This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Confucianism has usually been regarded as a secular moral philosophy with no religious import at all. In china, However, Confucianism has been mentioned along with buddhism and taoism as one of the three religions (the so-Called san-Chiao) for centuries. This means that we must revise and broaden our traditional concept of religion. The confucian tradition certainly has its unique way of expressing its ultimate and therefore religious concern. The present essay is an attempt to uncover the religious import in confucian (...) philosophy and to ascertain its meaning in contemporary discussions of theology and philosophy of religion. In this article, First, The development of the confucian religious attitude has been traced; second, This attitude has been compared with the christian attitude; third, Its contemporary significance with reference to the current development of theology and religious philosophy in the west has been discussed; finally, Some general remarks upon the relevance of religious message to today's situation have been made. (shrink)

This paper discusses the philosophy of Zhu Xi, "a sub-Shu" concept, and that "a sub-Shu," Zhu Xi's philosophy in the concept of moral ethics, metaphysics, cosmology and so many different face. By "a sub-Shu," Zhu Xi's view, ethics has its objective basis for its endless from the Heaven. And this seems to be constructed for the contemporary world, to provide some contribution to the work ethic.

The problem of transcendence and immanence is a central issue in every great religious tradition. It is indeed the understanding of the relation between the transcendent and man that determines the character of a religious faith. The transcendent, However, May assume different forms; it need not always be a supreme personal God in the judaeo-Christian sense. In the confucian tradition, Heaven is the transcendent; hence the problem of transcendence and immanence becomes the problem of heaven and man. In this article, (...) I have not followed a historical approach to trace the development of the idea of heaven and the idea of man in the confucian tradition. Instead, I have concentrated my studies on chung yung or the doctrine of the mean, Because the ideas developed in this document are most typical of the confucian reflection on the problem of transcendence and immanence. And I find that transcendence and immanence are a pair of interdependent concepts for the confucian philosophers. At the end of the paper, The contemporary significance of this view has also been considered. (shrink)

The traditional Chinese idea of t'ien‐jen‐ho‐i (Heaven and humanity in union) implies that humanity has to live in harmony with nature. As science and technology progress, however, the idea appears increasingly outmoded, and it becomes fashionable to talk about overcoming nature. Ironically, though, the further science reaches the more clearly are its limitations exposed. The exploitation of nature not only endangers many life forms on earth but threatens the very existence of the human species. I propose that a reconstruction of (...) the traditional Chinese idea of T'ien‐jen‐ho‐i will help us envisage a new and salutary relation between humanity and nature. (shrink)

Some of the authors of the essays on Chinese philosophers prefer the pin yin system of romanization for Chinese names and words, while others prefer the Wade‐Giles system. Given that both systems are in wide use today, important names and words are given in both their pin yin and Wade‐Giles formulations. The author's preference is printed first, followed by the alternative romanization within brackets.

Until recently epistemology in the Western sense was never a central issue in Chinese philosophy. Contemporary Chinese neo?Confucian philosophers, however, realize that in order to reconstruct some of the important traditional philosophical insights and make them meaningful in the present time, certain methodological and epistemological considerations are indispensable. The present paper undertakes to examine some of these efforts. Since most neo?Confucian philosophers today have been influenced by Hsiung Shih?li, in one way or another, his epistemological theory is presented first. Then (...) the further development of a neo?Confucian epistemological system in Mou Tsung?san's thought is discussed. Hsiung Shih?li has made an important distinction between what he calls the hsing?ehih and the liang?chih. The former may be translated as the original wisdom and is what we rely upon to grasp ontological reality; the latter may be translated as the measuring wisdom and includes both our commonsensical and scientific ways of understanding which postulate a real, external world. A dialectical relation holds between the two. Mou Tsung?san further develops a comprehensive epistemological system which confirms the basic insights of Hsiung Shih?li. He has attempted a synthesis of the philosophical insights which he learns from Kant in the West and the Confucian tradition in China. (shrink)

This article further develops my understanding of Confucianism as a spiritual tradition. The spirit of Confucian philosophy remains the same as Confucius and Mencius in the ancient era, and Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty, who developed liyi-fenshu into a comprehensive anthropo-cosmic philosophy. The idea is inherited by Contemporary Neo-Confucian scholars, reinterpreted to cope with the current emphasis on plurality, the aspect of fenshu , but maintained liyi as a regulative principle, sometimes radical reconstruction is needed to respond to contemporary (...) issues such as the conflict between universalism and particularism. (shrink)

This article further develops my understanding of Confucianism as a spiritual tradition. The spirit of Confucian philosophy remains the same as Confucius and Mencius in the ancient era, and Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty, who developed liyi-fenshu into a comprehensive anthropo-cosmic philosophy. The idea is inherited by Contemporary Neo-Confucian scholars, reinterpreted to cope with the current emphasis on plurality, the aspect of fenshu, but maintained liyi as a regulative principle, sometimes radical reconstruction is needed to respond to contemporary issues (...) such as the conflict between universalism and particularism. (shrink)

Professor Chün-i T'ang was born in 1909 in Szechwan. He received his college education at National Central University in Nanking. Later he became a professor there and taught at various institutions on the mainland. In 1949 he came to Hong Kong and was one of the founders of New Asia College, which has as its primary goal the reconstruction of the traditional cultural spirit. New Asia in 1963 became one of the foundation colleges of the present Chinese University of Hong (...) Kong. Professor T'ang has been a prolific writer. Except for a few articles in English, most of his important works are in Chinese. (shrink)

Professor Chün-i T'ang was born in 1909 in Szechwan. He received his college education at National Central University in Nanking. Later he became a professor there and taught at various institutions on the mainland. In 1949 he came to Hong Kong and was one of the founders of New Asia College, which has as its primary goal the reconstruction of the traditional cultural spirit. New Asia in 1963 became one of the foundation colleges of the present Chinese University of Hong (...) Kong. Professor T'ang has been a prolific writer. Except for a few articles in English, most of his important works are in Chinese. (shrink)