Abstract

This collection of essays is at present the most comprehensive presentation of Tu Weiming's intellectual pursuit for the last three decades. Part I offers an insight on the thoughtful and influential discourses he has been instrumental in developing: cultural China, the implications of the rise of East Asia, the significance of the Confucian cultural area in the modernizing process, the continuous presence of traditions in modernity, reflection on the enlightenment mentality of the modern west, and multiple modernities. Part II gives a panoramic view of the unfolding of the Confucian tradition from historical, philosophical, and religious perspectives. It is an interpretation based on personal knowledge and experiential understanding as well as critical analysis. Part III observes the creative transformation of Confucian humanism with a view toward the future. It is an illustration of Confucianism as a form of spiritual humanism which seeks integration of the mind and body, fruitful interaction between self and community, sustainable relationship between the human species and nature, and mutual responsiveness between the human heart and the way of heaven. Tu anticipates the flourishing of Confucianism in the 21st century. He believes that it will be a major spiritual resource for rethinking the human in the global community.