History of Ancient Chinese Thought

Author: Li Zehou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: This book begins by analyzing Confucian benevolence (ren xue) and proposes the issue of the "cultural psychological structure" of the Chinese nation. It argues that blood ties, psychology, humanism, and personality are the four major factors. Mencius and Xunzi elevate these from internal and external perspectives to achieve a glorious individual personality and a great human characteristic, with pragmatic rationality and a music-sensory culture as their core spirit. The book further uses this framework to discuss various major thoughts, schools, and figures from the pre-Qin to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It particularly argues that Chinese dialectics is "action-oriented" rather than "speculative," discusses how the "Heaven-M Humanity Resonance" (tian ren ganying) worldview, which formed during the Qin and Han periods and had a feedback mechanism, has persisted to this day, and explores how the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Chan (Zen) Buddhism represent an aesthetic pursuit of metaphysical life. It also highlights the enduring value of Neo-Confucianism during the Song and Ming dynasties as a moral metaphysics and points out that during the Ming and Qing periods, the concepts of "inner sage" and "governing law" became separated, signaling the potential decline of China's theocratic system and marking an important trend toward modernity.