Fifteen Lectures on Chinese Philosophy

281 Pages·2023·7.043 MB·English

by  Lihua Yang

Lihua Yang
Fifteen
Lectures
on Chinese
Philosophy
Fifteen Lectures on Chinese Philosophy
Lihua Yang
Fifteen Lectures on Chinese
Philosophy
Lihua Yang
Department of Philosophy
Peking University
Beijing, China
Translated by
Jinnan Qin Isaiah Martin Schrader
China University of Political Harvard University
Science and Law Cambridge, USA
Beijing, China
Supported by Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences
ISBN 978-981-19-8480-8 ISBN 978-981-19-8481-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8481-5
Jointly published with Peking University Press
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Preface
Philosophers have no way of surpassing the character of their own time. Therefore,
one of the important functions of intellectual history is to confirm the particular
character of different philosophies in history by revealing the connection between
these ideas and philosophers’ concerns about their time. However, if the universal
significance and value of philosophy are ignored, their place in history will become
a relic of the past. A relic is at best a mirror—a helpful reminder, rather than some-
thing with real power that shapes the spirit of the world today. How can the history
of philosophy be meaningful for contemporary life? How can we make the great
philosophers our contemporaries? For me, these are unavoidable questions.
This slender volume is an explanation of the philosophical system of important
premodern Chinese philosophers rather than a history of philosophy. My personal
interests are demonstrated by my choice of these representative philosophers. The
focus of each chapter of this book is to reveal the fundamental problems of each
philosopher, showing the context and structure of their thoughts and clarifying their
concepts and specific concerns. The importance of the problems, the characteristics
of their solutions, and the universality of the principles within their reasoning allow
these thoughts to remain alive forever. The concreteness of these ideas simultaneously
enables their universality. Universal ideas, shaped by the twists and turns of history,
can come alive again in the present. But only through the in-depth interpretation
of the Classics, it is possible to meet the great minds of the past on an intellectual
journey.
This book is a summary of my thoughts in stages as I have taught Chinese philos-
ophy over the years. It is based on the drafts of my lectures. But the writing style
and lecture structures have been unified, and the key issues are explained clearly and
in-depth. Expressing the connotation of each concept and proposition and escaping
ambiguity are my long-standing pursuit and a conscious initiative that I always try
to achieve in my writing.
Tong Xinran has given me great help in transcribing the class recordings of my
lectures in recent years, and I would like to express my gratitude here. I would
also like to thank the Kaifeng Foundation for supporting my work. To be “Kaifeng
Scholars” is both an encouragement and a duty for me.
v
vi Preface
In the Spring semester of the year 2000, I taught Chinese philosophy to class
of 2002 from the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. During that time,
I attached great importance to being a man of letters. During my frequent bouts of
insomnia, I would think of poetic phrases. On the night of the last class, unable to
sleep, I wrote poem of the seven-character form following the rhyming scheme of
“Poems from Goose Lake” by Lu Jiuyuan.
道崇自然德崇钦,
竹林伊洛两关心;
每寻嵇阮狷狂迹,
更慕程朱德业岑;
无意埃尘纷起落,
有心名相任浮沉;
惟期暗夜承薪火,
不因微薄忘古今.
The spontaneous Dao and reverent Virtue esteemed,
My heart is in concert with the Bamboo Hermits (Zhu Lin, 竹林)1 and the
Confucian literati of Yi and Luo (Yi Luo, 伊洛).2
On the wild tracks3 of Ji Kang (嵇康) and Ruan Ji (阮籍),
And yet looking up to those peaks of virtue in Cheng Yi (程颐) and Zhu Xi (朱熹).
The mindless drift like dust in the wind,
But those with a heart can ride the waves of repute and rebuke.
My one hope is that I might carry the torch during the dark night,
Refusing to forget this heritage even in my obscurity.4
The poetry is inadequate. But even after many years, my aspirations remain.
Twenty years later, nothing has changed. Thus, I feel true joy in my heart.
Beijing, China Lihua Yang
September 2018
1 Zhu Lin (竹林) here refers to the Bamboo Hermits like Ruan Ji (阮籍), Ji Kang (嵇康), andsoon
in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. And, the word furtherly points to all Neo-Daoist and Neo-Daoism.
2 Yi Luo (伊洛) here refers to the Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐)inthe
Northern Song Dynasty, their friends, and their disciples who lived beside Yi He river (伊河)andL uo
He river (洛河). And, they are also the representatives of all Neo-Confucian and Neo-Confucianism.
3 Confucius said, “If you cannot manage to find a person of perfectly balanced conduct to associate
with, I suppose you must settle for the wild (Kuang, 狂) or the fastidious (Juan, 狷). In their pursuit
of the Dao, the wild plunge right in, while the fastidious have things they will not do.” (see The
Analects, 13.21).
4 The poem is translated by Trenton Wilson.
Contents
1 Human Nature and the Way of Heaven: The Philosophy
of Confucius .................................................. 1
1 About The Analects ......................................... 1
2 We Cannot Hear ............................................ 3
3 By Nature People are Similar ................................. 4
4 Pleasure and Delight ........................................ 5
5 The Path to Happiness ....................................... 6
6 To Establish Character and Be Prominent ....................... 9
7 Dialogues About Benevolence ................................ 12
8 What Does Heaven Say? ..................................... 15
2 Becoming Useful with the Basis of Non-being: The Philosophy
of The Laozi .................................................. 17
1 Beginning with the First Chapter of The Laozi ................... 18
2 Being is Born from Non-being ................................ 22
3 Becoming Useful with the Basis of Non-being .................. 25
4 He Who Stands on Tiptoe is not Steady ........................ 26
5 Acting Without Action ....................................... 27
3 Exerting the Mind and Knowing Human Nature: The
Philosophy of Mencius ......................................... 31
1 The Function of the Mind is to Think .......................... 32
2 Exerting the Mind and Knowing Human Nature ................. 34
3 Human Nature is Good ...................................... 36
4 Knowing the Logic of Speech ................................. 40
5 Nourishing One’s Qi ........................................ 42
6 A Benevolent Government ................................... 44
4 The Way to True Knowledge: The Philosophy of Zhuang Zi ....... 49
1 The Keyword of Zhuang Zi’s Philosophy: Knowledge ............ 50
2 Differing Levels of Knowledge ............................... 51
3 Right and Wrong ........................................... 53
vii
viii Contents
4 Employing the Light of Reason and Accepting All the Right
Judgments ................................................. 55
5 Knowledge and the Self ...................................... 56
6 Beyond Knowledge ......................................... 59
7 The Equality of Things ...................................... 61
8 Function: Specific and General ................................ 64
9 True Knowledge and Independence ............................ 66
5 Being or Non-being: The Philosophy of Wang Bi ................. 69
1 Hermeneutic Principles ...................................... 70
2 The Distinction Between Language and Meaning ................ 72
3 Ontological Breaks .......................................... 76
3.1 The Meaning of “Non-being” ............................ 78
3.2 The Dao and Things .................................... 79
3.3 The Dao and Nature .................................... 80
3.4 Becoming Useful with the Basis of Non-being .............. 80
4 Political Philosophy ......................................... 82
4.1 Two Ways to Observe Things ............................ 83
4.2 “To Value the Root and to Keep the Branches” (Chong
Ben Ju Mo, 崇本举末) and “To Value the Root
and to Eliminate the Branches” (Chong Ben Xi Mo, 崇
本息末) .............................................. 84
4.3 Acting Without Action .................................. 86
4.4 The Character of the Sage ............................... 87
6 The Principle of Nature: The Philosophy of JiKang ............... 89
1 The Principle of Nature ...................................... 91
2 The Defense of Self ......................................... 92
3 The Nourishment of Life ..................................... 94
4 The Rebuttal to One’s Choice of Residence is not Auspicious
or Inauspicious to One’s Nourishing of Life ..................... 98
5 The Relationship Between Music and Emotions ................. 100
7 Limitation and Nature: The Philosophy of Guo Xiang ............ 107
1 On The Annotations to The Zhuangzi .......................... 108
1.1 Guo Xiang’s Edition of The Zhuangzi ..................... 108
1.2 Did Guo Xiang Plagiarize? .............................. 109
1.3 The Characteristics of Guo’s Annotations .................. 111
2 Ontology .................................................. 113
2.1 The Non-existence of the Creator ......................... 113
2.2 Nature ................................................ 117
2.3 Principle and Human Nature ............................. 119
2.4 The Self and Interactions ................................ 121
2.5 The Carefree Excursion and Human Nature ................ 123
2.6 Following the Things ................................... 124
2.7 Life and Death ......................................... 125
Contents ix
3 Political Ideas .............................................. 127
3.1 Acting Without Action .................................. 127
3.2 The Nobleman and the King ............................. 128
3.3 Political Virtue ......................................... 128
8 Sincerity as the Supreme Ultimate: The Philosophy of Zhou
Dunyi ........................................................ 133
1 Metaphysics ................................................ 134
1.1 The Supreme Ultimate, Yin and Yang, and the Five
Agents ................................................ 137
1.2 Humans and the Myriad Things .......................... 142
1.3 The Sage .............................................. 143
2 Teaching and Self-Cultivation ................................. 145
2.1 The Way of Teaching ................................... 145
2.2 Purifying the Heart ..................................... 146
2.3 Rituals and Music ...................................... 146
2.4 Punishments ........................................... 147
2.5 The Will to Learn ...................................... 148
9 Substance and Function: The Philosophy of Shao Yong ........... 151
1 The Observation of Things ................................... 153
2 Substance and Function ...................................... 155
3 Four Aspects of Substance ................................... 157
4 Three Aspects of Function ................................... 165
10 Establishing Our Own Philosophy: The Philosophy of Cheng
Hao .......................................................... 167
1 Criticizing Buddhism ........................................ 168
2 The Establishment of Neo-Confucian Discourse ................. 172
3 The Principle of Heaven ..................................... 175
4 What is Inborn is Called Nature ............................... 177
5 Sensation and Benevolence ................................... 181
6 On Calming Human Nature ................................... 183
11 The One and Its Two Contrary Aspects: The Philosophy
of Zhang Zai .................................................. 185
1 The Great Vacuity and Qi .................................... 188
2 Form and Image ............................................ 193
3 The Three and the Two ...................................... 195
4 The Wonder and Transformation .............................. 197
5 Sensation .................................................. 199
6 On Human Nature ........................................... 201
7 Human Nature and the Human Mind ........................... 203
x Contents
12 Metaphysical Substance: The Philosophy of Cheng Yi ............ 207
1 Physics and Metaphysics ..................................... 208
2 The Unity of Substance and Function .......................... 210
3 The Absolute Creation as the Principle of Heaven ............... 211
4 Everything Has Its Opposite .................................. 214
5 Collectivity and Benevolence ................................. 215
6 On Human Nature ........................................... 216
7 On Respect ................................................ 218
8 The Investigation of Things and the Extension of Knowledge ...... 221
13 The Principle of Heaven and Qi, Motion and Stillness: The
Philosophy of Zhu Xi .......................................... 225
1 Substance and Function ...................................... 226
2 The Supreme Ultimate ....................................... 229
3 The Principle of Heaven and Qi ............................... 233
3.1 Qi Comes from the Principle of Heaven ................... 234
3.2 The Relationship Between the Principle of Heaven and Qi ... 237
3.3 The Motion and Stillness of the Principle of Heaven
and Qi ................................................ 238
3.4 The Unity and Particularity of the Principle of Heaven ....... 241
4 Theories on Human Nature and Mind .......................... 243
5 Self-Cultivation ............................................. 246
6 The Extension of Knowledge ................................. 248
14 Be Your Own Master: The Philosophy of Lu Jiuyuan ............. 249
1 The Original Mind .......................................... 250
2 The Mind is the Principle of Heaven ........................... 252
3 Gather Your Spirit and Be Your Own Master .................... 254
4 The Investigation of Things and Sitting Quietly .................. 255
5 The Relationship Between Righteousness and Profit ............. 257
15 The Principle of Heaven is not Outside the Mind: The
Philosophy of Wang Yangming ................................. 261
1 The Principle of Heaven is not Outside the Mind ................ 263
2 There Are no Things Outside the Mind ......................... 270
3 The Investigation of Things ................................... 272
4 The Unity of Knowledge and Action ........................... 273
5 The Extension of Innate Knowledge ........................... 276