Chinese Thought An Introduction

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As China comes on the world stage again, people are increasingly becoming interested in the philosophies and Philosophers of that ancient land. The Chinese philosophical tradition is a long and venerable one. It consists of several streams - Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism and post Neo-Confucianism. Their flow has been sustained by numerous personages - Confucius, Lao Tzu, Mo Tzu, Mencius, Hsun Tzu, Han Fei, Chou Tun-I, Chu His, Wang Yang-ming and Kang Yu-wei, to name but a few. This book deals with the basic views of those philosophers and their influence on Chinese history and culture. In no other country, perhaps, has philosophy had such a determinate influence. This may be a lesson in itself for the Contemporary world in which people and nations in many instances wander aimlessly and hesitatingly, having cut themselves off from their traditional ground of being.

As technology continues to facilitate interaction between the people of the world, it becomes even more urgent and important that we understand appreciate and accept each others traditions and views of man and the world.

Donald H. Bishop is a professor of Philosophy at Washington State University. He has contributed over one hundred articles to scholarly and popular journals.

With the entrance of China into the world arena again, it is essential that people have a better understanding of the philosophies which have determined Chinese culture. The authors of the essays in this volume hope their work will be a contribution to this end. Each writes from his own perspective, of course; however, the editor has attempted to introduce uniformity in the work, although discrepancies remain.

Chinese philosophy has been divided into three periods and chapters have been included linking one with another so to provide background and continuity to the text. In order to make the volume as timely as possible, chapters have been included on both Mao and thinkers outside the mainland.

This volume might well be used as a text in conjunction with original sources, many of which are available now in English in paperback. It will be of value, also, to the general reader, who wishes a basic understanding of the Chinese tradition. The story of Chinese thought, beginning with the early people in the upper Yellow River region is most interesting. Chinese civilization is one of the world’s oldest, and a tradition which has lasted so long must have enduring values it can contribute to today’s world, as the concluding chapter points out.

PREFACE

1. CHINESE THOUGHT BEFORE CONFUCIUS
   Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

    

2. CONFUCIUS
   Shu-hsien Liu, New Asia College

    

3. TAOISM
   Joseph Wu, California State University, Sacramento

    

4. MO TZU
   Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

    

5. THE LEGALIST PHILOSOPHERS
   S.Y. Hsieh, University of Denver

    

6. MENCIUS
   Chung-ying Cheng, University of Hawaii

    

7. INTRODUCTION
   Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

    

8. CHINESE BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
   Fred Sturm, University of New Mexico

    

9. NEO-CONFUCIANISM
   David C. Wu, Colorado Women's College

    

10. WANG YANG-MING
    Yuk Wong, New Asia College

     

11. INTRODUCTION
    Donald H.Bishop, Washington State University

     

12. WANG FU-CHIH
    Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

     

13. KANG YU-WEI
    Donald H. Blshop, Washington State University

     

14. SUN YAT-SEN
    Jeff Barlow, Lewis and Clark College

     

15. HU SHIH
    Sung-Peng Hsu

     

16. MAO TSE-TUNG AND THE CHINESE TRADITION
    Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

     

17. CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHERS OUTSIDE THE MAINLAND
    Joseph Wu, California State University, Sacramento

     

18. THE CHINESE CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD THOUGHT
    Donald H. Bishop, Washington State University

     

Index