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Ethical Living Through Stories: Encounters with Adab

Ouyang, Wen-Chin

Authors



Abstract

Literature has for thousands of years served as a space in which people have negotiated the ethics of daily life. In the Islamic tradition, the broad concept of adab spans ethical instruction and literary culture. Literature classified asadab was intended to cultivate readers’ minds and characters. Similarly, the Chinese concept of wen represents the intellectual, cultural, and ethical foundations of society. Adab and wen offer ways to navigate complex social environments with respect and empathy, promoting harmony in multicultural societies. Such concepts remain highly relevant and valuable in today’s global world. In this book, Wen-chin Ouyang shows how our experience of adab stories has the power to transform both our personal relationships and society. She draws on classic Arabic stories from the famous Thousand and One Nights and compares them with tales from the canonical Chinese novels Three Kingdoms, The Journey to the West, and Water Margin. The book demonstrates how these stories tell us about ourselves, allowing us to define, test, and refine our ethics of living. More than this, they have the power to help us experience a profound contemplation of our lives on earth, linking us to our shared humanity and showing us how to live meaningfully.

Citation

Ouyang, W.-C. (2025). Ethical Living Through Stories: Encounters with Adab. I. B. Tauris in Association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755657520

Book Type Authored Book
Publication Date Feb 25, 2025
Deposit Date Dec 5, 2024
Publicly Available Date Feb 26, 2125
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Series Title World of Islam
ISBN 9780755657490
DOI https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755657520
Keywords Adab, wen, Arabic storytelling, Chinese storytelling, The Thousand and One Nights, Solomon Legends, Harun al-Rashid Myths
Related Public URLs https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9780755657520