Yinyang Narrative of Reality: Chinese Metaphysical Thinking

Dao, 2005

the end of the 19 th century and even into the early part of the 20 th century, many different translations of the Western term "metaphysics" were introduced into China: lixue 理學, chunlixue 純理學, shenli zhi xue 神理之學, zhixue 智學,

Brill, 2018

This paper calls for a reconstruction of Chinese metaphysics that recognizes the distinct features of Chinese worldview, while at the same time explores the speculative thinking behind the dominant ethical concerns in Chinese philosophy. It suggests some research topics for constructing a Chinese moral metaphysics, without turning it into a metaphysical ethics -the difference between the two is that the former is fundamentally "truth-pursuing" while the latter is "good-pursuing." This paper argues that even though Chinese metaphysics is deeply connected with concerns for human flourishing, it is not just a study of nature for the sake of practical living. Furthermore, although Chinese metaphysics is different from traditional Western metaphysics, it is not incommensurable with it. There are many interesting metaphysical topics that can be investigated within Chinese philosophical texts. This is a project that looks in to the future of the development of Chinese metaphysics, not a backward-looking study into the history of Chinese cosmological thinking.

Dal Medio all’Estremo Oriente / 2 - Studi del Dottorato di ricerca in Civiltà dell’Asia e dell’Africa, 2020

In the context of the cultural contribution of the West to China, philosophy plays a significant role, both as a basis characterizing Western civilization and for the difficulties of study and assimilation that it entails. It is a complex phenomenon that also involves the linguistic-lexical development of modern Chinese, which the gradual introduction of Western philosophical production, especially through published translations, helps to enrich with new terms. The aim of this article is to present a selection of exemplary concepts representative of the whole formation process of the modern Chinese philosophical lexicon, standardized during the time between the end of the 19th and the first three or four decades of the 20th century. The three particular case studies here examined consist of Western philosophical terms that reached a standardized translation in Chinese during the same period of time, through similar and at the same time different paths: Logic, Metaphysics, Aesthetics.

The study of Chinese philosophy in the English-speaking world has largely focused on ethical and political theories. In comparison, Chinese metaphysics—here understood primarily as theories regarding the nature, components, and operating principles of reality—has been far less researched and recognized. In this essay, we examine various meanings of “metaphysics” as it has been used in denoting a branch of philosophy and make the case that metaphysics is an important part of Chinese philosophy. We argue for the need to study Chinese metaphysics as a serious field of scholarship. We also present some most recent studies of Chinese metaphysics by leading scholars of Chinese philosophy who publish in the English-speaking world. This essay aims to show that not only that Chinese metaphysics is an appropriate and legitimate subject of scholarly research but it can also be a fruitful subfield of in the study in Chinese philosophy.

Review of Chinese Metaphysics and Its Problems (Cambridge, 2015), eds. Chenyang Li and Franklin Perkins

Philosophy East and West 72/2, 2022

Recent anglophone scholarship on Chinese philosophy provides students and scholars with a great variety of introductory materials, especially when it comes to encyclopedias and manuals on the history of Chinese philosophical traditions. It is therefore increasingly difficult for scholars to produce innovative studies on the subject that can provide a significant and original contribution to the field, especially when addressing both specialists and enthusiasts. In this context, The History of Chinese Philosophy Through its Key Terms by Nanjing University’s Wang Yueqing 王月清, Bao Qinggang 暴庆刚, and Guan Guoxing 管国兴 certainly represents a valuable and innovative contribution. Instead of presenting the history of Chinese thought by sectioning it in terms of thinkers or schools of thought, as it is traditionally done in encyclopedic works, the book considers the historical and conceptual evolution of specific key terms which characterize the evolution of those philosophical traditions which form the broad and diversified framework of Chinese philosophy. The book is composed of thirty-seven chapters (varying from 8 to 18 pages in length), each of which is devoted to a detailed discussion of a specific key term in both its historical and conceptual evolution. The great majority of chapters discuss the evolution of terms within the broad historical framework ranging from classical thought to the end of the Qing dynasty.

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 2019

This is my Introduction (as guest editor/compiler) to a set of articles on the theme, the Yijing and western metaphysics, which was published in the Journal of Chinese Philosophy. The articles relating to this special theme were published in volumes 46.3/4 and 47.1/2 (2019-2020).