This is a digital version of the 1990 book, The Confucian Creation of Heaven, published by SUNY Press, incorporating pinyin transcription for Chinese, rather than the original Wade-Giles. The book examines the way core early Confucian (or "Ruist") texts treat the concept of Tian (Heaven), in order to elucidate the social and philosophical orientation of the early Confucian community. The central theme of the book is that the coherence of early Confucianism emerges only when doctrine is viewed as a function of the unique ritual practices of the early Confucian community.