EBSCOhost | 99437683 | Ando Shöeki's Agrarian Utopianism: An East Asian Philosophical Contextualization.

Ando Shöeki's Agrarian Utopianism: An East Asian Philosophical Contextualization.

• Source: Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies . Jun2013, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p53-86. 34p.
• Author(s): TUCKER, John A.

• Abstract: This paper seeks to interpret the often enigmatic ideas of Ando Shoeki 1 M (1703-1762) in relation to an interpretive field broader than that of Japanese traditions. 
• Simply put, this paper attempts to contextualize Shoeki's thinking within East Asian philosophical contexts.
•  The paper suggests that three classical Chinese philosophical texts are exceptionally pertinent for understanding the theoretical foundations of Shoeki's ideas. 
• These texts also shed light on why Shoeki's thought achieved some cultural broadcast, greater or lesser, in his day and thereafter. 
• The three texts, fairly well known throughout Japanese history among the educated elite, are: 
• 1). a Daoist classic, the Zhuangzi (J: Söshi), especially its "Yangist" and "primitivists" writings; 
• 2). the masterwork of the Mohist tradition, the Mozi (J: Bokushi); and 
• 3). an important Confucian text, the Mencius (C: Mengzi J: Möshi).