Review | In Ways of Heaven, Roel Sterckx unpacks ‘Chinese thought’ for the Western reader
- The Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science and Civilisation at the University of Cambridge offers insight into the Chinese psyche
- Philosophy in the Chinese sense rarely indulged in debate for its own sake, instead dealing with the practical
Ways of Heaven – An Introduction to Chinese Thought
by Roel Sterckx
Basic Books (Hachette),
4/5 stars
“The knowledge that the average Chinese teenager or college student knows far more about ‘us’ than ‘we’ know about ‘them’ should be a gentle wake-up call,” writes Roel Sterckx. “To understand China, we need to learn to think Chinese.”
With Ways of Heaven – An Introduction to Chinese Thought, the Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science and Civilisation at the University of Cambridge has produced an approachable account of Chinese thinkers that is as crisp, clear and readable as the sometimes slippery nature of those ideas permits.
If your perception of Chinese philosophy goes no further than Kung Fu Panda’s “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it,” note that this idea was not only familiar to the authors of Greek tragedy but was expressed in that particular form by the French fabulist Jean de la Fontaine. You need to rethink.