A revision of the Peter Lang edition of 1993. A concise and accessible introduction to the evolution of the concept of moral self-cultivation in the Chinese Confucian tradition, this volume begins with an explanation of the pre-philosophical development of ideas central to this concept, followed by an examination of the specific treatment of self cultivation in the philosophy of Kongzi ('Confucius'), Mengzi ('Mencius'), Xunzi, Zhu Xi, Wang Yangmig, Yan Yuan and Dai Zhen. In addition to providing a survey of fundamental importance to the tradition, Ivanhoe also relates their concern with moral self-cultivation to a number of topics in the Western ethical tradition. Bibliography and index are included.