BOOK REVIEWS
KUAN-TZU: A REPOSITORY OF EARLY CHINESE THOUGHT, Vol. I. By W. Allyn Rickett. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1965. xviii, pp. 269. Bibliography, Index. HK$45.
The Kuan-tzu is said to have been written by the famous statesman Kuan Chung who died around 645 B.C. Many chapters record social and economic reforms allegedly proposed by him to his ruler, Duke Huan of Ch'i who ruled from 685 to 643 B.C. Also included are proposals for the establishment of state monopolies over salt and iron, the different ways government might control currency and grain prices, and other measures advocating state interference in economic affairs.
According to some scholarly studies the Kuan-tzu is really a work of collected writings by various writers, and therefore it could not have been entirely written by Kuan Chung. If this assertion is true, many chapters were probably written by Confucians, Mohists, Legalists, and Taoists during the third century B.C., although a few may have been written as early as the late fourth century, while some were probably produced during the second or even the first century B.C.
One reason why certain sections of the Kuan-tzu, written after Kuan Chung's death, were attributed to him is that he played a major role in strengthening the state of Ch'i. As soon as Duke Huan took over the government of Ch'i after a civil war, he appointed Kuan Chung as his chief minister. With his new power Kuan Chung was able to persuade the Duke to carry out political, military, social, and economic reforms which soon made Ch'i one of the most powerful feudal states of the day. By 680 B.C. Duke Huan was recognized as the lord protector or chief over the feudal lords. He had the responsibility of controlling the barbarian peoples on the frontier and ensuring that all states be loyal to the ruler of Chou. After the seventh century B.C. feudal society gradually disintegrated. It was during this period that Kuan Chung came to the fore as a new type of professional bureaucrat and political adviser to replace the former hereditary officials who
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BOOK REVIEWS
KUAN-TZU: A REPOSITORY OF EARLY CHINESE THOUGHT, Vol. I. By W. Allyn Rickett. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1965. xviii, pp. 269. Bibliography, Index. HK$45.
The Kuan-tzu is said to have been written by the famous statesman Kuan Chung who died around 645 B.C. Many chapters record social and economic reforms allegedly proposed by him to his ruler, Duke Huan of Ch'i who ruled from 685 to 643 B.C. Also included are proposals for the establishment of state mono- polies over salt and iron, the different ways government might control currency and grain prices, and other measures advocating state interference in economic affairs.
According to some scholarly studies the Kuan-tzu is really a work of collected writings by various writers, and therefore it could not have been entirely written by Kuan Chung. If this assertion is true, many chapters were probably written by Con- fucians, Mohists, Legalists, and Taoists during the third century B.C., although a few may have been written as early as the late fourth century, while some were probably produced during the second or even the first century B.C.
One reason why certain sections of the Kuan-tzu, written after Kuan Chung's death, were attributed to him is that he played a major role in strengthening the state of Ch'i. As soon as Duke Huan took over the government of Ch'i after a civil war, he appointed Kuan Chung as his chief minister. With his new power Kuan Chung was able to persuade the Duke to carry out political, military, social, and economic reforms which soon made Ch'i one of the most powerful feudal states of the day. By 680 B.C. Duke Huan was recognized as the lord protector or chief over the feudal lords. He had the responsibility of controlling the barbarian peoples on the frontier and ensuring that all states be loyal to the ruler of Chou. After the seventh century B.C. feudal society gradually disintegrated. It was during this period that Kuan Chung came to the fore as a new type of professional bureaucrat and political adviser to replace the former hereditary officials who
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