Material virtue

"This book reconstructs a neglected episode in the development of Confucianism, one that considerably influenced later Chinese religious thought. Material Virtue examines a set of fourth through first century B.C.E. Chinese texts that argue virtue has a physical correlate in the body. Based on both transmitted and recently excavated texts, Material Virtue describes how the argument addresses challenges to early Chinese religious ethics in part by relying on emerging notions such as the balance of qi (pneumas) also found in natural philosophy."--BOOK JACKET.