Biography of Feng Youlan

Author: Tian Wenjun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-03-01
Features: Feng Youlan was the first scholar in modern Chinese philosophy to qualify as a philosopher of the history of philosophy and a sincere philosopher. He was deeply devoted to his studies and dedicated his life to constructing his own philosophical system. He achieved early fame but faced hardships in his later years. His life was marked by both the glory of "pursuing his own views" and the sorrow of "going with the flow." Ultimately, he was a Chinese intellectual who understood the true meaning of life and continuously sought a complete life. In the history of Chinese thought in the 20th century, Mr. Feng Youlan was a figure both distinctive and representative. His distinctiveness lies in the fact that both his life experiences and academic thoughts have sparked long-term and intense controversies. His praise and condemnation have been debated since before the liberation and have continued to fluctuate for over a decade after his death. In the 20th century China, it is difficult to find many intellectuals who have faced such a situation. His representativeness is reflected in the fact that his experiences and thoughts clearly reflect the characteristics of each period in the history of 20th-century China, the actions and fates of intellectuals in each period, and the penetration and interference of politics in academia in each period. For such a figure, it is necessary to interpret him from various perspectives and levels, as this is not only a part of summarizing and reflecting on the history of 20th-century Chinese academia and politics but also provides insights for Chinese intellectuals in the 21st century on how to better grasp their own destiny. We use the term "interpretation" here because, although Feng Youlan's life experiences are not too distant from us in objective history and his academic thoughts are preserved in the widely available "Three Histories" and "Six Books," people have vastly different understandings and judgments about them. Therefore, every scholar, when encountering this historical figure and his academic thoughts, will read their own conclusions from it. As far as the author's knowledge goes, there are already no fewer than six or seven biographical works that have comprehensively interpreted Feng Youlan's life. Each work has its own perspective and characteristics, naturally deriving different symbolic meanings from the same Feng Youlan and naturally sparking various comments and debates. Fairly speaking, among these works, Tian Wenjun's Biography of Feng Youlan (People's Press, March 2003) stands out in terms of its length, straightforward and fair arguments. This book was published relatively recently and should have absorbed the achievements of previous Feng Youlan biographies while also incorporating many of Tian's own long-term research findings, making its academic level perhaps quite remarkable. A prominent feature of this work is its comprehensive and detailed discussion. We know that Feng Youlan lived to the age of 95 and was active in the field of Chinese philosophy for 70 years. He interacted with various political figures both before and after the liberation, establishing a complex and fluctuating relationship with the political sphere. At the age of his thirties, he achieved significant academic success and gained great reputation, continuing his academic creation and maintaining his fame thereafter. However, he also faced long-term intense criticism and self-criticism and had criticized and criticized others as well. His academic thoughts were also quite diverse, including systematic research on the history of Chinese philosophy, the construction of the philosophical system in the Six Books of the Era of Zhanguan, his independent insights, elements deeply influenced by politics, content consistently upheld over the years, and significant changes that created great shifts. In short, both his life and his academic work had a certain complexity. For these complex contents, Biography of Feng Youlan provides a relatively comprehensive and detailed interpretation and analysis. Specifically, Tian divides the book into two parts: the first six chapters examine Feng Youlan's life, while the last six chapters examine his academic work. In the first six chapters, he examines and narrates Feng Youlan's family's intellectual background, his academic pursuits and activities during his youth, his academic development and ideological evolution during his middle years, the long-term criticism and self-criticism he faced after the liberation, his role in the criticism of Confucius during the Cultural Revolution and his relationship with the "Liangxiao" large-scale criticism group, and later introduces his reflections on "the old state with a new destiny" in his tranquil later years. When discussing each topic, Tian examines its historical background and social environment in detail and their impact on Feng Youlan in various aspects, essentially understanding Feng Youlan's experiences as the result of multiple historical conditions. Among these, quite noteworthy is the exploration of Feng Youlan's family background, which was previously poorly addressed by researchers. Through Tian's research, we can see the profound influence of the tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education in Feng's family and the desire for their descendants to achieve academic success on Feng Youlan (and his one brother and one sister) becoming successful. In the last six chapters, Tian briefly introduces Feng Youlan's "Three Histories" (History of Chinese Philosophy, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, and A New Edition of the History of Chinese Philosophy) and "Six Books" (New Logic, New Metaphysics, New Ethics, New Human Nature, New Way of the Dao, and New Discourse on Knowledge), outlines his understanding of the history of philosophy and its relationship with philosophy, discusses in detail his philosophical views and metaphysics, and carefully analyzes his cultural views, theory of life's realms, and philosophical methodology. Frankly speaking, Tian's coverage of Feng Youlan's thoughts is quite comprehensive, and his narration and analysis of Feng Youlan's thoughts are also quite objective and realistic. Of course, it would be even better if he could add more depth in terms of dialectical thinking. Another prominent feature of this work is the fairness and impartiality of its arguments, which is particularly evident in its evaluation of Feng Youlan. We know that the evaluation of Feng Youlan in academia is quite divided. Some scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan have listed him as one of the "Four Shameless Figures" and called his history of philosophy "pustulent philosophy" (in the words of Mou Zongsan). Some scholars on the mainland regard him as a towering sage or even a holy man, while others criticize or mock him endlessly. Frankly speaking, both excessive praise and condemnation are too much for the scholar Feng Youlan to bear, as this does not align with the truth of his life and academic work. Compared to this, the evaluation in Biography of Feng Youlan is quite fair and impartial. In the book's Introduction, Tian points out that Feng Youlan was "the first scholar in modern Chinese philosophy to qualify as a philosopher of the history of philosophy" and "a sincere philosopher," and adds: "Feng Youlan, an intellectual who pursued and realized himself in twists and turns. He achieved fame early in life but faced hardships in his later years. His life was marked by both the glory of 'pursuing his own views' and the sorrow of 'going with the flow.' However, no matter what the circumstances, he never abandoned his academic mission and concern for life—'explaining the old state to support the new destiny, reaching the highest wisdom while following the middle way.' In the storms of life, he fell but rose again and continued to move forward. Twists and hardships did not make him collapse or give up, but instead inspired him to abandon falsehood and seek truth, to 'establish sincerity in his words,' to constantly himself and analyze himself, in order to contribute to the renewal of the nation's philosophy and culture, using all his strength to add nourishment." He also says: "His abundant academic achievements and special academic status have given him honors that ordinary Chinese intellectuals could not attain, and he has also endured hardships that ordinary Chinese intellectuals have not experienced." Of course, these words cannot be seen as Tian's full evaluation of Feng Youlan, but they clearly reveal the main aspects of his evaluation, which is: acknowledging Feng Youlan's great contributions to the history of philosophy and philosophical creation, acknowledging his mistakes and sorrows, and also acknowledging his tenacious spirit in pursuing truth. This evaluation should align with the truth of Feng Youlan's life and academic work and should also be acceptable to most scholars. Compared to interpreting Feng Youlan as a political ambitious person, a master of political skills, or someone who curry favor with the powerful, or as an academic weakling or an extraordinary master, Tian's interpretation is undoubtedly fairer and more realistic. Additionally, the fairness and impartiality of this work are also reflected in its selection of materials. For example, there has been a claim about the relationship between Qian Zhongshu and Feng Youlan—that Qian Zhongshu accused Feng Youlan of "harming others." This claim was widely reported in some newspapers two years ago. As an expert in Feng Youlan's research, Tian could not have missed this claim, but when writing Biography of Feng Youlan, he did not cite this claim. Instead, he pointed out that Qian had gratitude toward Feng Youlan and, after Feng's death, personally told others, "Feng was my teacher." This choice of materials reflects a fair attitude (not out of morbid curiosity) and an impartial perspective (not a narrow vision). Because Qian, as a student who had benefited from Feng's teachings and as a scholar who understood the world, even if he had grievances against Feng, this would not be the mainstream of his feelings toward Feng. Gratitude toward Feng should have been the main aspect. Only by understanding it this way, rather than worsening the relationship between Qian and Feng, can we reach a conclusion that is both factually accurate and reasonable. Tian's handling of this issue demonstrates his wisdom in "focusing on the big picture and letting the small things go" when facing difficult problems.
In the history of Chinese thought in the 20th century, Mr. Feng Youlan was a figure both distinctive and representative. His distinctiveness lies in the fact that both his life experiences and academic thoughts have sparked long-term and intense controversies. His praise and condemnation have been debated since before the liberation and have continued to fluctuate for over a decade after his death. In the 20th century China, it is difficult to find many intellectuals who have faced such a situation. His representativeness is reflected in the fact that his experiences and thoughts clearly reflect the characteristics of each period in the history of 20th-century China, the actions and fates of intellectuals in each period, and the penetration and interference of politics in academia in each period. For such a figure, it is necessary to interpret him from various perspectives and levels, as this is not only a part of summarizing and reflecting on the history of 20th-century Chinese academia and politics but also provides insights for Chinese intellectuals in the 21st century on how to better grasp their own destiny. We use the term "interpretation" here because, although Feng Youlan's life experiences are not too distant from us in objective history and his academic thoughts are preserved in the widely available "Three Histories" and "Six Books," people have vastly different understandings and judgments about them. Therefore, every scholar, when encountering this historical figure and his academic thoughts, will read their own conclusions from it. As far as the author's knowledge goes, there are already no fewer than six or seven biographical works that have comprehensively interpreted Feng Youlan's life. Each work has its own perspective and characteristics, naturally deriving different symbolic meanings from the same Feng Youlan and naturally sparking various comments and debates. Fairly speaking, among these works, Tian Wenjun's Biography of Feng Youlan (People's Press, March 2003) stands out in terms of its length, straightforward and fair arguments. This book was published relatively recently and should have absorbed the achievements of previous Feng Youlan biographies while also incorporating many of Tian's own long-term research findings, making its academic level perhaps quite remarkable. A prominent feature of this work is its comprehensive and detailed discussion. We know that Feng Youlan lived to the age of 95 and was active in the field of Chinese philosophy for 70 years. He interacted with various political figures both before and after the liberation, establishing a complex and fluctuating relationship with the political sphere. At the age of his thirties, he achieved significant academic success and gained great reputation, continuing his academic creation and maintaining his fame thereafter. However, he also faced long-term intense criticism and self-criticism and had criticized and criticized others as well. His academic thoughts were also quite diverse, including systematic research on the history of Chinese philosophy, the construction of the philosophical system in the Six Books of the Era of Zhanguan, his independent insights, elements deeply influenced by politics, content consistently upheld over the years, and significant changes that created great shifts. In short, both his life and his academic work had a certain complexity. For these complex contents, Biography of Feng Youlan provides a relatively comprehensive and detailed interpretation and analysis. Specifically, Tian divides the book into two parts: the first six chapters examine Feng Youlan's life, while the last six chapters examine his academic work. In the first six chapters, he examines and narrates Feng Youlan's family's intellectual background, his academic pursuits and activities during his youth, his academic development and ideological evolution during his middle years, the long-term criticism and self-criticism he faced after the liberation, his role in the criticism of Confucius during the Cultural Revolution and his relationship with the "Liangxiao" large-scale criticism group, and later introduces his reflections on "the old state with a new destiny" in his tranquil later years. When discussing each topic, Tian examines its historical background and social environment in detail and their impact on Feng Youlan in various aspects, essentially understanding Feng Youlan's experiences as the result of multiple historical conditions. Among these, quite noteworthy is the exploration of Feng Youlan's family background, which was previously poorly addressed by researchers. Through Tian's research, we can see the profound influence of the tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education in Feng's family and the desire for their descendants to achieve academic success on Feng Youlan (and his one brother and one sister) becoming successful. In the last six chapters, Tian briefly introduces Feng Youlan's "Three Histories" (History of Chinese Philosophy, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, and A New Edition of the History of Chinese Philosophy) and "Six Books" (New Logic, New Metaphysics, New Ethics, New Human Nature, New Way of the Dao, and New Discourse on Knowledge), outlines his understanding of the history of philosophy and its relationship with philosophy, discusses in detail his philosophical views and metaphysics, and carefully analyzes his cultural views, theory of life's realms, and philosophical methodology. Frankly speaking, Tian's coverage of Feng Youlan's thoughts is quite comprehensive, and his narration and analysis of Feng Youlan's thoughts are also quite objective and realistic. Of course, it would be even better if he could add more depth in terms of dialectical thinking. Another prominent feature of this work is the fairness and impartiality of its arguments, which is particularly evident in its evaluation of Feng Youlan. We know that the evaluation of Feng Youlan in academia is quite divided. Some scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan have listed him as one of the "Four Shameless Figures" and called his history of philosophy "pustulent philosophy" (in the words of Mou Zongsan). Some scholars on the mainland regard him as a towering sage or even a holy man, while others criticize or mock him endlessly. Frankly speaking, both excessive praise and condemnation are too much for the scholar Feng Youlan to bear, as this does not align with the truth of his life and academic work. Compared to this, the evaluation in Biography of Feng Youlan is quite fair and impartial. In the book's Introduction, Tian points out that Feng Youlan was "the first scholar in modern Chinese philosophy to qualify as a philosopher of the history of philosophy" and "a sincere philosopher," and adds: "Feng Youlan, an intellectual who pursued and realized himself in twists and turns. He achieved fame early in life but faced hardships in his later years. His life was marked by both the glory of 'pursuing his own views' and the sorrow of 'going with the flow.' However, no matter what the circumstances, he never abandoned his academic mission and concern for life—'explaining the old state to support the new destiny, reaching the highest wisdom while following the middle way.' In the storms of life, he fell but rose again and continued to move forward. Twists and hardships did not make him collapse or give up, but instead inspired him to abandon falsehood and seek truth, to 'establish sincerity in his words,' to constantly himself and analyze himself, in order to contribute to the renewal of the nation's philosophy and culture, using all his strength to add nourishment." He also says: "His abundant academic achievements and special academic status have given him honors that ordinary Chinese intellectuals could not attain, and he has also endured hardships that ordinary Chinese intellectuals have not experienced." Of course, these words cannot be seen as Tian's full evaluation of Feng Youlan, but they clearly reveal the main aspects of his evaluation, which is: acknowledging Feng Youlan's great contributions to the history of philosophy and philosophical creation, acknowledging his mistakes and sorrows, and also acknowledging his tenacious spirit in pursuing truth. This evaluation should align with the truth of Feng Youlan's life and academic work and should also be acceptable to most scholars. Compared to interpreting Feng Youlan as a political ambitious person, a master of political skills, or someone who curry favor with the powerful, or as an academic weakling or an extraordinary master, Tian's interpretation is undoubtedly fairer and more realistic. Additionally, the fairness and impartiality of this work are also reflected in its selection of materials. For example, there has been a claim about the relationship between Qian Zhongshu and Feng Youlan—that Qian Zhongshu accused Feng Youlan of "harming others." This claim was widely reported in some newspapers two years ago. As an expert in Feng Youlan's research, Tian could not have missed this claim, but when writing Biography of Feng Youlan, he did not cite this claim. Instead, he pointed out that Qian had gratitude toward Feng Youlan and, after Feng's death, personally told others, "Feng was my teacher." This choice of materials reflects a fair attitude (not out of morbid curiosity) and an impartial perspective (not a narrow vision). Because Qian, as a student who had benefited from Feng's teachings and as a scholar who understood the world, even if he had grievances against Feng, this would not be the mainstream of his feelings toward Feng. Gratitude toward Feng should have been the main aspect. Only by understanding it this way, rather than worsening the relationship between Qian and Feng, can we reach a conclusion that is both factually accurate and reasonable. Tian's handling of this issue demonstrates his wisdom in "focusing on the big picture and letting the small things go" when facing difficult problems.