Hu Shi's Thought and Chinese Culture

Author: Hu Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This book is a collection of articles the author has written over the years on the culture and thought of Hu Shi. In the title, "thought culture" is split into two sections—Hu Shi's thought and Chinese culture. Chinese culture is easily understood and needs no further explanation; however, the definition of Hu Shi's thought requires some elaboration. In the 1950s, China launched a fervent campaign to criticize Hu Shi's thought, with thousands of troops engaging in verbal and written attacks, resulting in tens of millions of words entering historical archives. Yet, the interpretation of Hu Shi's thought still lacks clarity and coherence. However, one thing is very clear: to overthrow Hu Shi, one must also denounce his thought, and to negate Hu Shi means to cast his thought into the garbage heap of history. —Hu Shi and his thought are inseparable and indissociable. The articles collected in this book demonstrate the specific connections and inherent unity between Hu Shi's thought and Chinese culture. As for the philosophical exploration and analysis of Hu Shi's thought itself, you may refer to the article "On the Founding of Hu Shi's Thought" in the appendix of this book. Although Hu Shi's thought was nurtured and matured across the ocean in the United States, its epistemological foundation and methodological core can still be traced back to the rational elements of traditional Chinese philosophy and culture.