Above all I am forever indebted to two people. One is my wife. She has given me wholehearted support and in her many unselfish ways has helped to make this work possible. The other is my friend and former colleague Dr. Charles A. Moore of the University of Hawaii, who has kindly written the Foreword. Without him this book would not have been published and probably not even written. In fact, the project was started by us together. We had originally planned a one-volume source book on Asian philosophy and actually did much work on it. It was later found, however, that separate volumes on the several Asian philosophical traditions were necessary. The result has been A Source Book in Indian Philosophy by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Moore, Princeton University Press, 1957, and now this anthology.
Dartmouth College
January 1963
Wing-tsit Chan
CHRONOLOGY OF DYNASTIES
CHRONOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHERS
A SOURCE BOOK IN CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
ABBREVIATIONS AND ABRIDGMENTS
cttc Chu Tzu ta-ch’üan (Complete Literary Works of Chu Hsi), sppy
eccs Erh-Ch’eng ch’üan-shu (Complete Works of the Two Ch’engs), sppy
nhcc Nan-hua chen-ching (Pure Classic of Nan-hua, another name for the Chuang Tzu), sptk
pnp Po-na pen (Choice Works Edition)
sppy Ssu-pu pei-yao (Essentials of the Four Libraries) edition
sptk Ssu-pu ts’ung-k’an (Four Libraries Series) edition
tsd Taishō shinshū daizōkyō (Taishō Edition of the Buddhist Canon)
Changes The Book of Changes
History The Book of History
Mencius The Book of Mencius
Odes The Book of Odes
The Mean The Doctrine of the Mean
Full publication facts for titles abbreviated or abridged in the footnotes are given in the Bibliography.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chronology of Dynasties
Chronology of Philosophers
Abbreviations and Abridgments
1. The Growth of Humanism
Introduction
1. Ancestors and the Lord on High
2. The Mandate of Heaven, Ancestors, and Virtue
3. The “Great Norm”
4. Spirits, the Soul, and Immortality
2. The Humanism of Confucius*
Introduction
Selections from the Analects
3. Idealistic Confucianism: Mencius*
Introduction
The Book of Mencius: Book 6, Part 1
Additional Selections
4. Moral and Social Programs: The Great Learning
Introduction
The Great Learning
5. Spiritual Dimensions: The Doctrine of the Mean*
Introduction
The Doctrine of the Mean
6. Naturalistic Confucianism: Hsün Tzu
Introduction
1. “On Nature”
2. “On the Rectification of Names”
3. “The Nature of Man is Evil”
7. The Natural Way of Lao Tzu*
Introduction
The Lao Tzu (Tao-te ching)
8. The Mystical Way of Chuang Tzu
Introduction
A. “The Equality of Things”
B. “The Great Teacher”
C. Additional Selections
1. The Nature and Reality of Tao
2. Tao Everywhere
3. Constant Flux
4. Evolution
5. Tao as Transformation and One
6. Nature vs. Man
7. Calmness of Mind
8. Sageliness and Kingliness
9. The Equality of Life and Death
10. Subjectivity
11. The Inner Spirit
9. Mo Tzu’s Doctrines of Universal Love, Heaven, and Social Welfare
Introduction
A. “Universal Love, Pt. 2”
B. “The Will of Heaven, Pt. 1”
C. “Attack on Fatalism, Pt. 1”
D. Additional Selections
1. Utilitarianism
2. The Condemnation of War
3. The Condemnation of Wasteful Musical Activities
4. The Condemnation of Elaborate Funerals
5. Elevating the Worthy to Government Positions
6. Agreement with the Superior
10. Debates on Metaphysical Concepts: The Logicians
Introduction
A. The Paradoxes of Hui Shih and the Debaters
B. The Kung-sun Lung Tzu
1. “On the White Horse”
2. “On Marks (chih) and Things”
3. “On the Explanation of Change”
4. “On Hardness and Whiteness”
5. “On Names and Actuality”
11. The Yin Yang School
Introduction
1. Tsou Yen
2. Yin and Yang
3. The Five Agents
12. Legalism
Introduction
1. The Synthesis of Legalistic Doctrine
2. Interpretations of Tao
13. The Philosophy of Change
Introduction
1. Selections from the Commentaries
2. Selections from the “Appended Remarks,” Pt. 1
3. Selections from the “Appended Remarks,” Pt. 2
4. Selections from “Remarks on Certain Trigrams”
14. Yin Yang Confucianism: Tung Chung-shu
Introduction
A. The Profound Examination of Names and Appellations”
B. “The Meaning of the Five Agents”
C. “The Correspondence of Man and the Numerical Categories of Heaven”
D. “Things of the Same Kind Activate Each Other”
E. Additional Selections
1. The Origin (Yüan)
2. Humanity and Righteousness
3. Humanity and Wisdom
4. Historical Cycles
15. Taoistic Confucianism: Yang Hsiung
Introduction
Selections
16. The Naturalism of Wang Ch’ung
Introduction
A. “On Original Nature”
B. “On Spontaneity”
C. “A Treatise on Death”
D. Additional Selections
1. Accident vs. Necessity
2. Strange Phenomena
3. Fate
4. The Equality of Past and Present
17. The Taoism of Huai-nan Tzu
Introduction
1. The Nature of Tao
2. The Beginning of Reality
3. Centrifugal Cosmogony
18. Negative Taoism in the Lieh Tzu and the “Yang Chu Chapter”
Introduction
A. The “Yang Chu Chapter”
B. The Lieh Tzu
1. Skepticism
2. Fatalism
19. Neo-Taoism
Introduction
1. Wang Pi’s Simple Exemplifications of the Principles of the Book of Changes
2. Wang Pi’s Commentary on the Book of Changes
3. Wang Pi’s Commentary on the Lao Tzu
4. Ho Yen’s Treatise on Tao
5. Ho Yen’s Treatise on the Nameless
6. Kuo Hsiang’s Commentary on the Chuang Tzu
20. The Seven Early Buddhist Schools
Introduction
Selections
21. Seng-chao’s Doctrine of Reality
Introduction
1. “The Immutability of Things”
2. “The Emptiness of the Unreal”
22. The Philosophy of Emptiness: Chi-tsang of the Three-Treatise School
Introduction
1. The Two Levels of Truth
2. Causes and Effects
3. The Four Subsidiary Causes
4. Existence, Nonexistence, and Emptiness
5. Substance and Function
23. Buddhist Idealism: Hsüan-tsang of the Consciousness-Only School
Introduction
1. The Nonexistence of the Self
2. The Nonexistence of Dharmas
3. The First Transformation of Consciousness
4. The Second Transformation of Consciousness
5. The Third Transformation of Consciousness
6. Consciousness-Only
7. Nine Objections to the Consciousness-Only Doctrine and Their Answers
8. The Three Natures of Being, Three Natures of Non-being, and Thusness
24. The T’ien-t’ai Philosophy of Perfect Harmony
Introduction
1. The Various Aspects of the Mind
2. Three Ages as an Instant; Substance and Function
3. The Function of Concentration and Insight
25. The One-and-All Philosophy: Fa-tsang of the Hua-yen School
Introduction
A. Treatise on the Golden Lion
B. Hundred Gates to the Sea of Ideas of the Flowery Splendor Scripture
1. “All that Come Into Existence Through Causation End Together in Quiescence”
2. “Harmonious Combination and Spontaneity”
26. The Zen (Ch’an) School of Sudden Enlightenment
Introduction
A. The Platform Scripture
B. The Recorded Conversations of Shen-hui
C. The Recorded Conversations of Zen Master I-hsüan
27. The Revival of Confucianism: Han Yü and Li Ao
Introduction
1. An Inquiry on Human Nature
2. An Inquiry on the Way (Tao)
3. The Recovery of the Nature
28. The Neo-Confucian Metaphysics and Ethics in Chou Tun-i*
Introduction
1. An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate
2. Penetrating the Book of Changes
29. The Numerical and Objective Tendencies in Shao Yung*
Introduction
Supreme Principles Governing the World
30. Chang Tsai’s Philosophy of Material Force*
Introduction
A. The Western Inscription
B. Correcting Youthful Ignorance
1. “Great Harmony”
2. “Enlightenment Resulting from Sincerity”
C. Additional Selections
31. The Idealistic Tendency in Ch’eng Hao*
Introduction
1. “On Understanding the Nature of Jen (Humanity)”
2. “Reply to Master Heng-ch’ü’s Letter on Calming Human Nature”
3. Selected Sayings
32. The Rationalistic Tendency in Ch’eng I*
Introduction
1. “A Treatise on What Yen Tzu Loved to Learn”
2. “Letter in Reply to Yang Shih’s Letter on the Western Inscription”
3. Selected Sayings
33. The Unity of Mind and Principle in Lu Hsiang-shan*
Introduction
Selections
34. The Great Synthesis in Chu Hsi*
Introduction
A. Treatises
1. “A Treatise on Jen”
2. “A Treatise on Ch’eng Ming-tao’s Discourse on the Nature”
3. “First Letter to the Gentlemen of Hunan on Equilibrium and Harmony”
4. “A Treatise on the Examination of the Mind”
B. The Complete Works
1. Moral Cultivation
2. The Relation between the Nature of Man and Things and Their Destiny
3. The Nature of Man and Things
4. The Nature of Man and the Nature of Things Compared
5. Physical Nature
6. Destiny
7. The Mind
8. The Mind, the Nature, and the Feelings
9. Jen
10. Principle (Li) and Material Force (Ch’i)
11. The Great Ultimate
12. Heaven and Earth
13. Spiritual Beings and Spiritual Forces
14. Buddhism
35. Dynamic Idealism in Wang Yang-ming*
Introduction
A. Inquiry on the Great Learning
B. Instructions for Practical Living
36. The Materialism of Wang Fu-chih
Introduction
1. The World of Concrete Things
2. Substance and Function
3. Being and Non-being
4. Principle and Material Force
5. Unceasing Growth and Man’s Nature and Destiny
6. The Principle of Nature and Human Desires
7. History and Government
37. Practical Confucianism in Yen Yüan
Introduction
1. In Defense of Physical Nature
2. The Identity of Principle and Material Force
3. Learning through Experience
38. Tai Chen’s Philosophy of Principle as Order
Introduction
1. On Principle (Li)
2. On Nature
3. On Capacity
4. On Humanity, Righteousness, Propriety, and Wisdom
5. On the Variety of Circumstances
39. K’ang Yu-wei’s Philosophy of Great Unity
Introduction
1. The Three Ages
2. Confucius’ Institutional Reforms
3. The Mind that Cannot Bear to See the Suffering of Others
4. The Age of Great Unity
5. Humanity
40. The Philosophy of Humanity (Jen) in T’an Ssu-t’ung
Introduction
1. Ether and Humanity
2. The Principle of Nature and Human Desires
3. Neither Production nor Extinction
4. Daily Renovation
41. Chang Tung-sun’s Theory of Knowledge
Introduction
Selections
42. The New Rationalistic Confucianism: Fung Yu-lan
Introduction
1. The World and Principle
2. Principle and Material Force
3. Tao, Substance and Function, and Universal Operation
4. Principle and the Nature
5. Serving Heaven and Jen (Humanity)
43. The New Idealistic Confucianism: Hsiung Shih-li
Introduction
1. “Closing and Opening”
2. The Unity of Principle and Material Force
3. The Mind and Humanity (Jen)
4. The Unity of Substance and Function
44. Chinese Philosophy in Communist China
Introduction
1. The Nature of the History of Chinese Philosophy
2. The Chinese Philosophical Heritage
3. Guidance for Future Developments
Appendix: On Translating Certain Chinese Philosophical Terms
Bibliography
A Glossary of Chinese Characters
▪ ▪ ▪--1--▪ ▪ ▪
THE GROWTH OF HUMANISM
If one word could characterize the entire history of Chinese philosophy, that word would be humanism—not the humanism that denies or slights a Supreme Power, but one that professes the unity of man and Heaven. In this sense, humanism has dominated Chinese thought from the dawn of its history.
Humanism was an outgrowth, not of speculation, but of historical and social change. The conquest of the Shang (1751–1112 b.c.) by the Chou in 1111 b.c. inaugurated a transition from tribal society to feudal. To consolidate the empire, the Chou challenged human ingenuity and ability, cultivated new trades and talents, and encouraged the development of experts from all levels of society. Prayers for rain were gradually replaced by irrigation. Ti, formerly the tribal Lord, became the God for all. Man and his activities were given greater importance. The time finally arrived when a slave became a prime minister. Humanism, in gradual ascendance, reached its climax in Confucius.
Having overthrown the Shang, founders of the Chou had to justify their right to rule. Consequently, they developed the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven, a self-existent moral law whose constant, reliable factor was virtue. According to this doctrine, man’s destiny—both mor
tal and immortal—depended, not upon the existence of a soul before birth or after death nor upon the whim of a spiritual force, but upon his own good words and good deeds. The Chou asserted, therefore, that the Shang, though they had received the mandate to rule, had forfeited it because they failed in their duties. The mandate then passed on to the founders of Chou, who deserved it because of their virtue. Obviously, the future of the house of Chou depended upon whether future rulers were virtuous.
The idea that the destiny of man or the future of a dynasty depended upon virtue rather than upon the pleasure of some mysterious, spiritual power marked a radical development from the Shang to the Chou. (Significantly, the term te [virtue] is not found in the oracle bones on which Shang ideas and events are recorded, but it is a key word in early Chou documents.) During the Shang, the influence of spiritual beings on man had been almost total, for no important thing could be done without first seeking their approval, but in the Chou (1111–249 b.c.) their dwelling places were regulated by the rulers. As the Book of Rites says, “The people of Yin (Shang) honor spiritual beings, serve them, and put them ahead of ceremonies. . . . The people of Chou honor ceremonies and highly value the conferring of favors. They serve the spiritual beings and respect them, but keep them at a distance. They remain near to man and loyal to him.”1
Similarly, belief in the Lord underwent a radical transformation. In the Shang, he was the supreme anthropomorphic deity who sent blessings or calamities, gave protection in battles, sanctioned undertakings, and passed on the appointment or dismissal of officials. Such belief continued in the early Chou, but was gradually replaced by the concept of Heaven (T’ien) as the supreme spiritual reality.2 This does not mean that either Heaven or spiritual beings did not continue to be highly honored and greatly respected. But their personal power was supplanted by human virtue and human effort, and man, through his moral deeds, could now control his own destiny.
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