Book Details

Investigate the role of Chinese learning in the development of thought andculture in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868). I Ching scholarship reached its apex during the Tokugawa, becoming one of the most popular and influential texts among Japanese intellectuals. It penetrated into many areas of Tokugawa life: politics, economics, religion, natural science, medicine, military studies, and popular culture. The I Ching in Tokugawa Thought and Culture represents a scholarly attempt to expose uncharted research territory, offering new analysis and materials. Many of the primary sources discussed here have never before been used in research or translated into English.

"This is an ambitious and impressive piece of scholarship. Ng deals with a subject rarely taken up in Japanese scholarship and virtually untouched in Western writing about Japan. The result is a landmark study that should provide the basis for publications for years to come." --Marius B. Jansen, Princeton University

"Ng is the first scholar to explore the impact of the I Ching in Japan, an uncharted research area in both Japanese and English scholarship. Based on rich primary sources, he discusses the impact of the text in different aspects of Japanese thought and culture from socio-cultural, intellectual, and comparative perspectives. His narrative and analysis have important implications for a new understanding of Tokugawa history. This is a must for readers who are interested in Tokugawa intellectual and cultural history and the comparative study of philosophy and scholarship in East Asia." --Kurozumi Mokoto, University of Tokyo

"This book marks an impressive new stage in Western-language scholarship on the I Ching. Not only does the author demonstrate how pervasive and influential the work was in many realms of Tokugawa political, social, and cultural life, but he also shows the complex process by which Chinese ideas and practices were transmitted and transformed in response to changing historical circumstances. It is an indispensable work for anyone interested in I Ching scholarship, Sino-Japanese cultural relations, or the comparative history of ideas." --Richard J. Smith, Rice University

Author Bio: Wai-Ming Ng is assistant professor of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore.