Book Review: "Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I-Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China," By Richard J. Smith
FATHOMING THE COSMOS AND ORDERING THE WORLD: THE YIJING (I-CHING, OR CLASSIC OF CHANGES) AND ITS EVOLUTION IN CHINA . By Richard J. Smith . Charlottesville, VA : University of Virginia Press , 2008 . Pp . xix + 393 . Hardcover, $35.00 .
摘要
The Yijing is second only to the Bible among the world's most widely read and commented‐upon texts, and the history of its development and interpretation both encapsulates and elucidates the history of traditional Chinese thought. Moreover, along with other emblems and elements of traditional Chinese culture, the Yijing has enjoyed a revival of interest in contemporary China. Smith's “ ‘biography’ of the Yijing” attends to both the particular contexts of Yijing practice and readership in various dynastic and interdynastic eras as well as the changing views of the Changes across time. Not only does Smith provide a thorough overview of this key text in Chinese intellectual and religious history, he also documents how its history demonstrates the “eclectic” tendencies of Chinese intellectual and religious cultures (which often blend what otherwise might be seen as discrete traditions, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) and how the Yijing thereby concretizes the theoretical unity of Chinese traditions expressed by the saying san jiao he yi (“three teachings harmonize as one”). Along the way, Smith makes several valuable methodological points about the comparative utility of categories such as “classic” and “scripture,” the continuities and contrasts between Western and non‐Western religious and scientific traditions, the porous boundaries between elite and popular thought and practice, and the interrelation of canonical and apocryphal texts. Copious illustrations, a marvelous bibliography of sources in multiple languages, and three useful appendices round out this exemplary work of intellectual and religious history. Anyone interested in understanding the greatest single influence on traditional Chinese culture, which continues to shape life and thought in present‐day China, should read this book.
