China Books

[Indent] When we compare Eastern and Western societies, we find similar economic and social forces at work. But the impact of these on family life reflects differences in cultural history and social context. This volume examines family change in Korea, Japan, and the United States, allowing us to contrast the collective emphasis of a Confucian social heritage with the individualism of the West. An impressive group of demographers and family sociologists considers such question as: How do family patterns vary within counties and across societies? How essential are marriage and parenthood? How do levels of contact between middld-aged adults and their parents who live elsewhere differ in East Asian countries and the U.S.? Policy makers and dempgraphic and family researchers both in the U.S. and Asia will find this book a vital resource for understanding the dynamics of family life in contrasting modern societies. (For this item please quote stock ID 21240) ISBN: 9780824827755

Has the global spread of predominantly North American popular culture forced Asian nations and communities to produce nothing but pale imitations of a shallow, hedonistic alien culture? Far from it! Global Goes Local examines popular culture from pop music in contemporary Korea and pre-war Shanghai to television dramas in China and TV commercials in Malaysia. International scholars with varying disciplinary perspectives show how imported cultural forms can be invested with fresh meaning and transformed by local artists to assert identity and express resistance. This collection tackles significant questions about popular culture and offers case studies of how culture suffers, survives, or prospers in Asian communities in an age of global communication. Timothy J. Craig is associate professor in the Faculty of Business, University of Victoria. Richard King is associate professor in the Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Victoria. (For this item please quote stock ID 21278) ISBN: 9780824826116

[Indent] Three countries in East Asia - China, Japan, and South Korea - constitute one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world, but it is a region where formal regional machinery such as the European Union or NAFTA is yet to be established. The region may not be ready for such machinery yet, as some have argued, but there are many good reasons why the three East Asian countries should start now on a number of projects for regionwide cooperation. These such projects - regional information infrastructure, a regional energy community, and a regional institution for financing infrastructure investment - are presented in this volume. (For this item please quote stock ID 22695) ISBN: 9788980631575

~Dimensions of Asian Spirituality

~Chan Buddhism has become paradigmatic of Buddhist spirituality. Known in Japan as Zen and in Korea as Son, it is one of the most strikingly iconoclastic spiritual traditions in the world. This succinct and lively work clearly expresses the meaning of Chan as it developed in China more than a thousand years ago and provides useful insights into the distinctive aims and forms of practice associated with the tradition, including its emphasis on the unity of wisdom and practice; the reality of 'sudden awakening'; the importance of meditation; the use of 'shock tactics'; the centrality of the teacher-student relationship; and the celebration of enlightenment narratives, or koans. (For this item please quote stock ID 23306) ISBN: 9780824827809

~Topics in Contemporary Buddhism.

~This insightful volume dispels the common notion that Buddhism is not a missionary religion by revealing Asian Buddhists as active agents in the propagation of their faith. It presents at the same time a new framework with which to study missionary activity in both Buddhist and other religious traditions. Included are case studies of Theravada, Chinese, and Tibetan Buddhist teachers and congregations, as well as the Pure Land, Shingon, Zen, and Soka Gakkai traditions of Japan.

~Contributors examine both foreign and domestic missions and the activities of emigrant communities, showing the resources and strategies garnered by late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century Buddhists who worked to uphold and further their respective traditions, often under difficult circumstances. Based on anthropological fieldwork and historical research, the essays break new ground and provide better analytical tools for studying mission activity than previously available. They provide instructive comparisons with Anglo-American Protestant missionary thinking and offer insights into the internal dynamics of Sri Lankan and Japanese missions as they make their way in Protestant and Catholic societies. Also included are nuanced studies of two major missionary figures in late twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism and a fascinating look at the present Dalai Lama's relationships with his devotees and the American government, viewed through an exposition of the abiding tradition within Tibetan Buddhism that combines mission activity with the political goals of exiled lamas.

~Contributors: Stuart Chandler, Peter Clarke, C. Julia Huang, Steven Kemper, Linda Learman, Sarah LeVine, Richard Payne, Cristina Rocha, George Tanabe, Jr., and Gray Tuttle.

~Linda Learman is a Ph.D. student in anthropology at Boston University. (For this item please quote stock ID 23309) ISBN: 9780824828103

In its role as a scriptural charter, vinaya has justified widely dissimilar approaches to religious life as Buddhist orders in different times and places have interpreted it in contradictory ways. In the resulting tension between scripture and practice, certain kinds of ceremonial issues (such as those involving lineage, seniority, initiation, purification, repentance, visualisation, vows, ordination) acquire profound social, psychological, doctrinal, and soteriological significance in Buddhism. Going Forth focuses on these issues over a wide sweep of history - from early fifth-century China to modern Japan - to provide readers with a rich overview of the intersection of doctrinal, ritual, and institutional concerns in the development of East Asian Buddhist practices. Despite the crucial importance of vinaya, especially for understanding Buddhism in East Asia, very little scholarship in Western languages exists on this fascinating topic. The essays presented here, written by senior scholars in the field, go beyond the time-worn method of relying on prescriptive accounts in the scriptures to describe what imaginary Buddhists must have done (or do). Rather, they address how actual people responded to local social and cultural imperatives by reading scripture in innovative ways to give new life to tradition. They place real people, practices, and institutions at the centre of each account, revealing both diversity and unity, continuity and transformation, in Buddhist customs. The result is a well-integrated, accessible work - relevant for Buddhist studies, but with wider implications for anyone interested in East Asian cultural heritage. Contributors: T. H. Barrett, William Bodiford, David Chappell, James Dobbins, Daniel Getz, Paul Groner, John McRae, Morten Schlütter, Nobuyoshi Yamabe, Yifa. William Bodiford is associate professor of religion at the University of California, Los Angeles. (For this item please quote stock ID 24206) ISBN: 9780824827878

Dimensions of Asian Spirituality Chan Buddhism has become paradigmatic of Buddhist spirituality. Known in Japan as Zen and in Korea as Son, it is one of the most strikingly iconoclastic spiritual traditions in the world. This succinct and lively work clearly expresses the meaning of Chan as it developed in China more than a thousand years ago and provides useful insights into the distinctive aims and forms of practice associated with the tradition, including its emphasis on the unity of wisdom and practice; the reality of 'sudden awakening'; the importance of meditation; the use of 'shock tactics'; the centrality of the teacher-student relationship; and the celebration of enlightenment narratives, or koans. Unlike many scholarly studies, which offer detailed perspectives on historical development, or guides for personal practice written by contemporary Buddhist teachers, this volume takes a middle path between these two approaches, weaving together both history and insight to convey to the general reader the conditions, energy, and creativity that characterize Chan. Following a survey of the birth and development of Chan, its practices and spirituality are fleshed out through stories and teachings drawn from the lives of four masters: Bodhidharma, Huineng, Mazu, and Linji. Finally, the meaning of Chan as a living spiritual tradition is addressed through a philosophical reading of its practice as the realization of wisdom, attentive mastery, and moral clarity. Peter Hershock is coordinator of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center, Honolulu. He has been a practicing Buddhist since 1982. (For this item please quote stock ID 23304) ISBN: 9780824828356