Humanistic Quest (Analysis of Thoughts of Famous Contemporary Chinese and American Scholars)

Author: Lin Tongqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Not every historian is fortunate enough to have their work receive insightful and thorough analysis, and beyond that, it is rare to see these works examined appropriately and persuasively within the broader historiographical trends of their time. Historians themselves, of course, cannot achieve this. To do so requires not only an outsider's perspective but, if possible, also an insider's empathetic understanding. And Lin Tongqi is the ideal person to do this for me. Among contemporary scholars, perhaps no one can better leverage the advantages of combining an outsider's perspective with an insider's understanding. — Paul A. Cohen
He is deeply passionate about intellectual exploration. For him, it seems difficult to stop thinking, to cease refining his thoughts. Mr. Lin seems to focus more on the act of thinking itself than on publishing his thoughts. Mr. Lin's relentless intellectual admonition: "To know what you know and what you do not know is true knowledge." Although he is knowledgeable in many fields, he writes with great caution, never stepping beyond his own scope of expertise. — Lin Weiming
Your paper accurately, meticulously, and profoundly grasps the issue, demonstrating your intellectual and academic prowess. Some theorists in our circle possess only a black-and-white, linear way of thinking, which prevents them from revealing the truth of the matter or writing articles with depth. I hope your work can inspire our intellectual community, have a beneficial impact on some scholars, and if everyone reads your paper seriously and thoughtfully. — Wang Yuanhua to Lin Tongqi
As a personal collection, this book reflects the author's intellectual journey over the past two decades. While this process cannot be said to be entirely conscious, it is subtly guided by a pursuit that sets the direction of exploration. I attempt to summarize this pursuit as "humanistic quest." In this sense, the book can be seen as a record of the footsteps left by the humanistic quest, hence the title "Record of Humanistic Quest." Indeed, this quest encompasses both the material and institutional aspects of culture and touches on metaphysical and religious domains, but its focus remains firmly on human beings. Its core is a questioning of humanity. However, as everyone knows, humans must and can only draw knowledge and values from the culture of the group they grow up in to enrich themselves. Otherwise, not only will they struggle to survive, but even if they do, they will be mere shells or "empty vessels." (Therefore,) the humanistic quest must necessarily include both the quest for humanity and the quest for culture. The reshaping of the Chinese national spirit is also inevitably intertwined with where other cultures are heading, inseparable. The several American scholars and thinkers discussed in this book, from their respective research fields (such as literature, history, philosophy, anthropology, and American studies), approach these questions and concerns from their own perspectives, offering their own answers. In fact, they are all representative figures of humanism in their respective fields in contemporary America. I believe the humanistic quest is not only the pursuit of many scholars on the Chinese mainland and my own but also the pursuit of the American scholars introduced in this book. In other words, the awareness of issues swirling in the minds of scholars on both sides of the Pacific is intertwined and overlapping. In fact, it is precisely this intersection and overlap that attracted me and drove me to study their thoughts. This research can essentially be seen as a multi-faceted, cross-cultural intellectual dialogue centered around several specific issues within the same overarching awareness of the problem.