Classical Chinese Philosophy

Inner peace (An, 安) holds profound significance in Chinese and broader East Asian cultures within the Sinosphere. In Confucianism, peace arises from reducing uncertainty through virtuous hierarchies and the conscientious fulfillment of moral obligations that embody Ren (仁), or human-heartedness. Yet such peace is inherently fragile and unsustainable if human-heartedness deviates from the Dao—the natural order of the universe. In contrast, Zhuangzi’s vision of peace, centered on spontaneity, wu-wei (無為), and the rejection of rigid social norms, offers a pathway to genuine freedom and enlightenment. Employing the Granular Interaction Thinking Theory (GITT), this study provides a scientific elaboration of Zhuangzi’s philosophy of inner peace, as expressed in Free and Easy Wandering (Xiao Yao You, 逍遙遊), and examines how such a state may be achieved through cultivating Nature Quotient (NQ). Ultimately, we propose that Daoist philosophy—especially Zhuangzi’s—can underpin a modern paradigm of inner peace that nurtures harmony within individuals, societies, nations, and the global community.

Tang, Mingjun 湯銘鈞. 2024. Xuanzang Yinming Sixiang Lunkao 玄奘因明思想論考 [A Study of Xuanzang’s Tradition of Buddhist Logic]. [復旦佛學研究叢書 (Fudan Series of Buddhist Studies), No. 3]. Shanghai: Zhongxi Shuju 上海: 中西书局, 6+2+251 pages, ISBN: 978-7-5475-2191-5.

This is the latest phase with my work regarding "Consciencological studies" and where I am still wondering if "Conscience" is an internal language in us? I would like more linguists, psycholinguists, and people who are into the area of cross-cultural psychology and join this joint exploration about human conscience -- where it does has a decisive contribution toward global peace and to allow the global expenditure from the arms build up with mutual destruction instead, to be able to convert these annual war and gears expenditure of US 2 + trillion a year into richer peaceful means and at the same time explore the benefits of Conscience Efficiency which is also our own thinking efficiency granting more efficient performances in all tasks

The COVID-19 crisis has made most Filipinos reconsider, rethink, and reprioritize various aspects of their lives. While they are well-known for their resiliency, they are not immune to experiencing fear, anxiety, uncertainties, and other disruptions, as these are inevitable experiences during crises, particularly pandemics. While the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a public health crisis, there is a fear that it also provoked an existential one. This paper explores the philosophical insights of Daoism and its practicality and relevance to navigating such crises. In what ways can Daoist insights guide us regarding the right way(s) to manage ourselves during the crisis? How can these insights help us reframe our perspective of life during a pandemic? The paper employs reflective analysis to examine the crisis brought on by the pandemic and argues that Daoist insights can offer a practical approach to managing oneself and coping with the pandemic. This paper will highlight two Daoist principles: the principle of wu-wei and the principle of yin-yang. These principles are vital in approaching life with flexibility and balance. Ultimately, this paper shows that adopting Daoist insights will improve our understanding of the crisis brought on by the pandemic and how this could serve as a practical approach to managing our lives effortlessly during this trying time.

This section establishes the philosophical foundation of the "Great Year", rooting it in the rich cosmological narrative of Plato's Timaeus. The goal is to articulate the original meaning of the term before exploring its scientific appropriation. 1.1 The Demiurge Cosmos: An Ordered Universe In the dialogues of his maturity, Plato ventures into the description of the physical world, a domain he had previously considered a mere faded copy of the intelligible world of the Ideas. The Timaeus, in particular, stands as his cosmological masterpiece, a work that, after a brief prologue, unfolds as a monumental doctrinaire discourse delivered by the figure of Timaeus of Locri. At the center of this narrative is the Demiurge, a divine artificer who does not create the universe ex nihilo, from nothing, but rather imposes an intelligent order on a chaotic and pre-existing matter.

This paper investigates the semantic range of the term zhi (知, to know) in the Laozi, providing the understanding of its epistemological implications. It argues that, contrary to the conventional belief that the Laozi dismisses knowledge, the Laozi endorses certain sorts of knowledge as guidance for action. Through a systematic analysis of zhi 知 in its various grammatical and syntactic contexts, the paper identifies three epistemological types: know-that knowledge (propositional awareness), know-how knowledge (practical skills), and knowing by acquaintance (familiarity). These distinctions illuminate the Laozi's complex attitude toward knowledge, which simultaneously critiques knowledge that fosters desires and distinctions and endorses a reflective understanding of one's cognitive limitations.

In All Things Act, Mercedes Valmisa argues that there is no such thing as an individual action and that all actions are constituted and performed by a diverse array of entities. Examining the collective character of action, this book rejects the view of agency as a capacity--especially one limited to humans--and redefines agency as an umbrella term for the concrete sociomaterial processes that emerge from the collaborative efforts of multiple entities acting together. Agency is not the faculty of an individual entity or self; it is always the function of a network or assembly of actors. The book also considers the significant role of nonhuman actors in these processes--things without intentions, will, or even awareness. This relational and collective approach shifts the focus away from mental states, emphasizing instead how humans and nonhumans alike participate in, contribute to, and shape the unfolding of events.

This expanded conception of agency draws on Classical Chinese philosophy, analytic metaphysics on powers and emergence, scientific literature on self-organization, and insights from sociology, anthropology, and art to co-create a groundbreaking framework for understanding agency, with profound sociopolitical implications for contemporary life.

If our actions are not simply the product of individual intentional selves but are instead constituted through dynamic interactions with a vibrant array of nonhuman actors, we are invited--and compelled--to rethink our identities, intentions, powers, emotions, responsibilities, institutions, policies, and values in ways that are less individualistic and more relational and interdependent.

历代庄学研究普遍关注到庄子对人类社会的深刻洞见，但对于庄子提出了怎样的处世之道以应对人世的繁杂，学界迄今仍缺乏普遍认可的共识。有鉴于此，本文旨在以《庄子·德充符》“兀者叔山无趾踵见仲尼”章为切入点，通过结合内篇的整体语境对此章进行深入剖析，进一步厘清庄子的处世态度与方法。本文将阐明，庄子不仅在应对社会事务方面持积极主动的立场，且提出了以“顺人而不失己”为核心的具体措施来规范和引导世人的行为。根据“顺人而不失己”的要求，在人际交往中，参与互动的各方均应站在他人的立场思考自身行为的合理性，并应在不违背他人意愿的前提下，以“和不欲出”的方式推广该行为准则。

This dissertation aims to explore the meaning of 孝 (xiao): an important Chinese traditional concept originated from Confucian morality. By investigating three different discourses across time and languages, based on the authentic language data drawn from two ancient Confucian texts, the Chinese Internet Corpus and the Bank of English, the meaning of 孝 as a social phenomenon in different time and languages is extracted. This dissertation also focuses on the translation study of 孝. From the perspective of corpus linguistics, through different meanings and ideologies revealed from different translations, I hope to discover, to what extent, translators' translation purposes and strategies influence the translation effect. Based on the research from the perspective of corpus linguistics, I find 孝 in ancient Chinese refers to a complicated relationship in male-dominated feudal society, while 孝 in modern Chinese has narrowed its range of meaning and no gender bias is in connection with 孝. Furthermore, all the translations of 孝 had lost its sense of meaning addressing relationship to superiors.

This essay initiates elements of a Daoist stance as regards the basic assumptions and principles involved in debates on multiculturalism. This is to be achieved via an examination of ZHANG Taiyan's 章太炎 mid-term political philosophy, which is shaped by his interpretation and further development of Daoist thinking, especially the notion of nothing and the idea of "achieving equality by leaving things uneven" (buqi er qi 不齊而齊). After explicating the basic tenets that point toward a Daoist stance on what is now called multiculturalism, I discuss Zhang's concrete proposals concerning the relation between the Han 漢 lineage and the other four major ethnic groups in the to-be-established Republic of China. I then investigate Zhang's unique theory of the state. Lastly, I explore the discordance in ZHANG Taiyan's thinking despite his privileging of Laozi 老子 and Zhuangzi's 莊子 ideas.

Our understanding of time, including the future, is grounded in a universal perception shared across cultures. However, the ways in which this universal perception is comprehended differ significantly, shaped by the linguistic structures of various languages and the broader culturally conditioned frameworks of reference they are part of. These differences in comprehension give rise to diverse models of the future, offering unique insights into alternative perspectives on the metaphysics of time and its relation to the philosophy of action. This paper explores these alternative perspectives through a comparative analysis of the Later Mohist view from ancient Chinese thought and St Augustine's introspective framework, influential in Western philosophy. By employing the method of transcultural comparative sublation, the study uncovers the strengths and limitations of each perspective, showing how diverse approaches to time deepen our understanding of the future as both a realm of possibility and a structural feature of reality. This dialogue encourages critical reflection on human agency, ethics, and the role of time in shaping existence, potentially revealing new perspectives on their interconnections and implications.

Adopting a Confucian virtue perspective to navigate the complex issue of the moral status of robotic AI systems, this essay argues that while robotic AI can exhibit virtue, it remains fundamentally different from virtuous human beings. AI systems are designed for specific functions, and their virtues are limited to those functions. In contrast, human beings, regardless of the specific roles they assume in life, strive toward a fully virtuous existence, which necessitates the comprehensive virtue of humanity.

Adopting a Confucian virtue perspective to navigate the complex issue of the moral status of robotic AI systems, this essay argues that while robotic AI can exhibit virtue, it remains fundamentally different from virtuous human beings. AI systems are designed for specific functions, and their virtues are limited to those functions. In contrast, human beings, regardless of the specific roles they assume in life, strive toward a fully virtuous existence, which necessitates the comprehensive virtue of humanity.

One of the central yet underexplored debates in Han ethics, politics, and administration concerns the relationship between "titles" (ming 名) and "actuality" (shi 實). This debate laid the foundation for China's bureaucracy and imperial examination system, also influencing modern administrative theory and meritocratic principles. This paper examines the concept of the proper alignment of names and actualities in the Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁 露, specifically focusing on the Statecraft chapters (Chapters 18-22), which discuss governance and political practices. I will explore how this alignment operates within these chapters, focusing on the interplay between language, reality, knowledge, power, and the socio-political order. In particular, I investigate the processual and dynamic nature of naming, framed within a cosmological paradigm. I argue that the act of naming begins with understanding and culminates in shaping reality. I further contend that the authors of the Statecraft chapters identified epistemic hiddenness as a central challenge in the act of naming, but they also proposed solutions to address this issue. Additionally, I highlight the performative role of language in ensuring that names correspond to actualities, asserting that within administrative discourse, language is not merely descriptive but actively shapes and effects change. To illustrate its role as a form of social action, I will link the alignment of names and actualities to contemporary philosophical discourse, particularly the works of John Austin and Judith Butler.

A bibliography of Laozi Daodejing translations that includes 1575 entries in 72 languages. Full content finally uploaded. For a more updated bibliography with 2052 translations in 97 languages, see Tadd 2022《老子道德经》，也称《老子》《道德经》《道德真经》《五千言》，是《圣经》以外译本最多的经典。它是中国文化走向世界的经典现象，但完整的译本目录尚未出现。本总目正是以此而发，它共计72种语言1575种译本，是国际汉学、思想史、诠释学、文化间哲学、翻译学、语言学等学术领域的宝贵资料。(全部内容终于上传) 如果要更完整的目录可以看看邰谧侠2022年的《老子译本总目：全球老学要览》

Translation of traditional Chinese medicine terminology serves as the foundation for the global dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine techniques and culture. Research on the standardization of terminology translation has provided critical guidance in recent years, but problems such as inconsistent terminology translation and divergent translation strategies persist during the translation process. This paper examines five Traditional Chinese Medicine terminology translation standards, issued by institutions such as the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the World Health Organization, focusing on the differences in English translations of meridian-related terms and exploring the principles of Chinese medicine translation. Through corpus-based qualitative analysis and comparative research, the study reveals the differences in the translations of core terms such as “meridian” and “twelve meridians,” and the causes of the problems include insufficient coordination among translation management organizations, different focuses of translation strategies, and difficulties in dealing with cultural load words. Combining Fang Mengzhi’s pragmatic translation principles of “Purposefulnes, Compliance, Comprehensibility” and Li Zhaoguo’s five core principles: Naturalness, Conciseness, Ethnic identity, Back-translatability, and Prescriptiveness, the research proposes a refined five-dimensional principles for TCM terminology translation: Purposefulnes, Compliance, Consistency, Conciseness, and Comprehensibility, which can not only enrich the disciplinary framework of TCM translation studies but also provide fresh perspectives for the cross-cultural transference theory of culturally loaded terminology, offering referential value for the global dissemination of global traditional medicine.

在墨學研究中，《墨經》之重要性已不言而喻。相比於較具系統性與邏輯性之《小取》，《大取》堪稱難讀，因其訛、脫、衍、倒、借字之情況甚多。誠追溯《大取》之現階段研究成果，歷史上最早可見之釋讀者實屬傅山（1607—1684）。回觀台灣研究情況，雖有對《大取》內容及篇名進行研究者（如孫長祥、劉文清），但直接對傅山《〈墨子·大取〉篇釋》（以下簡稱《大取釋》）進行研究者迄今未見，此成為本文之研究動機。又因《大取釋》一文有版本差異，故本文將先聚焦收入於《傅山全書》之《大取釋（社科院手稿與霜紅龕集本）》與《大取釋──經子解（三）百泉帖（下）》之文句義理上之差異，續而厘清傅山對《大取》之詮釋內容，並以“愛”觀為核心進行理論重構。最後則是對傅山之詮釋予以評價、反思並說明其現代意義。

A survey of the existing literature shows that there is limited philosophical inquiry into the concept of well-being, particularly from East Asian spiritual traditions. In this article, I reconceptualise well-being by critiquing the prevailing constructs of well-being and proposing an alternative formulation from Confucian viewpoints. I argue that the dominant categorisation of well-being into hedonic and eudaimonic has engendered two major weaknesses. First, the emphasis on positive emotions in hedonic well-being privileges individualism and self-interest, catalysed by the positive psychology movement. Secondly, there is a lack of clarity on the role of emotions and the place of virtues in self-actualisation for eudaimonic well-being. I then sketch a Confucian interpretation of well-being by drawing on Mencius' ideal of joy. My argument is that Mencian well-being revolves around virtue-directed joy which is experienced through the extension of innate moral feelings. Instead of an artificial dichotomy of well-being into hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, Mencius harmonises both by acknowledging positive emotions and self-actualisation. Confucian perspectives extend the existing scholarship by providing an original interpretation of well-being that foregrounds the primary role of collectivism, emotions and character development.

Luther and Calvin on Secular Authority (Cambridge) Vitoria: Political Writings (Cambridge) John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge) Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (Basic Books [1977 Other course materials will be made available electronically. The backdrop for this course is supplied by contemporary events-by the problem of international terrorism and the current attempt to address this problem through war. However, this is not a course on terrorism or on the "war against terror" per se; it is a course on the power of great texts to help us think deeply, ethically and concretely about war, and thus to debate the justice of any particular war in philosophically fruitful ways. As such, this is a course in the connection between citizenship, philosophy and tradition-in the ways that rich traditions of politicalphilosophical reflection can be brought to bear effectively on issues of contemporary life. The course begins with a session on "formulating questions." In this introductory session we face the challenge of admitting our ignorance and trying to articulate the questions we would most like to answer. We turn then to a seven-week long, in-depth study of the just-war tradition, focusing on the authors and texts which have contributed most to the shape of just-war theory today. After we have gained a sense of the origins and historical development of the tradition, we turn to the central part of the course in which we work through the most important 20 th century

"Lo inmutable es la mutación", este es el principio fundamental que vertebra el "I Ching", antiquísimo libro de oráculos y sabidurías que desde la dinastía de los Chou (1122-221 a.C.) impregna la cosmovisión china. De él bebieron Lao-Tse -el legendario autor de el "Tao Te Ching" y fundador del taoísmo- y Confucio el cual, a una edad avanzada, seguía entregado con toda su alma a su lectura y consulta y al cual debemos un "Comentario al Libro de las Mutaciones", que sigue siendo fundamental en la actualidad y en el cual Confucio se aproxima mucho a las doctrinas de Lao-Tse.

Para el "I Ching" la esencia del mundo no es un estado estático-mecánico, el mundo está en un perpetuo cambio y mutación. Todo lo que es, precisamente por ser, está sometido a la muerte. El mundo de los fenómenos descansa sobre una oposición polar de fuerzas; lo creador y lo receptor, lo positivo y lo negativo, el uno y el dos, la luz y la sombra, todas estas manifestaciones de las fuerzas polares son las que producen el cambio y la mutación constante. El eje de todas estas transformaciones es el gran polo -T´ai Ki- la unidad más allá de toda dualidad, de todo suceder, de toda existencia.

Todas estas transformaciones, que pueden ser cíclicas o progresivas, se producen por una vía fija y llena de sentido, la vía del cielo, a la cual corresponde en la tierra la vía del hombre. Para la filosofía china existe una relación y una armonía generales entre el macrocosmos y el microcosmos, entre las imágenes que el cielo manda a la Tierra y las ideas culturales que plasman los sabios en su imitación. El "I Ching" precisamente trata de traducir lo intemporal (las leyes universales) en términos de tiempo (la vida humana). A través de esta idea se ve la base astronómica-astrológica de la antigua religión y filosofía china, en la que las miras no estaban puestas en el ser de las cosas -como en Occidente- sino en los movimientos cambiantes de esas cosas.

Reviews 165 Lin have so effectively provided, but also an understanding of the operative realities. As the authors point out in their closing chapter, law and the market in China today stand at the crossroad of justice and efficiency. China's legal reform effort remains a work in progress. Concerns aside over the role of economic and political interests, and over the operational effects of law in China, this volume makes an important contribution

war der erste Philosoph der Menschheitsgeschichte, der den Term "Umwelt" prägte: und zwar auf seine Art und Weise: "Umwelt ist das, was um den Menschen herum-steht": in Sein und Zeit. Der Mensch steht in dieser "Umwelt", die um den Menschen (dumm) herumsteht: Darin lebt der Mensch in seinem "In-der-Welt-Sein." Aber der Mensch denkt darin nicht und er arbeitet darin auch nicht: sondern der Mensch lebt immer nur im Raume des In-der-Welt-Seins und hantiert darin herum: das nennt Heidegger auch "Arbeit"! Arbeit ist für den Chef-Ontologen auch kein geistig-technisches Tun, sondern ein "Hantieren im Sein." Dieses "Sein" gilt es nun zu bewahren: Der deutsche Erz-Konservatismus bricht hier sich Bahn: Und die Grünen, die niemals etwas mit der Arbeit zu tun haben, folgen dem konservativen Philosophen voll auf der Spur.

Initial draft. To be progressively perfected as opportunities arise.
Sourced from the “The Divine Revelation of the Tao Te Ching” initiative, my translation of the Tao Te Ching differs fundamentally from others.
~65% of the English translation is AI-generated.
Tao Te Ching Version Quoted: Mawangdui Silk Texts

A factual rather than esoteric paper, aimed especially at those without knowledge of Chinese. It lists and expands information on names and locations of Chinese asterisms mentioned in Richard Hinckley Allen’s widely consulted but flawed book ‘Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning’. This first part has a set of summary tables follow Allen’s arrangement alphabetically by Western constellations, giving comparisons with identifications in several other Western language sources by Williams (1871), Schlegel (1875), Sun & Kistemaker (1997) and Wikipedia, as well as Reeves (1819). Part Two offers accompanying Notes, with a more concise summary in the companion paper, 'Edited Lists'.

Xunzi made a notable departure from Mengzi and Kongzi, by insisting that people are inherently bad and need to be shaped by social institutions. This may represent the beginnings of institutional politics in ancient China, which focused on establishing social order from chaos. There are obvious and interesting similarities with Thomas Hobbes’s social contract theory in their shared cynicism of human nature which have received only partial attention. Structurally, the institutionalism found in Xunzi is comparable to the social contract theory, making politics an objective, external and measurable set of institutional rules rather than virtues. There have been no notable attempts at this comparison. The Anglophone scholarship has not paid much attention to the structural and institutional dimensions of Xunzi’s political philosophy. The Sinophone scholarship has not paid as much attention to the comparative elements between the social contract theory and Xunzi’s social-moral institutions. This thesis attempts to supply a comparative interpretation of several key concepts in the Xunzi: 1. order zhi 治; chaos luan 亂, which are Xunzi’s foundational moral concerns; 2. duties yi 義; public gong 公, which alludes to a way public duties are generated from internal impulses; 3. rituals li 禮, which is a means of distributing esteem as a scarce social resource; 4. reason/coherence LI* 理, which is an externally accessible set of quasi-empirical principles that justifies political prescriptions; 5. the way and hierarchy dao 道/ fen 分, which show that hierarchies as the device that makes social order possible. Through these explications, I argue that Xunzi’s systematic political philosophy amounts to an alternative way to achieve civility through social institutions distinct from but comparable to the social contract theory familiar to Western philosophy.

This article explores the concept of vocation in the Analects. While most treatments of vocation focus on the Christian tradition, and while Confucian thought is often viewed as categorically nontheistic, Robert Merrihew Adams's Finite and Infinite Goods (1999) presents an illuminating comparative framework for tracing out Kongzi's religious ethical vision of how persons think, act, and feel when grasped by a sense of divine calling. I argue that in the Analects a vocation is compositely conceived as: (1) a special divine imperative to an individual or a community (2) to love particular goods within one's actual circumstances (3) with nonconsequentialist, noncompetitive, and potentially counter-cultural commitment (4) such that one's mode of life participates in Heaven's intent for human flourishing. Although diverging on their approaches toward filial and sociopolitical engagement, both Adams and Kongzi envision self-transcending purpose, faithful devotion, and existential courage as marks of a vocationally attuned life.