Overview

Confucianism and Christianity are the foundation of Chinese and Western culture. The father-son relation is at the centre of Confucian thinking and the ethical natural relationship is the model for other familial, social and political relationships. The divine father-son relationship between God and Jesus is also at the centre of Christian consideration and likewise is the model of Christian familial, social and political relationships. The particular appeal of this book is to offer a religious and cultural comparative study from this most cardinal and crucial relationship. To date, scholarship has opined that the Confucian father-son relationship established on a consanguineous basis has no comparable aspects with the spiritual based Christian divine father-son relationship. The author provides a compelling argument, backed up by close scriptural and religious readings, to overturn this longstanding perception.

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9781845191610

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""Dr. Zhao's innovative study seeks to promote intercultural understanding by focusing on the father-son relationship central in both Confucianism and Christianity. By means of a comparative study of Xunzi and the Pauline tradition, she highlights the significance of the ethical dimensions of this relationship in the two traditions, drawing attention to points of similarity and difference. This pioneering study is an excellent contribution between apparently divergent cultural traditions which will stimulate both intercultural dialogue and future research so essential in the contemporary global encounter."" --William S. Campbell, reader in biblical studies, University of Wales-Lampeter ""Zhao gives a very good reading of Xunzi's main concepts, peppered with short textual references that illuminate a thinker who is too often overlooked or dismissed in favor of others in the Confucian pantheon. Though the focus of the study is on a comparison of Xunzi and Paul, Zhao also brings in Confucius and other key Chinese figures, so the reader gets a clearer understanding of Xunzi within that philosophical tradition. . . . Her close analysis of each is well done and will do much to advance both the project of comparative theology and Chinese philosophy in dialogue with Christianity."" --Journal of Chinese Religions

<p> Dr. Zhao's innovative study seeks to promote intercultural understanding by focusing on the Father-Son relationship central in both Confucianism and Christianity. By means of a comparative study of Xunzi and the Pauline tradition, she highlights the significance of the ethical dimensions of this relationship in the two traditions, drawing attention to points of similarity and difference. This pioneering study is an excellent contribution between apparently divergent cultural traditions which will stimulate both intercultural dialogue and future research so essential in the contemporary global encounter. --William S. Campbell, Reader in Biblical Studies, University of Wales Lampeter

Author Information

Yanxia Zhao (PhD) is a Teaching Fellow in Chinese Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Her teaching areas include Chinese culture, philosophy and religion. She has published a number of books in Chinese and is working on philosophical implications of traditional Chinese ethics.

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