's blank, a few contemporary paper repairs in gutter, paper somewhat brittle as usual, causing several short closed tears and fore-edge chips: very good.

First edition. The author (1839-1899) "held that there were points of similarity between Confucianism and Christianity that must be acknowledged and admired. Among these points of agreement were the Golden Rule, the importance of prayer, moral duty, virtuous government, and the existence of a spiritual world" (Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity). A German Protestant, Faber was a member of the Rhenish Missionary Society and began serving in China in 1864. This work translates a lecture given to a conference of Rhenish missionaries in Hong Kong on 24 July 1872. Speaking on the Confucian virtue of self-cultivation, he stresses Confucius's teachings on cautious speech, virtuous action, and humanity. Cordier 1398; not in Löwendahl. Octavo (240 x 160 mm. Chinese characters in text. Recent brown half leatherette, spine lettered in gilt, brown sides. The odd red ink annotation in text. A little offsetting from binding, small pinholes to title page and first few leaves, touching couple of letters: very good.

One of the Chinese books acquired by the bibliophile and antiquarian Sir Thomas Phillipps for his famous library at Middle Hill. Phillipps bought at some of the major mid-19th-century London auctions of China-related material, including the Macartney (1851) and Staunton (1860) sales, and likely acquired this copy as part of a lot of miscellaneous Chinese books. In his collection of 100,000 printed books and 60,000 manuscripts, Phillipps's interest in China was reflected in his acquisition of Jesuit publications and manuscripts, the Macartney Embassy papers, Chinese paintings and documents, and specimens of Chinese printing. This example presents the Analects and other core Confucian texts as edited by the Yuan dynasty literatus Deng Tui'an (Deng Lin, 1374-1434) and glossed by Qiu Zhao'ao (Qiu Cangzhu, 1638-1717). Phillipps's pressmark (XLIX.b.13) is found on one of the wrappers and on the inside of the box. A manuscript shelf label on the spine is likely also his. After Phillipps's death, the majority of his Chinese-language material passed into the hands of the London booksellers Philip and Lionel Robinson, who acquired the residue of the Phillipps collection from his descendants in 1946. This example was offered as lot 39 in the Robinson sale of Chinese books at Sotheby's, London, 22 November 1988. Eight vols, octavo (285 x 180 mm). Contemporary orange surface-paper wrappers, white silk xianzhuang stitching, spine ends capped in blue silk. Housed in contemporary silk brocade folding case with bone toggles dyed red. Bound without f. 52 in eighth volume. Wrappers bright, edges lightly soiled, some uneven text impressions internally, a few sheets trimmed or mounted on supporting stubs, text slightly affected: very good in like case, with some wear and the hinges rather tender.

First edition of this translation of the first ten books of the Analects, the first time any part of the text was directly translated into English, and one of the first books printed at the influential missionary press in Serampore. Marshman (1768-1837) moved to Serampore in 1806 to study Chinese under the tutelage of Professor Hovhannes Ghazarian. He planned this work to be the first in a five-volume series covering the Confucian canon, but no further volumes were completed, Marshman turning his attention to translating the Bible into Chinese. As referenced on the title page, he prefixed The Works of Confucius with A Dissertation on the Chinese Language and Character, but the dissertation was issued separately and is not included here. Provenance: inscribed by Robert Wilson (1803-1882), an engineer and inventor, on the title page, to Lady Elma Bruce, 25 February 1862. Bruce (1842-1923) had connections to the Far East through her father, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, who served as governor of Jamaica and Canada and then as special envoy to China during the Second Opium War. In all of Elgin's postings, "the same decisiveness and diplomatic skill are apparent. But it is perhaps the unusual degree to which he sympathized with the Chinese he encountered and perceived the difficulties of a decadent empire that was most remarkable" (Dictionary of Canadian Biography). With Wilson's signature on the first blank and his inverted bookplate on the rear pastedown. Cordier 1404; Löwendahl 743; Lust 738. Quarto (265 x 208 mm), pp. vi, 4, xxxix, [1] (blank), 725, [1] (blank), 17, [1] (blank). Contemporary half calf, raised bands ruled in gilt, dark green label, compartments stamped in gilt with tool of central lozenge and four foliate triangles, gilt rolls, marbled sides and edges. Bookplate of Charles Sarolea (1870-1953), Belgian philologist. Boards sometime transposed, spine, joints, and corners repaired, gilt and colour retouched in places, closed tear (postscript, p. 10) repaired with Japanese tissue, final leaves with horizontal indentation: very good.

An uncommon bilingual edition of the four canonical works at the heart of Confucianism: the Analects, Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. This translation, first published in 1755, was sponsored by the munificent Qianlong emperor - China's Louis XIV - and thought to surpass the work of all previous exegetes. WorldCat records just over a dozen copies of different Qing dynasty editions, with only three located in the United Kingdom (SOAS, Cambridge and Leeds). The Four Books of Confucianism were first translated into Manchu in the 1640s and 1650s by Asitan and Miao Cheng, two scholar-officials working at the behest of the Qing court. The first full translation appeared under Miao's direction in 1654, but in the Qianlong era (1735-1796), in the words of a contemporary essayist, "the way of the sage kings. reappeared in the unified mind of the emperor" (Crossley, p. 230). For Qianlong, "translating China's classic texts became an important way to master the art of dominion over a large empire and a crucial means of disseminating this political worldview to subordinates" (Xu, p. 70). Under Qianlong's fiat, Ortai (1680-1745), the most powerful official in the imperial court, supervised the revision of former Manchu translations of the Four Books to remedy many inaccuracies, adopt more explanatory vocabulary, and align the result with the linguistic evolution of Manchu during the preceding century. The project, completed and published in 1755, was to become the standard against which future Manchu translations of important philosophical and literary texts came to be judged. Several editions of this translation were produced in the second half of the Qing dynasty after the printing of the first in 1755. The printer of the present copy, the Ju zhen tang, was one of several important printers located in the vicinity of Beijing's famous Longfu temple. Another, the San huai tang shu fang, printed an edition during the Daoguang era (1820-1850). Pamela Kyle Crossley, A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology, 2002; Xu Li, "Qianlong chao qinding sishu wujing manwen chong yi gaoben yanjiu", Minzu fanyi, no. 74 (2020), pp. 62-70. 6 vols, octavo (246 x 155 mm). Original paper wrappers, renewed xianzhuang-style white stitching, spine ends reinforced with white silk. Housed in original blue cloth folding case with title label and bone clasps. Contemporary red seal script chops on first leaf of each volume and case title label. Covers lightly chipped and creased with several old paper repairs to front cover of vol. I, some loss to white silk reinforcements, occasional foxing internally, text sharp. A very good copy of this fragile publication in like case with soiling and wear to cloth, more significant loss at foot of spine panel, slight wear to title label, lining split at folds, unusually retaining both clasps. Inkstamp, residue of bookseller's ticket and overlaid recent bookseller's ticket on inner panel, minor traces of another label on inner lining.

A rare early bilingual edition of the four canonical works at the heart of Confucianism: the Analects, Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. This translation, sponsored by the munificent Qianlong emperor - China's Louis XIV - was thought to surpass the work of all previous exegetes. The present example was one of several undated editions printed in the decades following the first (1755); WorldCat records copies of these editions in just seven locations. The Four Books of Confucianism were first translated into Manchu in the 1640s and 1650s by Asitan and Miao Cheng, two scholar-officials working at the behest of the Qing court. The first full translation appeared under Miao's direction in 1654, but in the Qianlong era (1735-1796), in the words of a contemporary essayist, "the way of the sage kings. reappeared in the unified mind of the emperor" (Crossley, p. 230). For Qianlong, "translating China's classic texts became an important way to master the art of dominion over a large empire and a crucial means of disseminating this political worldview to subordinates" (Xu, p. 70). Under Qianlong's fiat, Ortai (1680-1745), the most powerful official in the imperial court, supervised the revision of former Manchu translations of the Four Books to remedy many inaccuracies, adopt more explanatory vocabulary, and align the result with the linguistic evolution of Manchu during the preceding century. The project, completed and published in 1755, was to become the standard against which future Manchu translations of important philosophical and literary texts came to be judged. Typically for many mid-Qing dynasty publications, compiling the bibliographic history of this bilingual version is made more complex by the fact that editions and printings were routinely undated. The present copy carries a preface dated the twelfth month of the 20th year of Qianlong (1755-56) - a feature of all editions from the palace edition onward - but no reprinting statement of the kind found in late-Qing editions such as those printed in 1888 (Ju zhen tang) and 1890 (Zhu fang fan yi zong xue). The present copy's printer, the San huai tang shu fang, opened its doors opposite Beijing's Longfu Temple during the early Daoguang era (1820-1850). This evidence, combined with the overall appearance of the paper and the woodblock printing, places this copy among the rarer early editions. Pamela Kyle Crossley, A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology, 2002; Xu Li, "Qianlong chao qinding sishu wujing manwen chong yi gaoben yanjiu", Minzu fanyi, no. 74 (2020), pp. 62-70. 6 vols, octavo (237 x 153 mm). Mid-19th-century paper wrappers, recently renewed xianzhuang-style white stitching, spine ends reinforced with purple silk. Housed in original blue cloth folding case with title label and bone clasps. Wrappers and contents evenly browned, purple silk worn, a few chips and closed tears not affecting text, faint stain to rear wrapper of vol. I, internally clean. A very good copy of this delicate publication in like case with light soiling to cloth, couple of small losses to title label, lining split at folds, unusually retaining both clasps. Recent bookseller annotations, overlaid price ticket, and residue of two other labels to inner panel.

First edition. First edition. 4 engraved plates redone from the Chinese editions. [iv], cxliv, 474, [2] pp. 1 vols. 4to. This is the first European translation of the Book of Documents or the Book of History, the first tract of the Five Classics on Confucianism to be published anywhere in the West. Also includes at the end: "Notice du livre chinois nommé Y-king, ou livre canonique des changemens, avec des notes" by Claude Visdelou (pp. 399 - 436). Cordier, BS 1376-1377; Lust 727; Walravens, China Illustrata 136 Old boards, new period spine and corners. Fine 4 engraved plates redone from the Chinese editions. [iv], cxliv, 474, [2] pp. 1 vols. 4to.