Introduction to Classical
Chinese Philosophy
By Masayuki Sato
Lecture One
What is Chinese Philosophy?
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1
Contents of Today’s Lecture
 (1) A reflection on the term “Chinese Philosophy”
the discussion of C. Defoort’s “Does Such a
Thing as Chinese philosophy exist?”
 (2) The rise and dilemma of the research on
“Chinese” philosophy during the 20th century
Japan
 (3) Chinese philosophy as an
intellectual foundation of
East Asian civilization
and cultures
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
2
C.Defoort
(1) A reflection the term “Chinese philosophy”
中國哲學是什麼？
 Ambiguity of the contents of the term of
“philosophy”
 Narrowest: Intellectual activities and insights which
happened to occur in the ancient Greek world
(philo+sophia or “love of wisdom”)
 Institutional: A subjects and intellectual methods
which are taught in modern “philosophy”
departments
 Broadest: Any forms of reflection or theory which
can contribute to the construction of new human
understandings.
3
(1) A reflection the term “Chinese philosophy”
中國哲學是什麼？
 The confusing nature of the term “Chinese
philosophy 中國哲學”: its three possible meanings:
 (1) Reflection and insight brought about by the
intellectual activities of traditional Chinese masters,
or/and research on them.
 (2) Philosophical activities conducted by modern
Chinese scholars and intellectual scholars mainly
through Western philosophical method
 (3) A broad sense of philosophical activities which
are conducted in the Chinese language
4
(1) A reflection the term “Chinese philosophy”
中國哲學是什麼？
 A confusing nature on the term “Chinese philosophy
中國哲學”: three possible contents:
 (1) Reflection and insight brought about by the
intellectual activities of traditional Chinese masters,
and/or research on them.
 (2) Philosophical activities are conducted by modern
Chinese scholars and intellectual scholars mainly by
Western philosophical method
 (3) A broad sense of philosophical activities which
are conducted through Chinese language
5
A Predicament of “Chinese philosophy”
for Chinese intellectual tradition.
 C. Defoort: “The strange thing is that this
introduction of (Western) philosophy in China
around the end of the nineteenth century,
together with other disciplines and above all in
the context of radical institutional changes, has
practically marked the end of this very tradition
of ‘masters’ (traditional sense of ‘Chinese
philosophy’—Sato). […] The curriculum of this
separate branch consists mainly of traditional
Chinese thought as it existed up until the
introduction of Western thinking.” (p. 395)
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of an
Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July 2001, p. 395.
6
The four positions on the issue whether
“Chinese philosophy” exist (by C. Defoort)
 First position: Such a thing as “Chinese
philosophy does not exist:
 (1) A large number of Western scholars implicitly
support this view: in most of Western
philosophical departments there are very few
positions opened for the subject of “Chinese
philosophy”
 (2) minimum definition of the term “philosophy”
 (3) incommensurability of theoretical terms, ideas,
way of thinking between Chinese traditional
thought and Western philosophy.
7
The four attitudes on the issue whether
“Chinese philosophy” exist (by C. Defoort)
 Second position: “Chinese philosophy does exist:
 (1) Christian missionary did not doubt that Chinese
intellectual tradition could be called “philosophy”
 (2) Proponents for Establishing the subject of
“Chinese philosophy”:
 Hu Shi 胡適
 (1891-1962)
 Feng Youlan
 馮友蘭
 (1895-1990)
8
The four attitudes on the issue whether
“Chinese philosophy” exist (by C. Defoort)
 Second position: “Chinese philosophy does exist:
 (3) Background Having philosophy can represent
modernity and power of a nation.
 Cf.←→ Hegel’s devaluation of Chinese Civilization
 (4) Feng’s search for hidden “system” in scattered
statements and incoherent arguments
 (5) neologism : cf: reason or truth (daoli 道理)
 humanism (renwen zhui 人文主義)
 (6) Marxism (Idealism vs. materialism)
9
From factual to
conceptual/evaluative
 Second position
↓
 Reinterpretation of the value and role of
“philosophy”

↓
 Third position:
 Chinese philosophy can widen philosophical
horizons or supplement the shortcomings of
Western philosophical tradition

10
From factual to
conceptual/evaluative
 First position
↓
 Doubt the necessity for the use of
“philosophy” to understand China’s own
intellectual tradition

↓
 Fourth position:
 “Philosophy” is not universal, but a typically
Western form of discourse.

11
Author’s criticism of the first and
fourth positions:
 “The ideal of transparent communication and
perfect self-knowledge are also myths.” “‘To
entirely understand’ is the unattainable ideal of
a problematic vision of understanding and
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese
communication.” (p.406) Philosophy? Arguments of an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy
East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July 2001, p. 406.
 “One experiences something as fruitful
communication only when the response or
explanation differs. The seed of communication
that we spread about seem to take root in a
somewhat foreign soil. Difference is a sign of
understanding.” (p.400)
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of an
Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July 2001, p. 400.
12
Author’s criticism of the second
and third positions:
 “By forcing them into a philosophical jargon,
traditional Chinese discussions and insights risk
being cut into incoherent pieces: one throws
together what does not belong together, and misses
connections that are crucial within the Chinese
Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of an Implicit
context.” (p.401) Carine
Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July 2001, p. 401.
 “With the bursting of the borders of modern concept
of philosophy, all Chinese masters are suddenly
granted asylum in the field… An all-too-generous
expansion of the term ‘philosophy’ leads to a
concept that encompasses almost everything--- and
that, therefore, means nothing.” (p.406)
13
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West,
Suggestions from the Author
 (1) “Family resemblance” analogy to describe
the characteristic of Chinese philosophy
 (2) “Family name” analogy to the inclusion or
exclusion of a thought to/from the genealogy
of kinship relationship of “philosophy” family
 →Chinese philosophy can be analogous to
an adopted child to a family whose family
name is “philosophy.”
14
What kind of intellectual activity pertain to the term
“Chinese” can be called “Chinese philosophy”?
 (1) Philosophical activities which are conducted by
modern Chinese scholars and intellectuals mainly
by means of Western philosophical method
 → expansion of philosophy
 (2) A broad sense of philosophical activities which
are conducted through Chinese language
 → adaptable to be called “philosophy”
 (3) Reflection and insight brought about by the
intellectual activities of traditional Chinese masters,
or/and research on them.
15
What kind of intellectual activity pertain to the term
“Chinese” can be called “Chinese philosophy”?
 (1) Philosophical activities which are conducted by
modern Chinese scholars and intellectuals mainly
by means of Western philosophical method
 → expansion of philosophy
 (2) A broad sense of philosophical activities which
are conducted through Chinese language
 → adaptable to be called “philosophy”
 (3) Reflection and insight brought about by the
intellectual activities of traditional Chinese masters,
or/and research on them.
16
What kind of intellectual activity pertain to the term
“Chinese” can be called “Chinese philosophy”?
 (1) Philosophical activities which are conducted by
modern Chinese scholars and intellectuals mainly
by means of Western philosophical method
 → expansion of philosophy
 (2) A broad sense of philosophical activities which
are conducted through Chinese language
 → adaptable to be called “philosophy”
“Philosophy”
 (3) Reflection and insight brought about by
the
or just
intellectual activities of traditional Chinese
masters,
“Chinese
and/or research on them.
Thought” ?
17
My Questions
 What kind of terms and concepts can a
number of striking similarities of thoughts
between Chinese and Western thought ?
Zhuang Zhou 莊周
(CA 360-290 BCE)
Friedrich W. Nietzsche
( 1844-1900)
Part II: The rise of the research on Chinese
philosophy and the modernization in Japan
The intellectual transformation from traditional
classical Chinese studies into “modern”
philosophical research has happened during the
latter half of nineteenth century in Japan.
Traditional classical Chinese studies has
consisted of mainly two elements:
(1) Confucian world view and value system
(2) Philological way for the inquiry into the “true”
spirit of original Confucian ideas.
19
Three examples for incorporation of philosophical
thinking into Japan: Nishi, Nishimura, and Kanie
 Amane Nishi 西周
 （1829-1897）
 A Leading intellectual for
This work is licensed by National Diet
Library for the use of “Introduction to
Classical Chinese Philosophy course” ONLY.
introducing philosophical way
of research and reflection
 Nishi was the inventor of the
term of “tsugaku” (or “zhexue”)
哲學 as the translation of the
term “philosophy”
20
Three examples for incorporation of philosophical
thinking into Japan: Nishi, Nishimura, and Kanie
 Shigeki Nishimura 西村茂樹
 （1828-1902）
 Nishimura served as a
mentor of Emperor Taishō.
 Nishimura noted that the
incongruence between
Mencius and Xunzi’s theory
of xing 性 (i.e.human nature)
is based upon the result of
their different definitions
(“teigi” or “dingyi” 定義) of it.
21
Three examples for incorporation of philosophical
thinking into Japan: Nishi, Nishimura, and Kanie
 Yoshimaru Kanie 蟹江義丸
（1872-1904）
 Kanie was the first
generation who has
received modern education
on Western philosophy.
 Kanie attempted to
elucidate the significance of
role free will of Xunzi’s
ethics by adopting Kantian
notion of moral autonomy.
22
The transformation of Japanese way for
intellectual and moral disciplines
Import of the way of
philosophy in
research and
education
哲學方法
World view
and Value
orientation by
Confucianism
儒學世界觀
Chinese
and
Eastern
Philosophy
Cause of new
scholarly and
educational
ethics
disciplines
Sina
gaku
Chinese
studies
23
The transformation of Japanese way
for intellectual and moral disciplines
 (1) Eastern and Chinese Philosophy
 Tōyō tetusgaku
東洋哲學 (Eastern philosophy)
 Shina tesugaku 支那哲學 (Chinese philosopy)
 A reconstructed system of Chinese thought by
means of Western philosophical method and
ideas
 It is analogous to Hu Shi and Feng Youlan’s way
for reconstructing Chinese philosophy
24
The transformation of Japanese way
for intellectual and moral disciplines
 (2) Ethics
 Rinri gaku
倫理學
 A scholarly discipline established in favour of
inquiring ethical matters among Japanese
intellectuals of Meiji-Taishō period.
 Motivated by original Confucian value orientation
of Meiji intellectuals, yet basically reconstructed on
the basis of Western way of ethical studies.
 Cf: The rise of Kokumin dōtoku
國民道德 (National Moral
movement) it was a variant of promotion of Rinrigaku, yet,
25
more nationalistic.
The transformation of Japanese way
for intellectual and moral disciplines
 (3) Shina gaku
支那學 (Chinese studies)
 During early 20th century Sinologists
promoted for the research of Chinese,
philosophy, history, literature as independent
scholarly subjects with a high respect for their
unique role and importance.
 Students of this school transformed the
research contents of “Chinese philosophy”
into that of “history of Chinese thought”, which
has become mainstream of Japanese
research on relevant subjects.
26
Double dimensions of the predicament of
Japanese research of Chinese Philosophy
 (1) Philosophy or philology?
 Japanese research has thought much of
philological reconstruction of philosophical texts
of early Chinese masters.
 Thus, Japanese discipline has rigidly regulated
the procedure of research (i.e. from philological
reconstruction to philosophical interpretation), and
such attitude has exhausted time and energy of
scholars before entering philosophical research.
As a result, the number of philosophical research
has gradually decreased.
27
Double dimensions of the predicament of
Japanese research of Chinese Philosophy
 (2) China or East Asia?
 Before World War II, scholars were convinced
that traditional Chinese thought was the main
part of Japanese intellectual history.
 The flourishing of the Shinagaku school has
pushed Chinese philosophy research to just a
part of certain period of Chinese history. Such
situation has brought about the fall of
importance of Chinese “philosophical” text in the
eyes of contemporary Japanese intellectuals.
28
(3) The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 Two questions:
 (1) Does the study or research on the
thoughts of the “masters (zhuzi 諸子)” during
the classical period in China deserve a part of
philosophy?
 (2) Does the thoughts of these masters
deserve the name of “philosophy”?
29
(3) The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 Two questions:
 (1) Does the study or research on the
thoughts of the “masters (zhuzi 諸子)” during
the classical period in China deserve a part of
philosophy?
 →completely positive
 (2) Does the thoughts of these masters
deserve the name of “philosophy”?
 →conditional according to our conception of
the term of “philosophy”
30
(3) The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 Two questions:
 (1) Does the study or research on the
thoughts of the “masters (zhuzi 諸子)” during
the classical period in China deserve a part of
philosophy?
 →completely positive because those ideas
and arguments in the classical Chinese
masters can provide our philosophical
reflections with ample hints and insights.
31
(3) The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 (2) Does the thoughts of these masters deserve the
name of “philosophy”?
 →conditional according to our conception of the
term of “philosophy”
 There are some striking similarities of ideas and
arguments between classical Chinese thoughts and
Western philosophical tradition.
 Cf. Zhuangzi 莊子 and Friedrich Nietzsche
 As the foundation for philosophical reflections by
modern East Asian scholars and intellectuals.
 Cf: Kitaro Nishida 西田幾多郎, Mou Zongsan牟宗三
32
Are they merely Thinkers ?
Or philosophers?
Zhuang Zhou
莊周
Friedrich W. Nietzsche
Kitaro Nishida
Mou Zongsan
The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 In this course, we call those intellectual
reflections and insights presented in the works
of early Chinese masters (i.e. thinkers of the
Warring States period) “classical Chinese
philosophy” for the following two reasons:
 (1) As Defoorts points out in her explication on
“the third position”, thoughts of the Warring
States’ thinkers themselves still can provide us
with rich hints and insights for contemporary
philosophical arguments, whether they are
proceeded by Chinese or Western cultural
contexts.
34
The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 (2) Argumentative framework, value orientation,
way of thinking and the world view of EastAsian traditional intellectuals have been taken
into form under the profound influence of the
classical Chinese thought, in particular,
Confucianism.
 For both its profound influence on the formation
of East-Asian civilization, and its possibility for
creating new philosophical discourse, the works
of the masters of early China deserve to be
interpreted as “classical Chinese philosophy.”
35
Relative and lasting Value of Classical
Chinese philosophy (by Feng Youlan)
 Theories which are the theoretical expression of
Greek or Chinese society, are thus also in part
expressions of society in general. Though there
is in them something that pertains only to Greek
or Chinese societies per se, there must also be
something more universal that pertains to
society in general. It is this latter something that
is not relative and possesses lasting value. […]
There must also be a part that pertains to life in
general, and so is not relative but has lasting
value. (Feng, p.28)
Y. L. Feng: A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. NY: The Free Press, 1966. P.28
36
The Chinese philosophy as an intellectual
basis of East Asian civilization and cultures
 Those works which this course will deal with:
 (1) The Analects (of Confucius) Lunuyu 論語
 (2) The Book of Mozi 墨子
 (3) The Book of Mencius 孟子
 (4) Arguments from Jixia masters 稷下先生
 (5) The Book of Laozi 老子 or Daodejing 道德經
 (6) The Book of Zhuangzi 莊子
 (7) The Book of Xunzi 荀子
 (8) The Book of Hanfeizi 韓非子
37
Questions for further discussion
 (1) In what sense, or what context, do you
think it is appropriate to use the term
“Chinese philosophy”?
 (2) Please try to discuss the different attitude
concerning their use of the concept of
“Chinese philosophy” between Chinese and
non-Chinese peoples.
 (3) What comes to mind for you concerning
philosophical elements in Chinese thought?
38
Introduction to Classical
Chinese Philosophy
Thank you very much!
Lecture One
What is Chinese Philosophy?
39
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National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
“The strange thing is that this
introduction of (Western) philosophy
in China…... thought as it existed up
until the introduction of Western
thinking.”
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of
an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July
2001, p. 395.
Wiki user: 天竺鼠
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hu_Shi3.jpg
2012/02/07 visited
Wiki user: Sgsg
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Feng_Youlan.jpg
2012/02/07 visited
“The ideal of transparent
communication and perfect selfknowledge are also myths.” “‘To
entirely understand’ is the
unattainable ideal of a problematic
vision of understanding and
communication.”
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of
an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July
2001, p. 406
40
Copyright Declaration
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“One experiences something as
fruitful communication
……Difference is a sign of
understanding.”
“By forcing them into a philosophical
jargon…… are crucial within the
Chinese context.”
“With the bursting of the borders of
modern concept of
philosophy……leads to a concept that
encompasses almost everything--and that, therefore, means nothing.”
Licensing
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Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of
an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July
2001, p. 400
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of
an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July
2001, p. 401
Carine Defoort “Is There such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy? Arguments of
an Implicit Debate,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, Number 3, July
2001, p. 406
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“Theories which are the
theoretical expression of
Greek ……and so is not
relative but has lasting
value. “
Y. L. Feng: A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. NY: The Free Press, 1966.
P.28
42