It is singularly appropriate that the dust jacket of this elegant, small volume has behind the title and the name of the distinguished author slightly blurred characters for tian xia, “All Under Heaven,” the implications of which are a major strand in Wang's discussions from beginning to end. Of the five chapters and an appendix, only one chapter has previously appeared in print, and five of the six are revised versions of lectures. The perspectives on tian xia begin in chapter 1, where the use of the phrase in the Yi jing leads to Wang's gloss that “All changes under Heaven (tian xia 天下) implied progressive steps toward civilization, something common to all people who seek improvement” (pp. 5–6). A dimension of political order clearly is involved, as is the possibility that the tian xia will be centered in a single political order of a Central Kingdom, Zhong...
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