Author: You MinJung
Publisher: Sungkyunkwan University Press
Language: Korean
Pages: 480
Publication Date: Aug. 8, 2024
The author of this book is Dr. You MinJung, a young Korean scholar who is currently an associate professor at Zhejiang University in China. The book compiles the results of her research over several years on the rhetorical exegeses of the Confucian classics (hereafter the classics) that appeared in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Korea, China and Japan.
Rhetorical studies of the classics involve interpreting classic texts through their structural features and annotating them with use of language, argumentation, and expressive techniques. In classical studies, rhetorical exegeses focus on the literary aspects of the classics, unlike ordinary or standard commentaries that focus on the philosophical aspects of the classics.
In East Asia, premodern scholarship was established based on integrated thinking that encompasses literature, history, and philosophy. The classics integrate these three fields of study. However, in the modern academic system, these fields are separated, leading to a lack of interest in areas linking the study of the classics and the study of literature. As a result, a rhetorical approach to the classics, a fusion of the two, has been neglected. Prof. You has successfully drawn academic attention by highlighting an important aspect that has been overlooked in the current Confucian classical studies.
Her academic journey started when she earned her master’s degree with a thesis titled “A Study on the Interpretation of the Mengzi by Wi Paekkyu” in 2013. Wi Paekkyu (1727–1798) is a Chosŏn scholar who wrote “Maengjach’aŭi” (Notes on the meanings of the Mengzi), one of the early exegetical works that proposed a rhetorical approach to the Mengzi. She expanded her study to include rhetorical commentaries by Chinese and Japanese scholars in her 2019 doctorate dissertation, titled “Rhetorical Interpretations of the Classics in Korea, China, and Japan: Focusing on Mengzi Commentaries.”
Dr. You is a scholar who works hard on her papers. In 2021, she published a paper titled “Rhetorical Interpretations of the Analects by Zhu Xi and Yi Hwang” in the 149th issue of “Toegyehakbo,” a journal published by the Toegye Studies Institute. The title of the paper shows her research focus has expanded to include the Analects, another foundational text of Confucian thought.
In 2022, Dr. You published another paper titled “Rhetorical Interpretations of the Classics by Ito Jinsai: Focusing on MengziGoyi” in the 119th volume of “Daedongmunhwayeon’gu,” a quarterly journal published by the Daedong Institute for Korean Studies at Sungkyunkwan University. She broadened the scope of her study on Japanese scholars by writing “Rhetorical Interpretations of the Classics in the Edo Period of Japan: Focusing on the Logic of Fujiwara Seika and Ogyu Sorai,” a paper published in the 126th volume of the same journal in 2024.
All these papers are included in Dr. You’s book. In addition to these papers, she has also published several papers in English, one of which is “New Trends in Commentary on the Confucian Classics: Characteristics, Differences, and Significance of Rhetorically Oriented Exegeses of the Mengzi,” published in the academic journal “Acta Koreana” (vol.21 no.2, 2018). And another is “The Reading of the Mencius by Korean Confucian Scholars: Rhetorical Exegesis and the Dao,” published in the academic journal “Religions” (vol. 13 no. 10, 2022).
Dr. You’s papers have clearly caught the attention of Chinese scholars, as a top university in China has hired her as a professor. She went to China in 2020 to conduct her postdoctoral research at Fudan University as a recipient of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. Then, she was appointed as an assistant professor at Zhejiang University’s College of History in September 2022. In December 2024, she was promoted to associate professor, only two years and three months after being appointed assistant professor, which is less than half the time it usually takes to get promoted.
Fudan University and Zhejiang University are prestigious institutions, ranking third and fourth, respectively, in the 2024 China Alumni Network University Rankings. Dr. You’s appointment as an assistant professor at one of China’s top five universities and her promotion to associate professor within three years is a testament to her scholarly achievements.
Dr. You has meticulously compared and researched the traditions of a rhetorical approach to the Confucian classics in Korea, China, and Japan. She expanded the scope and depth of her research, writing papers like building bricks one by one. Her persistent and dedicated efforts for years resulted in this remarkable book. How the book is evaluated in the academic community can be inferred from the following introduction written by the publisher at Sungkyunkwan University:
“Approaching from the rhetorical perspective, this book analyzes specific elements such as vocabulary arrangement, sentence structure, and expression techniques of classic texts, fully revealing their literary value. It highlights the fact that premodern East Asian intellectuals used ‘rhetoric’ as a method of Confucian studies and approaches representative commentaries of the Mengzi from Korea, China, and Japan from a rhetorical perspective, presenting their commonalities and differences.
This book clearly shows the author’s original perspective. In particular, it takes the Mengzi, a classic that contains rich meaning in its robust spirit, straightforward development and concise expressions, as the subject of analysis, comparing representative works from China, Korea, and Japan from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and explores in detail the commonalities and characteristics of different nations and states within the same Sinographic cultural sphere through the very specific methodology of ‘rhetorical interpretation.’ The rhetoric of Confucian classics is presented in a rich and systematic manner through this work.
The book is divided into three main parts. First, Chapters I and II present the theoretical foundation of the rhetorical approach to the study of the classics along with the author’s main ideas. Second, Section 1 of Chapters III, IV, and V examines the universality of rhetorical interpretation of the classics, focusing on representative standard Mencius commentaries from Korea, China, and Japan. Third, Section 2 of Chapters III, IV, and V elucidates the particularity of rhetorical interpretation of the classics, focusing on representative rhetorical Mencius commentaries from Korea, China, and Japan. Overall, all three parts aim to objectively describe the characteristics of each country’s academic field, as well as organically view the different disciplines of philosophy and literature.
We have no doubt that this book will provide a fresh perspective in the field of classical studies, leading to new discourses and serving as a stepping stone for more challenging and broader research.”
As noted, the papers Dr. You has written over the years form the backbone of this book. She has summed up her research to date with this book. Given the research capabilities demonstrated through this book, there is no doubt that she will continue to challenge new fields and expand the breadth and depth of her research to build even greater achievements in the future.For reference, below is the table of contents of the book.
Table of Contents
Recommendation 1 by Ahn Daehoe, Dean of the College of Humanities, Sungkyunkwan University
Recommendation 2 by HeJun, Specially Appointed Professor, College of Philosophy, Fudan University
I. Introduction
1. Classics and Rhetoric
2. Perspective and Method of Research
II. The Origin and Establishment of Classical Rhetoric
1. Rhetoric as a Method of Confucian Studies
2. Rhetorical Perception of the Classics and Its Development
III. Rhetorical Interpretation of the Classics in China
1. Zhu Xi’s MengziJizhu
2. NiuYunzhen’sMengziLunwen
IV. Rhetorical Interpretation of the Classics in Korea
1. Yi Hwang’s MaengjaSeogi
2. Wi Paekkyu’sMaengjach’aŭi
V. Rhetorical Interpretation of the Classics in Japan
1. ItōJinsai’sMōshikogi
2. Hirose Tansô’s Doku Mōshi
VI. Conclusion
Appendix: List of Rhetorical Commentaries on the Mengziin the Qing Dynasty (Total 26)
Notes
References
Index
Author’s Note
Author Introduction
•Currently an associate professor at Institute of Korean Studies, College of History, Zhejiang University
•Former postdoctoral researcher at the College of Philosophy, Fudan University
•Bachelor’s in Chinese Literature, Master’s and Doctorate in East Asian Studies from Sungkyunkwan University
•Recipient of the Global Ph.D. Fellowship and International Capacity Building Program from the National Research Foundation of Korea, as well as the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation’s Academic Exchange Project
•Visiting researcher at Harvard University and Columbia University in the U.S., and short-term training at Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Okayama University in Japan.
•Interested in the internationalization of East Asian classical studies, focusing on the interpretation of the Analects and Mengzi by intellectuals from Korea, China, and Japan in the 17th to 19th centuries
•Research achievements include numerous KCI Korean papers in “Daedongmunhwayeon’gu,” AHCI English papers in “Religions,” and CSSCI Chinese papers in “Zhuzi Studies,” as well as participation in various academic conferences in the U.S., China, and Korea, including the World Congress of Philosophy and the International Toegye Studies Society.
#Book #Rhetoric #Confucian #Classics #Perceptions #Classical #Studies #Premodern #Korea #China #Japan
