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Jeffrey Richey

Patheos Author

Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Religion and Director of the Asian Studies Program at Berea College in Kentucky. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Harvard University, the Graduate Theological Union, and the University of California at Berkeley. A specialist in ancient and early medieval Chinese and Japanese religious history, especially Confucian and Daoist studies, he has published widely in scholarly journals, encyclopedias, and edited anthologies. His publications include The Sage Returns: Confucian Revival in Contemporary China (co-edited with Kenneth J. Hammond and forthcoming from State University of New York Press), Teaching Confucianism (Oxford University Press, 2008), which he edited and to which he also contributed a chapter, as well as chapters in Confucius Now: Contemporary Encounters with the Analects (Open Court Publishing Company, 2008) and Riding the Wind with Liezi: New Scholarship on the Daoist Classic (State University of New York Press, 2011). He also serves as Chinese Philosophy Area Editor for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/).

Works by Jeffrey Richey

Worship and Devotion in Daily Life

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

To live one's life as the best person one can be, to constantly strive to cultivate......

Gender and Sexuality

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Women were expected to demonstrate exemplary behavior and uncomplaining obedience.......

Vision for Society

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius envisioned a society in which all lived in harmony, content with their place......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Symbols specific to Confucianism are relatively rare, and almost always pertain to......

Principles of Moral Thought and Action

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius provided few specific moral principles. One should obey one's elders and......

Community Organization

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

In traditional China, Confucianism prevailed within the courts of the nobility and in......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

The model Confucian leader was the scholar-official. Years of education in the classic......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius stated that divine realms are beyond human comprehension, so there is no......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

As Confucius stated that ultimate reality is beyond human comprehension, there is no......

Sacred Narratives

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

The idea of learning from the past is fundamental to Confucian thinking, and the early......

Afterlife and Salvation

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius stated that the afterlife was beyond human comprehension. Humans should live......

Ultimate Reality and Divine Beings

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius did not deny the existence of a reality beyond the human world, but he said......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucianism has been both lauded and condemned in the modern age. Confucianism, along......

Rites and Ceremonies

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Despite his disinterest in ultimate questions, Confucius was a strong advocate for......

Exploration and Conquest

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Han Feizi's philosophy was of profound importance to the Qin emperor who first unified......

Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucian scholars have long debated essential human nature without reaching agreement......

Schisms and Sects

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

While there were differing interpretations of Confucianism and disagreements about its......

Missions and Expansion

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

There were few regional differences in Confucianism, but specific interpretations......

Suffering and the Problem of Evil

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

According to some interpretations of Confucianism, suffering and evil are inevitable in......

Early Developments

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucianism as an institution was not established until long after the death of its......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius attributed his teachings to the Duke of Zhou, a heroic figure from his home......

Historical Perspectives

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Some Western scholars have argued that "Confucianism" was manufactured or invented by......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius's ideas became well known only after his death. The 4th-century B.C.E.......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius, whose Chinese name was Kong Qiu (K'ung Ch'iu), was born around 552 B.C.E. and......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucius left no writings, although the "Five Classics" of Chinese literature are......

Jeffrey Richey | June 19, 2017

Confucianism, though commonly labeled a religion, could more accurately be understood as......

Disaster in Japan

Jeffrey Richey | March 28, 2011

When monstrosity strikes, the character of a culture is revealed....

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