摘要
One way of understanding Roger Ames＇s new book is to see it as a scholar＇s taking a pause and drawing an interim result of his past work, which nonetheless introduces a variety of new twists and thoughts and which is meant as a preliminary step toward future work. This is clearly indicated in the Preface, in which the work is said to seek an answer for the putatively modest task of drawing out a cluster of concepts in early Confucian texts, taken on their own terms, that fully expresses the notion of Confucian role ethics-a task that is to be followed by tackling a more challenging task of articulating ＂a new and inclusive concept-cluster that draws critically from aH of our cultural resources＂ （xvi, italics added）. Therefore, when now commenting on Confucian Role Ethics： A Vocabulary, I do so fully aware of its preliminary character.
One way of understanding Roger Ames＇s new book is to see it as a scholar＇s taking a pause and drawing an interim result of his past work, which nonetheless introduces a variety of new twists and thoughts and which is meant as a preliminary step toward future work. This is clearly indicated in the Preface, in which the work is said to seek an answer for the putatively modest task of drawing out a cluster of concepts in early Confucian texts, taken on their own terms, that fully expresses the notion of Confucian role ethics-a task that is to be followed by tackling a more challenging task of articulating ＂a new and inclusive concept-cluster that draws critically from aH of our cultural resources＂ （xvi, italics added）. Therefore, when now commenting on Confucian Role Ethics： A Vocabulary, I do so fully aware of its preliminary character.
