A Study on the Origins and Development of the Pre-Qin School of Thought: New Perspectives on the Academic Activities of the Pre-Qin Scholars

Author: Feng Tieliu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Since the May Fourth New Culture Movement, academia has engaged in over eighty years of exploration into the doctrines of the pre-Qin philosophers, accumulating significant achievements known as the "New School of Pre-Qin Studies." This book, following the work of many scholars, presents a scientifically grounded, fresh approach to understanding the origins, development, and evolution of the various pre-Qin philosophical schools, as well as their transformation into the mainstream academic and cultural traditions of modern China after the Qin and Han dynasties. It aims to provide not only a valuable resource for experts and scholars of ancient history but also offer new perspectives and research methodologies for young enthusiasts of traditional culture, enabling them to develop a more objective and historically accurate view of China's cultural evolution. Written by Feng Tieliu, who has dedicated half a century to studying pre-Qin philosophy, this book introduces entirely new arguments. Over the past fifty years, the author has focused on a key question: In the distant pre-Qin era over two thousand years ago, schools of thought such as Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism (Zhuangzi), and Taoism (Laozi) emerged in China. If we could today understand them without relying on traditional interpretations but solely based on reliable pre-Qin historical records through empirical methods, what would their doctrines and schools of thought look like? How would their origins and development processes be revealed before us? Would they align with what modern people describe? Over the two thousand years since the Qin and Han dynasties, the ideas and cultures of these schools have evolved and transformed, ultimately merging into what is now known as the "Chinese traditional civilization." But what was the process of this transformation? The author has incorporated all the conclusions drawn from this entirely new research into this book, hoping to open up a fresh direction for the study of pre-Qin philosophy.