A Treatise on the History of Chinese Thought (Volumes I, II, and III)

Author: Li Zehou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: A History of Chinese Thought collects three widely influential books by the author: A History of Ancient Chinese Thought, A History of Modern Chinese Thought, and A History of Contemporary Chinese Thought. Ancient proposes that "pragmatic rationality" and "hedonistic culture" are the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese culture, and uses these concepts to discuss the main trends, schools, and figures of Chinese thought from the pre-Qin to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It argues that Chinese dialectics is "action-oriented" rather than speculative; the cosmology of "Heaven-M Humanity Resonance" formed during the Qin and Han periods, with its organic feedback mechanism, continues to influence the present; the philosophy of Zhuangzi and Chan Buddhism represents an aesthetic pursuit of metaphysics in life; Neo-Confucianism during the Song and Ming dynasties, as a moral metaphysics, holds significant value; and the tradition of combining politics and religion began to waver during the Ming and Qing periods, among other points. Modern and Contemporary explore trends and figures, either explicitly or implicitly, to propose arguments such as the supremacy of salvation over enlightenment, the superiority of reform over revolution, and the infiltration of populism moralism into Marxism. They also offer authorial analyses and critiques of Yan Fu, Zhang Taiyan, Lu Xun, 20th-century Chinese modern literature, and modern Confucianism, all in Li's unique style. The text of this book has continuously sparked strong reactions, and its influence remains undiminished to this day.