A Hope for Philosophy II: The European Path and Chinese Opportunity

149 Pages·2022·3.272 MB·English

by  Ye Xiushan

China Perspectives
A HOPE FOR PHILOSOPHY II
THE EUROPEAN PATH AND CHINESE OPPORTUNITY
Ye Xiushan
A Hope for Philosophy II
As the final work by Ye Xiushan, one of the most famous philosophers and
philosophy scholars in China, this two-volume title scrutinizes the historical
development of both Chinese and Western philosophies, aiming to explore
the convergence between the two philosophical traditions.
Combining the historical examination and argumentation based on
philosophical problematics, the two-volume set expounds the key figures
and schools and critical thoughts in both Western and Chinese philosophical
histories. The second volume retraces the origin and development of Chinese
philosophy and reveals its focal grounds, i.e. a trinity of man, Heaven, and
earth, which helps explain why and how it diverges from the Western way of
philosophizing. This book also delineates the diachronic transitions of
Chinese philosophy that critically embrace different schools of thought
throughout history, including Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and
Marxism, etc., and then constitutes an organic whole. To elicit the
potential for a new transformation of contemporary Chinese philosophy,
the author encourages a constructive dialogue between the Chinese and
Western philosophies.
This title will appeal to scholars, students, and general readers interested
in philosophical history, comparative philosophy, Chinese philosophy, and
Western philosophy ranging over Greek philosophy, German classic
philosophy, and contemporary continental philosophy.
Ye Xiushan was a researcher in the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences and Director of the Western Philosophy
Society, China. His academic expertise was Western philosophy, aesthetics,
and Chinese and Western comparative philosophy.
China Perspectives
The China Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works by
leading Chinese scholars, writing about both global topics and China-related
themes. It covers Humanities & Social Sciences, Education, Media and Psychology,
as well as many interdisciplinary themes.
The China Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works by
leading Chinese scholars, writing about both global topics and China-related
themes. It covers Humanities & Social Sciences, Education, Media and Psychology,
as well as many interdisciplinary themes.
To submit proposals, please contact the Taylor & Francis Publisher for China
Publishing Programme, Lian Sun ([email protected])
Titles in philosophy currently include:
A New Exploration of Hegel’s Dialectics I
Origin and Beginning
Deng Xiaomang
A New Exploration of Hegel’s Dialectics II
Negation and Reflection
Deng Xiaomang
A New Exploration of Hegel’s Dialectics III
The Three-Dimensional Structure
Deng Xiaomang
A Hope for Philosophy I
The European Path and Chinese Opportunity
Ye Xiushan
A Hope for Philosophy II
The European Path and Chinese Opportunity
Ye Xiushan
For more information, please visit https://www.routledge.com/China-Perspectives/
book-series/CPH
A Hope for Philosophy II
The European Path and
Chinese Opportunity
Ye Xiushan
This book is published with financial support from Chinese Fund for the
Humanities and Social Sciences.
First published in English 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Ye Xiushan
Translated by Petko T. Hinov, CHEN Zhaojuan
The right of Ye Xiushan to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
English Version by permission of Jiangsu People’s Publishing House.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Names: Ye, Xiushan, author.
Title: A hope for philosophy : the European path and Chinese opportunity
/ Xiushan Ye.
Other titles: Zhe xue de xi wang. English
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: China perspectives | Includes index. |
Contents: v. 1. A hope for philosophy i: the european pa ‐‐ v. 2. A hope for
philosophy ii: the european p ‐‐ A hope for philosophy: the european path |
Identifiers: LCCN 2021052194 (print) | LCCN 2021052195 (ebook) | ISBN
9781032248042 (v. 1 ; hbk) | ISBN 9781032248141 (v. 1 ; pbk) | ISBN
9781032248059 (v. 2 ; hbk) | ISBN 9781032248134 (v. 2 ; pbk) | ISBN
9781032248066 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032248165 (pbk) | ISBN 9781003280200
(v. 2 ; ebook) | ISBN 9781003280194 (v. 1 ; ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Philosophy, European‐‐History. | Philosophy,
Chinese‐‐History.
Classification: LCC B99.C52 Y47213 2022 (print) | LCC B99.C52 (ebook) |
DDC 190‐‐dc23/eng/20211122
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021052194
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021052195
ISBN: 978-1-032-24805-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-24813-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-28020-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003280200
Typeset in Times New Roman
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Contents
1 The Spiritual Durée of Chinese Philosophy:
A Theoretical Investigation 1
2 The Spiritual Durée of Chinese Philosophy:
A Historical Investigation 13
3 Daoist Philosophical Thought 35
4 The Great Union between Political Governance and
Philosophical Schools in the Han Dynasty 60
5 Philosophical Approach in Buddhist Thought 95
6 Development of Philosophical Thought During the
Song and Ming Dynasties 105
Epilogue: A New Hope for the Future 135
Index 139

1 The Spiritual Durée of
Chinese Philosophy
A Theoretical Investigation
1.1 The Rectification of Names
Traditional Chinese scholarship has no name for philosophy, but has the
pith of philosophy. In search of a name corresponding to its pith, it has
systematically translated European philosophy as xing-er-shang-xue [形而上
学](knowledge of what is antecedent to material forms), i.e. ‘metaphysics’. In
the beginning, this was regarded as sufficiently apposite. In the course of
time, however, a sense of distance between ‘name-essence’ set in, and this
distance was reduced only in the modern time. If we approach this term
from its ancient meaning, then the distance is still comparatively great and
what makes it great is the different primary source of both philosophies.
They were moving in opposite directions up until their encounter in the
premodern and modern age. This is the reason why we deem such a trans-
lation as apposite.
The translation of ‘meta-physics’ as xing-er-shang-xue [形而上学] (knowl-
edge of what is antecedent to material forms) was considered as pertinent, as
they both emphasised the meaning of transcendence and opposed ‘what
precedes form’ to ‘what is subsequent to form’. Thus, metaphysics was re-
garded as a counterpart of physics—a most proper approach. However,
European metaphysics was taken either as ‘antecedent-things-knowledge’ or
as ‘first-things-knowledge’, and both terms express surpassing of things ma-
terial (physics), which betokens their evolving from natural philosophy to
theory of Forms. That is the route of ‘elevation-abstraction’ from ‘nature-
physicalness’ to ‘principle-tenet’ or elevation from empirical concepts to
‘metaconcepts-Forms’. First come the concrete ‘empirical concepts-natural
concepts’ such as ‘water’, ‘fire’, etc. Even Plato’s ideas could not shake off the
grounds of natural experience, wherefore came the premise of Aristotle’s
ontology.
Now, let’s turn to Chinese xing-er-shang-xue [形而上学] (knowledge of
what is antecedent to material forms). Its historical path is, as it were, the
opposite of European metaphysics, because it took the road ‘from higher to
lower’ regions: it did not rise from ‘physics-knowledge of visible form’ to
‘philosophy-knowledge of what precedes form’, but vice versa: from
DOI: 10.4324/9781003280200-1
2 The Spiritual Durée of Chinese Philosophy
philosophy it ‘descended’ to physics. In this sense, if we are to epitomise
both with the single term of ‘philosophy’, then we should state clearly that
this term is far from synonymous in its Chinese and European usage.
1.2 xing-er-shang-xue (形而上学) and The Book of Changes
The expressions ‘what is antecedent to form-what is subsequent to form’
originate in the chapter Xi Ci [系辞] (Appended Phrases) of Yizhuan [易传]
(The Great Commentary): ‘Hence that which is antecedent to the material
form we name Dao, and that which is subsequent to the material form exists,
we say, as a concrete qi [器] (thing)’. What is Dao and ‘thing’ is related to the
entire mode of thinking in The Book of Changes.
The Book of Changes is perhaps a common source of the entire Chinese
philosophical thought, the greatest contribution to which belongs to
Confucianism. It is to their tradition that this book has been ascribed and it
was included in the Confucian canonical books. Owing to The Book of
Changes, Confucian thought became clearer and more mature. A statement
by the great Confucian scholar of Song dynasty Zhu Xi that The Book of
Changes was a book of divination was rebutted by almost all his confreres.
Actually, The Book of Changes was a book for divination used to inquire,
through a variety of methods, whether something was a good or bad omen,
a token of success or failure. This is principally incompatible with Confucian
ideas, which insist on the immutability of principles and are indifferent to
‘changes of reality’. Confucianism persists in their old ways and truths which
are unshakeable for all eternity. So, the patriarch of Confucianism,
Confucius said he hoped to live a little longer to study thoroughly The Book
of Changes. The result of his studies is possibly embodied in his Ten Wings.
Regardless of historical facts, we can see that Confucius became exempt
from the current political situation and pondered over a number of philo-
sophical problems and, in fact, had already established a systematic philo-
sophical mindset. This point is sufficiently conclusive.
Confucius did not necessarily believe in divination, but possibly believed
in the underlying philosophical principles that human deeds could not be
determined by human will itself. Not only a human cannot undertake
something alone, but things and events are not determined ‘by themselves’.
There is a superior and external factor which determines everything, both
human and object. Human life on the earth is governed by the Heaven’s
Way (Dao). The intents of Heaven can be divined and construed by wise
people and sages. Only then could something be successful.
The Book of Changes, therefore, employs the method of divination to
reckon Heaven’s intent or will. The latter, too, has its own path of logic,
which is called ‘Dao of Heaven’. However, Dao of Heaven cannot be per-
ceived in the fashion we see things on the earth. It is not the object of im-
mediate sensory perception, but has to be construed according to a sum of
revelational images. It is according to these images that man is capable of
The Spiritual Durée of Chinese Philosophy 3
‘divining’ the will of Heaven, and the method thereof is neither common
knowledge nor ‘common sense-conventional practice’. As for divination it-
self, one had to receive a special tutorship to learn it. The Heavenly Dao is a
mystery to man. Only those ‘special people-sages-wisemen’ are capable of
divining and construing that Way (Dao).
Consequently, the divinatory methods include observing celestial phe-
nomena and reckoning, which is later termed ‘knowledge of signs and num-
bers’, i.e. study of the Eight Trigrams of The Book of Changes, or
numerology.1 ‘Numbers’, just like ‘signs’, are not to be taken in a quotidian
but in a special meaning. They, so to say, are not a method of grasping the
concrete things (器, qi) on earth but a method of knowing the Way of Heaven.
1.3 The Interrelation between Heaven, Earth, and Man
The Book of Changes established, on philosophical grounds, the ‘relationship-
boundaries’ between ‘Heaven-earth-man’.
The dependence of ancient peoples on Nature was far greater than that in
our age. Upon entering the agricultural season, they practically ‘leaned on
Heaven for sustenance’, and the myriad of things and people on earth relied
on Heaven’s grace. Figuring out Heaven’s will was of utmost importance to
‘conscious-reflective’ humans. Ancient nations all have myths and legends
about the ‘Genesis-the beginning of heaven and earth’. China is not an
exception. But a logically consistent theory that aptly ‘congeals-sublimates’
legends appeared firstly in China’s The Book of Changes. The Book of
Changes takes the worshipping of the supreme Heaven and turns it into a
philosophy and its divinatory technique turns, through an entire set of
philosophical theories, into a bolster. And, while the technique wanes with
the elapsing of time, theory never fails to thrive.
The theoretical coordinates of The Book of Changes are firmly fixed upon
the correlated ‘trinity-three elements’ or ‘Heaven, earth and man’: Heaven is
above on high, earth is below, and man is in the middle.
We have to say that such an immediacy of place is fairly well-known to all
people, but its meaning could be expounded only by ‘sages-wisemen’. Or,
Confucius spotted precisely this feature of The Book of Changes and it won
his greater esteem, because all of his life he was making efforts, though with
rather poor results, to rectify the ‘places’ under Heaven. Doctrinally, The
Book of Changes was more profound and systematic. The techniques of
divination, designed to inquire after the propitious or pernicious outcome of
an undertaking, were more practical than Confucius’ practice of self-
constraint and restoration of ancient rites in order to fortify the people.
Therefore, Confucius’ appreciation of The Book of Changes was not merely
owing to the Zhou dynasty origins of this book.
Reading The Book of Changes could initially surprise one with the com-
plete set of superb ‘philosophical theory’ proceeding directly from im-
mediate sensorial experience: this is a fact incomprehensible to a ‘non-sage’.