Selecting Texts for the Study of Asian Cultures: A Review Essay

Reviews 529 N OTE S 1. Jacques Gernet, Chine et christianisme: action et réaction (Paris, 1982), pp. 322-333. 2.Erik Zürcher, Bouddhisme, Christianisme et société chinoise (Paris, 1990), pp. 11-37. 3.Nicholas Standaert, Yang Tingyun: Confucian and Christian in Late Ming China (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988). 4.Joseph Masson first used the term in "l'Eglise ouverte sur le monde," Nouvelle Revue Théologique Si (1962): 1038. mm Selecting Textsfor the Study ofAsian Cultures: A Review Essay Lynn H. Nelson and Patrick Peebles, editors. Classics ofEastern Thought. San Diego, New York, and Chicago: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1991. ix, 624 pp. Paperback $20.00. The editors are to be commended for this far-ranging collection of translated classical texts representing the foundational cultures ofAsia. While the major emphasis is on China and Japan, other Asian cultures are not ignored. In terms of disciplines, literature, philosophy, and religion are especially well represented. Politics, morals, poetry, and history are also represented, although science and technology are ignored. The basic structure of the book is chronological, with part 1 covering the period from 4000 b.c. to a.d. 300, part 2 from a.d. 300 to 1350, part 3 from a.d. 1350 to 1750, and part 4 from 1750 to the present. Although the periodizaüon works well for Chinese history, it is somewhat arbitrary for India, Japan, Korea, and Islamic Asia. India is well represented in part 1, and somewhat minimally in parts 3 and 4. As is to be expected in a single volume, there are significant omissions: Islamic Asia, Tibet, Korea, and Southeast Asia get somewhat short shrift. Nonetheless , it is a great convenience to students and teachers to have a single volume of classical texts that represents the broad range of subjects and cultures from ancient to modern times that is Asia. How good is this anthology? While this a difficult question, it is a legitimate one that may be asked by potential users, and therefore one that a reviewer must seriously consider. The answer depends, ofcourse, on the criteria involved, and to y mversiy get at the important criteriawe must consider which questions about a text are most important to teachers and students. The most urgent question for teachers, especially for those who put together ofHawaïi Press 530 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 anthologies and write textbooks, is "Which issues and texts are appropriate for students ofAsian culture?" This question is especially acute because many of our students are not grounded either intellectually or existentially in any of the Asian traditions. Based on my experience in studying and teaching Asian and comparative cultures and philosophy for thirty years, including the preparation ofA Sourcebook in Asian Philosophy, The Indian Way, and three editions of Oriental Philosophies (all published by Macmillan), I would like to suggest that a teacher should ask the following questions about the texts and issues represented in an anthology being considered for courses that deal with Asian traditions: (1) Are the texts representative ofthe tradition? (2)Did they have a significant role in shaping the tradition? (3)Do they provide entry into other issues and texts? (4)Are the texts relatively free of technical jargon and unspoken assumptions? (5)Are the issues, as presented in the texts, grounded in human experience that is familiar and accessible to students? (6)Do they address questions ofcontemporary interest? (7)Are the translations accurate, reliable, and accessible? (8)To what extent do the texts invite comparisons across traditions and eras? (9)Are good interpretative studies ofthese texts available that will help students inquire into the issues presented by the texts? (10)Are the texts congenial to my own experience and style ofteaching? (11)Are the texts appropriate to the learner's level and for the amount of time available? Depending on the teachers' own experiences, the kinds of students they have, and the level ofthe course, the answers to these questions as well as the order of their importance will vary. Trying to keep in mind the variations in teachers, students, and levels ofpreparation, I will attempt to answer each ofthese questions in terms of Classics ofEastern...