---
product_id: 101936463
title: "Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy"
brand: "bryan w. van norden"
price: "$U2337"
currency: UYU
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.uy/products/101936463-introduction-to-classical-chinese-philosophy
store_origin: UY
region: Uruguay
---

# Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy

**Brand:** bryan w. van norden
**Price:** $U2337
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy by bryan w. van norden
- **How much does it cost?** $U2337 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
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## Description

Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Fascinating and entertaining
  

*by W***E on Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2019*

I just finished Bryan Van Norden's book Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy: and to make a long review short: it's highly recommended!I bought the book a few years ago, after the author and I became mutual followers on Twitter, having discovered some of his tweets. Even though, as someone who researches Chinese issues, I felt I had a decent grasp of the main ideas of many of the philosophical schools, but I thought the book might help fill in some of the holes. However, due to the fact that I own more books than I can read, the book sat on my bookshelf collecting dust, until I started to dig deeper into a book on Neo-Confucianism (the Chinese version of Peter K. Bol's Neo-Confucianism in History), and wanted to refresh myself on Confucian thinkers.In any case, the book goes over the major schools in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, with chapters as the following: 1. The Historical Context; 2. Kongzi and Confucianism; 3. Kongzi and Virtue Ethics; 4. Mohist Consequentialism;  5. Yang Zhu and Egoism; 6. Mengzi and Human Naure; 7. Language and Paradox in the "School of Names"; 8. The Daodejing and Mysticism; 9. Zhuangzi's Therapeutic Skepticism and Relativism; 10. Xunzi's Confucian Naturalism; 11. Han Feizi; 12. Later Chinese Thought.The content of each thinker is skillfully and empathetically presented, and subsequently critiqued. One of Van Norden's strengths is writing in a simple and straightforward manner but without being simplistic.Van Norden is now perhaps most well known as an advocate for greater diversity in (still predominately Euo-centric) philosophy departments in the West, and indeed, some of his passionate views are indirectly on display here. These Chinese thinkers are not presented in an esoteric, Orientalist fashion, but instead, while situating the thinkers in their particular historical context, Van Norden also often compares and contrasts their ideas with ideas generated in the West, such as how wisdom varies in the philosophies of Confucius and Aristotle, or how South Park's Cartman can help us critique the psychological egoism that could be associated with Yang Zhu, These lively comparisons help make the book quite entertaining.  In general, I enjoyed the book the most in the author's explanation of the subtleties in Mengzi views of human nature as positive and in showing how viewing Zhuangzi's work through a therapeutic lens can hold various seemingly contradictory strands together.  Of course, this is just an introductory book, and some may say that not everything is covered, or to the depth that some may desire. However, the author's suggestions for further reading look like a helpful guide to further studies.Overall, highly recommended.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Great Summary of Classical Chinese Philosophy
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2016*

Really good book, used it in class. As far as text books go it was very engaging for me (who is familiar with Chinese culture and history but not philosophy), and the guy who sits next to me (who is very familiar with philosophy but not Chinese culture or history).The books is good as a standalone, but to get full use of the books you must also use "Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy" by Van Norden and Ivanhoe.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    A good book for beginners in Chinese Philosophy.
  

*by R***S on Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017*

I really enjoyed reading this book. This is the first one I read about Chinese Philosophy. As a beginner in the topic, I wanted something easy to digest/grasp. I found the information very insightful, detailed, and broad.Each chapter comes with exercises in the end regarding what's read, I found that interesting. Although I rarely stopped to answer them, I think it is important to make sure we answer it so that we can have an idea of what we really got from the reading. That's something I plan to do in my next reading of this book.I didn't give 5 stars because I thought it was way too broad sometimes. The timeline was very well explained but I missed some correlation with worlds events. For people who are starting out in Chisene Philosophy, specially from the west, we can't relate or understand well if context is not given in regard to our understanding of what happened around here.But a nice read indeed! :)

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*Product available on Desertcart Uruguay*
*Store origin: UY*
*Last updated: 2026-01-22*