Methods of the Way: Early Chinese Ethical Thought.

• Author: Geaney, Jane M.
• Position: Reviews of Books - Book Review

Methods of the Way: Early Chinese Ethical Thought. By RUNE SVARVERUD. Sinica Leidensia, vol. 42. Leiden: BRILL, 1998. Pp. xvi + 430 + plates. $168.

Rune Svarverud's Methods of the Way: Early Chinese Ethical Thought is a thorough study of the "Daoshu" chapter of the Xinshu, a text allegedly composed by Jia Yi (200-168 B.C.). Svarverud's main interest is the fifty-six sets of ethical terms contained in the "Daoshu" chapter. The bulk of the book is a case-by-case analysis of each ethical term featured there. This is prefaced by a long section aimed at proving that the Xinshu (or at least the relevant parts of it) does in fact reflect Western Han times. There is also a brief well-annotated translation of the "Daoshu" chapter. Svarverud's approach is systematic: in addition to structuring the text with distinct clarity, he provides a variety of tables (both borrowed and of his own construction) comparing "Daoshu" and Xinshu material with pre-Han and Han literature. System building is also at the heart of his argument. He contends that the ethical terms of the "Daoshu" itself reflect Jia Yi's unsuccessful "attempt to formulate a complete and integrated system of ethics" (p. 395).

The book's impressively detailed opening chapters--meant to justify the study of the "Daoshu" by verifying the authenticity of the text--seem to compete with its focus on ethics. Svarverud prefaces his project by tackling external evidence regarding the transmission of the text. After carefully discussing this evidence, he comes to a preliminary conclusion that, in spite of occasional dubious passages, the text can be attributed to Jia Yi or his students. The following chapter concerning internal evidence aims to confirm this hypothesis. In this case, Svarverud analyzes linguistic features, proper names, numerology, and inconsistencies within sections of the Xinshu. While the skilled research in these sections is manifest, readers who are primarily interested in early Chinese ethics might find this opening third of the book distracting.

The final chapter's actual study of the ethical terms takes each term in turn and argues for its meaning in the context of the "Daoshu." Thus, for each term, Svarverud describes where it fits in relation to the terms that precede and follow it. Although this structure is not always readily apparent, he posits that the terms form a structure of double sets of pairs--one set of good and bad ethical terms corresponding with another set of...