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Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China (review)

Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China (review) 452 China Review International: Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 2003 Edward Slingerland. Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. xii, 352 pp. Hardcover $60.00, isbn 0­19­513899­6. In Effortless Action Edward Slingerland sets out to accomplish two goals, the first of which is to present a systematic account of the role of the concept of wu-wei as a spiritual ideal for both Daoists and Confucians in Warring States thought. The second is methodological in nature: to apply contemporary conceptual-metaphor theory to the study of early Chinese thought in order to suggest the potential of this approach for sinology, comparative religion and philosophy, and the humanities in general. With regard to the first goal Slingerland clearly succeeds, making this work required reading for any serious scholar of early Chinese thought. It is only with regard to the second goal that there are some lingering questions about his project. Slingerland argues that wu-wei, which literally means "in the absence of / without doing exertion," has been misunderstood in translation as "nonaction" because it "properly refers not to what is actually happening (or not happening) in the realm of observable action http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png China Review International University of Hawai'I Press

Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China (review)

Cline, Erin
China Review International , Volume 10 (2) – Aug 6, 2003
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-9367
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Abstract

452 China Review International: Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 2003 Edward Slingerland. Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. xii, 352 pp. Hardcover $60.00, isbn 0­19­513899­6. In Effortless Action Edward Slingerland sets out to accomplish two goals, the first of which is to present a systematic account of the role of the concept of wu-wei as a spiritual ideal for both Daoists and Confucians in Warring States thought. The second is methodological in nature: to apply contemporary conceptual-metaphor theory to the study of early Chinese thought in order to suggest the potential of this approach for sinology, comparative religion and philosophy, and the humanities in general. With regard to the first goal Slingerland clearly succeeds, making this work required reading for any serious scholar of early Chinese thought. It is only with regard to the second goal that there are some lingering questions about his project. Slingerland argues that wu-wei, which literally means "in the absence of / without doing exertion," has been misunderstood in translation as "nonaction" because it "properly refers not to what is actually happening (or not happening) in the realm of observable action

Journal

China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Aug 6, 2003

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