A History of Chinese Philosophy

Introduction

Feng Youlan, who had earned his doctorate at Columbia University, published the first volume in 1931 and the second in 1934; Derk Bodde translated them into English (1937 and 1952–53). The first volume covers the “period of the philosophers” from Confucius to the early Han, the second the “period of classical learning” up to the Qing. Unlike Hu Shih, Feng uses the conceptual tools of Western philosophy, especially logical analysis and realism, to reconstruct the metaphysics of Chinese thinkers. His account of the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi prepared his own “new learning of principle”. His later A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (1948) became a widely used introduction in the West.

Connections

Responds to

• Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy1919 · Hu Shih