Asian Studies
The Poetics of Decadence
A reconsideration of Chinese decadent (tuifei) poetry which argues that this poetry is not a marginal trend but rather a vital part of the Chinese literary tradition.
Dattātreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatāra
Presents the multi-faceted Hindu deity Dattatreya from his Puranic emergence to modern times.
Untouchable Pasts
Constructs a history of an untouchable and heretical community, the Satnamis of Central India.
Devoted to the Goddess
Examines the legendary life and poetic works of Ramprasad, the eighteenth-century Bengali devotee of the Goddess, whose songs were influential in his own time and remain popular today.
In Search of Personal Welfare
The first major reassessment of ancient Chinese religion to appear in recent years, this book presents the religious mentality of the period through personal and daily experiences.
Lu Xun and Evolution
Lu Xun (1881-1936), China's greatest modern writer, remains important today both as an official icon and a patron saint of dissent. This book deals with Lu Xun's struggle to make sense of the "Darwinian Revolution." It illuminates not only Lu Xun's thought, but also the current crisis in Chinese thought caused by the loss of faith in Marxism.
Thinking from the Han
Examines the issues of self (including gender), truth, and transcendence in classical Chinese and Western philosophy.
Steel Butterflies
Explores how Japanese women living in the United States see themselves and how they see American women.
Before Confucius
Examines the original composition of China's oldest books, the Classic of Changes, the Venerated Documents, and the Classic of Poetry, and attempts to restore their original meanings.
Buddhahood Embodied
Provides many new translations of original texts formative of Mahayana concepts of Enlightenment and resolves the 1200-year-old controversy between Indian and Tibetan views of the meaning of buddhahood.
The Way of Water and Sprouts of Virtue
Explicates early Chinese thought and explores the relationship between language and thought.
Chŏng Yagyong
Describes the historical background and philosophy of the reform-minded, eighteenth-century Korean thinker, Chong Yagyong.
Interpreting Amida
Examines the history of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism and how orientalist assumptions have caused the West to ignore this important tradition.
The Folk Performing Arts
Addresses issues concerning the survival and preservation of traditional culture by examining Japan's folk performing arts and the public policies that affect them.
Christ and Caesar in Modern Korea
A well-documented work on the history of modern Korea focusing on the history of Christianity in relation to politics.
Big Business, Strong State
Focuses on the paradox of development in the newly industrializing country of South Korea.
Epic Grandeur
Examines both Western and Japanese epic traditions to argue for a new concept of the epic--an epic of peace, toward which the genre is evolving globally.
Beyond Orientalism
Explores some steps toward non-assimilative encounters in the "global village. "
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
This new and revised edition provides a comprehensive dictionary of Indian philosophical terms. Terms are provided in both devanagari and roman transliteration along with their English translations.
Watsujiō Tetsur's Rinrigaku
Watsuji's Rinrigaku (literally, the principles that allow us to live in friendly community) has been regarded as the definitive study of Japanese ethics for half a century.
Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty
Analysis of rich new material allows Wile to make a fresh survey of longstanding issues: the origins of T'ai-chi; the authorship of the classics; the differences between Wu, Yang, and Li; and the roles of such figures as Chang San-feng, Wang Tsung-yueh
The T'ai-Chi Ch'uan Experience
The leading proponent in America of the Wu style discusses the spiritual and aesthetic meanings of t'ai chi ch'uan.
Seeing through Texts
Examines texts and commentaries in the Tamil-language SArivastradition of South India; about the general issues of text, vision, and narrative that such texts raise, and about the implications of these for a particular style of comparative theology.
From Deluge to Discourse
Proposes a sweeping theory of flood myths, applies it to a particular text, the Mu T'ien-tzu chuan, and opens up the world of Chinese fiction to an entirely new type of analysis based on a psychoanalytic theory of the symbol.
Legitimating the Chinese Economic Reforms
Argues that the legitimacy of the Chinese government relies on two factors: the national myth of revolution and ideological orthodoxy.