Stephen C. Angle received his B.A. from Yale University in East Asian Studies and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan. Since 1994 he has taught at Wesleyan University, where he is now Director of the Fries Center for Global Studies, Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies, and Professor of Philosophy. The author of several previous books on Confucianism, Angle has co-directed two NEH Summer Institutes and is a recipient of two Fulbright grants, a Berggruen Fellowship, a Millicent C. McIntosh Fellowship, and a Chiang Ching-Kuo Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. In 2006 Angle was awarded Wesleyan's Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

"Steve Angle offers a wide-ranging and masterful exploration of what it could mean to live a Confucian life. Attuned to the fine rewards such a life will promise, Angle maps a new, progressive Confucianism that retains and revitalizes the best of what the old can do." -- Amy Olberding, The University of Oklahoma

"The conversational tone of this gem of a guide for living should engage a wide audience, from the merely curious who know little of Confucianism to academics who teach and publish in Confucian philosophy. Grounded in impeccable scholarship, the author skillfully weaves vignettes of everyday life with the wisdom from ancient Confucian texts to persuade readers that Confucian philosophy can help them live a better life, become a better person, and contribute to the society they live in. It presents a progressive Confucianism that urges its adherents to critically examine its legacy and adapt its enduring values to new historical realities and possibilities in a manner that would advance human civilization." -- Sor-hoon Tan, Philosophy, Singapore Management University

"Highly readable and full of insights, this book not only shows brilliantly how Confucianism can be relevant and beneficial today as a way of life, but also illustrates how one can appropriate a tradition and be progressive at the same time. This is how Confucius would teach his ideas today, if he comes back to life." -- Peimin Ni, Grand Valley State University

"Angle... delivers an entertaining introduction to Confucian philosophy and its applications to modern life." --Publisher's Weekly

"Stephen C. Angle's new book is not simply an introduction to Confucianism - although it functions very well as that - but a prospectus for it." --South China Morning Post