Shengren
Subtitle: Above philosophy and beyond religion
Publisher: LoD Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York, USA
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 566
Table of contents: title: The shengren is the single most important concept in Chinese tradition. Since the Europeans had not anything like it, but refused to hold the candle to China; instead they withheld the shengren and talked about some lesser versions of (Greek) philosophers or (Christian) holy men. The Anglo-Saxons soon found a slighty better translation; they called the shengren sages. The Germans however, the descendants of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, never had a concept for sages or sagehood. In their effort to Christianize China, the Germans called the shengren saints. With little regard for what was actually written in the Chinese texts, the European imperialists soon engaged in a fierce battle of control over China's most valuable possessions: its names. This study is about sages, sage culture, countries without sages, language imperialism, and the story of the shengren.