Yang Bojun Books
Yang Bojun (1909–1992) was a distinguished scholar of classical Chinese literature and Confucian studies. Born in Changsha, Hunan, he served as a professor at Peking University.
Known for: Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
Books by Yang Bojun
Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
Some classics survive because they are old; others endure because they continue to ask urgent questions. Mencius belongs to the second kind. In Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition), the eminent scholar Yang Bojun brings one of Confucianism’s most influential works into clear modern focus through careful translation, textual notes, and concise explanation. Rather than treating Mencius as a distant monument, Yang reveals him as a sharp moral thinker wrestling with war, political disorder, selfish rule, and the challenge of preserving human dignity in unstable times. The book matters because Mencius stands at the center of major debates in Chinese philosophy: Are people naturally good? What makes a ruler legitimate? Should public life be guided by profit or by righteousness? Yang Bojun’s authority makes this edition especially valuable. As one of the twentieth century’s leading classicists, he was renowned for precise philology, sensitivity to historical context, and an ability to make difficult classical passages readable without oversimplifying them. The result is both a scholarly reference and a practical guide to a tradition that still speaks powerfully to ethics, leadership, education, and self-cultivation.
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Understanding Mencius and His Times
Philosophy becomes most vivid when we see the crisis that gave birth to it. Mencius was not writing in calm conditions or for readers seeking abstract wisdom alone. He lived during the Warring States period, when rival states fought for power, rulers searched for military advantage, and intellectual...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
The Heart of Human Goodness
A civilization changes when it decides what to believe about human nature. One of Mencius’s most famous and enduring claims is that human nature is fundamentally good. Yang Bojun’s translation shows that this does not mean people are automatically virtuous or incapable of wrongdoing. Rather, Mencius...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
The Way of Benevolent Governance
Power is easiest to seize when people are ignored, but hardest to keep when they are mistreated. Mencius’s political thought revolves around benevolent governance, the idea that rulers gain true legitimacy not through coercion or conquest but by protecting the welfare of the people. Yang Bojun’s edi...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
Righteousness Over the Lure of Profit
The most dangerous question in politics is often the most normal one: What is profitable? Mencius does not deny the reality of material needs, but he insists that public life collapses when profit becomes the highest standard. Yang Bojun’s translation makes these exchanges especially vivid, showing ...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
Human Nature and Moral Awakening
Moral growth rarely begins with rules; it begins with noticing. Mencius’s account of self-cultivation centers on awakening and protecting the inner capacities that make virtue possible. Yang Bojun’s explanatory notes are valuable here because they clarify key metaphors and connect them across the te...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
Style, Structure, and Scholarly Method
A classic survives not only because of what it says, but because of how it is preserved and explained. One of the major strengths of Yang Bojun’s Mencius Annotated Translation is methodological. He does not merely translate the text; he builds a bridge between ancient language and modern understandi...
From Mencius Annotated Translation (Chinese Edition)
About Yang Bojun
Yang Bojun (1909–1992) was a distinguished scholar of classical Chinese literature and Confucian studies. Born in Changsha, Hunan, he served as a professor at Peking University. His research focused on pre-Qin philosophers and classical text annotation. His major works include 'The Analects Annotate...
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Yang Bojun (1909–1992) was a distinguished scholar of classical Chinese literature and Confucian studies. Born in Changsha, Hunan, he served as a professor at Peking University. His research focused on pre-Qin philosophers and classical text annotation. His major works include 'The Analects Annotate...
Yang Bojun (1909–1992) was a distinguished scholar of classical Chinese literature and Confucian studies. Born in Changsha, Hunan, he served as a professor at Peking University. His research focused on pre-Qin philosophers and classical text annotation. His major works include 'The Analects Annotated Translation', 'Mencius Annotated Translation', and 'Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals'. Yang’s meticulous scholarship and precise commentary have had a lasting influence on the study of ancient Chinese texts.
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Yang Bojun (1909–1992) was a distinguished scholar of classical Chinese literature and Confucian studies. Born in Changsha, Hunan, he served as a professor at Peking University.
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