Ta Hsueh and Chung Yung: (the Highest Order of Cultivation and on the Practice of the Mean) (Penguin Classics)

Book Description
Ta Hsüeh (Daxue) and Chung Yung (Zhongyong) are two of the central texts of early Chinese thought, encapsulating the Confucian philosophy of the Way of moral cultivation and spiritual attainment. Traditionally held to be the work of two of Confucius’s closest disciples, the books were compiled in their present form late in the second or first century bce and have occupied a central position in educational, political, and cultural life throughout East Asia for almost a thousand years. The texts focus on the connection between internal self-cultivation and the external realization of one’s moral core in the fulfillment of the practical aims of Confucian life: the observance of ritual, the proper conduct of personal relationships, and the grand enterprise of maintaining order in the state and the world.

About the Author
Andrew Plaks is a professor of East Asian studies at Princeton University. Xinzhong Yao is a professor of religion and ethics at the University of Wales, Lampeter.


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"Ta Hsueh and Chung Yung are two of the central texts of early Chinese thought, encapsulating Confucian philosophy of the Way of moral cultivation and spiritual attainment. Traditionally held to be the work of two of Confucius' closest disciples, the books were compiled in their present form late in the second or first century BCE and have occupied a central position in educational and political life for almost a thousand years throughout the East Asian cultural sphere. The texts focus on the connection between internal self-cultivation and the external realization of one's moral core in the fulfillment of the practical aims of Confucian life: the observance of ritual, the proper conduct of personal relationships, and the grand enterprise of maintaining order in the state and the world." Andrew Plak's new translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the significance and influence of the two texts, with a preface by Xinzhong Yao exploring the development of Confucian ideals. This edition also includes a chronological table, notes, guides to interpretation and appendices.


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