Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Chinese culture PDF
Preview Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Chinese culture
THECOUNCILFOR RESEARCHINVALUESANDPHILOSOPHY CULTURALHERITAGE ANDCONTEMPORARY LIFE SERIESin. ASIA,VOL. 3 GeneralEditor GeorgeF.McLean CONFUCIANISM, BUDDHISM, DAOISM, CHRISTIANITY AND CHINESE CULTURE TANGYI-JIE THEUNIVERSITYOFPEKING THECOUNCIL FOR RESEARCHINVALUESANDPHILOSOPHY Copyrightedmaterial Copyright^ 1991 by The Council for Research inValues andPhilosophy P.O. Box261 CardinalStation Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed inthe United StatesofAmerica LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Tang, I-chieh. Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Chinese culture / Tang Yi-Jie. — p. cm. (Culturalheritageandcontemporarychange. Series III, Asia; vol. III.3) Includesbibliographical referencesand index. — 1. Philosophy, Chinese. 2. China Religion. 3. China—Civilization. I. Title. II. Series:Cultural heritageandcontemporarychange. Series III, Asia;vol. 3. B5231.T36 1991 181-dc20 91-58115 CIP ISBN 1-56518-035-6 ISBN 1-56518-034-8(pbk.) Copyrightedmaterial THE COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH IN VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY S.Aveniri, Israel S. Lokuang,Taipei, China P. Balasubramaniam, India A.Lopez Quintas,Spain P.Bodunrin,Nigeria M. Markovic, Yugoslavia V.Cauchy, Canada H.Nasr, USA/Iran M. Chatterjee, India NgweyNgond'aNdenge, Zaire R. DeGeorge, USA J. Nyasani, Kenya M. Dy, Philippines C.Pan, Singapore IT. Frolov, USSR PaulusGregorios, India H.G. Gadamer,BDR O. Pegoraro, Brazil A. Gallo,Guatemala C. Ramirez, CostaRica K.Gyekye,Ghana P. Ricoeur, France P.Henrici, Italy M. Sastrapatedja, Indonesia J.Hoyos Vellez,Colombia J.Scannone, Argentina T. Imamichi,Japan K. Schmitz,Canada A. Iraki Burgos,Paraguay V.ShetuTaipei,China J.Kellerman, Hungary W.Strozewski, Poland M. Kente,Tanzania Tang Yi-jie, BeijingChina R. Knowles, USA J. Teran-Dutari, Ecuador J.Ladriere, Belgium G. Tlaba, Lesotho P.Laleye, Senegal WangMiao-yang, Taipei,China H.D.Lewis, UK N. Zevallos, Peru GeorgeF.McLean,Secretary CardinalStation, P.O. Box261 Tel.202/319-5636 Washington, D.C. 20064 Fax.202/319-6089 This Oi X23J-FRE-F2L0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Theauthorandeditorwishto expresstheirsincereappreciationto the translators whose assiduous work has made it possible to bring this volume out in English, and thereby to share some of the philosophical thinkingofChina withphilosophersinotherpartsofthe world. Theywish tothankaswell:ChineseStudiesinPhilosophyforper- mission to reprint Chapters I, III, IV and IX from the Winter issue of 1983-84;TheSocialScience Publication House forpermissionto reprint chapter II from the 1982 volume of Social Sciences in China; Dialogue PublishingCo.forpermissiontoreprintChapterXfromVol. XV(1988) ofTheJournalofChinesePhilosophy;and Hong KongChinese Univer- sityPressforpermissiontoreprintChapterVfromHarmonyandStrug- gle. The crucial chapters on Daoism (Taoism) (VI-VIII) and on Chris- tianity (XI), as well as the four appendices, have not previously been published. Appreciation is extended to Profs. Yang Fenggang and Fang Neng-yuandtoJuanHefortheirpainstakingwork inassuringprecision and consistency in philosophical terms, to Mrs. Bonnie Kennedy, Miss EuniceA. Riceand Mrs. LindaPerezwhoprepared themanuscript,and totheJamesA. McLeansfortheirsupportinthisextensionofthepubli- cationprojectofTheCouncilforResearchinValuesandPhilosophy. Copyrightedmaterial TABLEOFCONTENTS Contents V Preface Vl•l• Introduction 1 PartI.TheStructureandStudyofChinesePhilosophy 1.ProspectsfortheStudyoftheHistoryofChinese 5 Philosophy,andtheIssueoftheTrue, theGood andtheBeautiful inChina'sTraditional Philosophy 2.QuestionsConcerningtheCategorical System of 17 TraditionalChinese Philosophy 3.NewProgress intheStudyoftheHistoryof 39 Chinese Philosophy Part II. ConfucianPhilosophy 4. AnInquiry intothe PossibilityofaThird-phase 51 DevelopmentofConfucianism 5.TheProblem ofHarmoniousCommunities in AncientChina 55 PartIII.DaoistPhilosophy 6.On theDaoDeJing(TaoTeChing) 61 7.TheOriginandCharacteristicsofDaoism(Taoism) 67 8.The Daoist Religion ofChina 8] PartIV.Buddhistand ChristianPhilosophiesandChineseCulture Q The Introduction ofIndian Buddhism intoChina? &9 A Perspective on the MeaningofStudies in Comparative Philosophy and Comparative Religion 10.Relationships BetweenTraditional and Imported 139 ThoughtandCultureinChina:theImportation of Buddhism 11.TheAttemptofMatteo Riccito LinkChineseand 147 WesternCultures Appendices A. CharacteristicsofTraditionalChinesePhilosophy: 161 An Outline B.TheoriesofLifeandDeath inConfucianism, 165 Buddhism, and Daoism(Taoism): An Outline C.TheEntryofIndianBuddhism intoChina: 169 the MergerofTwo Cultures: An Outline D.Trends in the DevelopmentofContemporary 173 Chinese Philosophy: An Outline Vocabulary 177 Index 181 Copyri PREFACE It is both an honor and a challenge to draft the Preface for this volumeoftheEnglishlanguagewritingsofProf.TangYi-jie.The honor derivesfrom the prestige oftheauthor; the challenge lies inadequately expressing the importanceofhisworkat thisjuncture inthe historyof Chines thoughtand life. Prof. Tang Yi-jie was born on Jan. 15, 1927, in Tranjing to a scholarlyfamilyofgreatdistinction.His lifehasbeen deeplymarked by thegreatchangesinhiscountry, fromthetimeoftheentryoftheJapa- nesearmies, throughthe great revolution,tothestrugglesofthecontin- uing revolution,and more recentlythoseofthe lastdecade. His personal dramaduring these years is graphically described in the book by his wife, Yue Daiyun, Tothe Storm, written with Carolyn Wakemen (Berkeley: Univ. ofCalifornia Press, 1985). Here Ishall focus ratheron thesteps inthescholarly workof ProfessorTang, recognizing thattheyhave beenoriented bythe needsofhis people. In 1951 Tang Yi-jie graduated from the FacultyofPhilosophyof Peking University, where he is now a professor of philosophy. In 1956 hetookup thestudyofcomparativemetaphysicsintheWei-Jinperiods, layingfirmground-workinsuchbasicthemesassubstanceandfunction. The deep learning of his Father, the foremost scholar in the field of Buddhist studies, provided unique professional access to the Buddhist scriptures.Withafewotherstudents,togethertheyexploredthe"myste- rious learning." Later, in 1978, Prof. Tang renewed these studies in a direction which was to be the continuing theme of his subsequent work. In its search formodernizationChina needed to assimilate ideas from abroad, andthisneededtobedone inawaythatpromotedratherthandestroyed thepeople. IntheChineseexperience onemajorexampleofthis wasthe 1000year long processofassimilating Buddhism. He set aboutstudying this in detail with a view to discovering the conditions for effective culturalassimilation ingeneral, and forConfucianculture in particular. During the mid eighties this was complemented by studies in Daoism (Taoism). With these three components of Chinese culture: Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism) in hand, Prof. Tang has turned more recentlytotheway inwhichWestern thoughtcan makeapropercontri- bution.ThisdirectedhisattentiontotheworkofMatteoRicciandother scholarsofthatperiod.They pointed out the greatachievementofChi- nese culture regarding the inner moral life of the person, both within himorherselfandinrelationtoothersin thefamily,provinceornation. But they note that the modern sense of the person depends upon an additional horizon, namely, an outer transcendent in whose image all is created. This gives firm grounds for human freedom, for this basis of personalidentityisbeyondanythingmancangrantorremove.Furtheris constitutes a dynamic combination of appreciation ofcreation and lack offullsatisfactionwithwhateverhasbeenachievedthusfar:thisinturn generates thedrivetoexplorenewavenues incooperation withothers. Copyrightedmaterial viii Preface MatteoRiccisaw thisvisionasanecessarycomplementtoChinese culture, and delineated a mutually complementary relation between Confucianism and the Christian cultures of the West. This responds to urgentpresentneeds. The chapters of the present work reflect in a structured manner thispatternoftheresearchofProf.Tang. In the introductorysection he treatsthecategorialstructuresofChinesephilosophyandthemethodfor its study. Next he studies the root Confucian and Daoist dimensions of Chineseculture. The introduction of Buddhism into China is then given special attention inorder to bringout the waysinwhich it provedcomplemen- taryand henceabletobeassimilated.The finalpaperisthemost recent; ittreatstheworkofMatteo Ricciand hissuggestions fortherolewhich Christianinsightscouldplay. These chapters are, of course, but a reflection of the extended Chinese writingsofProf. Tang.These includeGuo Xiang andtheMys- terious Learning of the Wei-Jin Period, 1983; Daoism (Taoism) in the Wei-JinPeriod, 1988;Confucianism,Daoism(Taoism) andBuddhismin TraditionalChineseCulture, 1988;andoverahundredarticles. Beyondallthis Prof.Tanghasfounded theInternationalAcademy ofChinese Culture to playingthe essential role oflooking atonce back into therootsofChinese identityand forward to the ways inwhich this canlivemorefullyinnewtimes.Forhiscentralcontributiontobridging thepastand the future, Prof.Tang was awardedan honorarydegree by MacMastersUniversity in 1990. It is particularly fitting thenthat his workshould be published as partof the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy series: Cul- tural HeritageandContemporary Life in EastAsia.Othervolumescon- cern"Manand Nature,"and"The foundationofMoral Education in the ChineseTradition." Othervolumesare in preparationand parallel series in Eastern Europe, Africa, etc. For in a real senseall face an analogous problemcharacteristicofthe humanconditioninourdays, namely, how to move with dignity into the future. This volume reflects Prof. Tang's lifeofrichresearchand hisdeepconcern to respondto thatquestion. GeorgeF.McLean Secretary,Councilfor Researchin ValuesandPhilosophy Washington,D.C. 20064 Copyrightedmaterial INTRODUCTION Though I had never dreamed of publishing a collection of my papers in English this volume, entitled ChineseCulture and Confucian- ism,Buddhism,Daoism(Taoism)andChristianity, isnowreadytogoto press.Thepapersreflectthecurrenttrendtorelatethedifferentcultures ofeach nationality, countryand region within abroader global culture. In such a situation an understanding of Chinese culture becomes espe- ciallyimportant.Thusfar,however,becauseitiswritteninChinesevery few works on Chinese culture by scholars from mainland China have beengenerallyavailable.Itismyhope thatbymakingsomeofthatwork available in English this book can enable people outsideChina to know both the workdone byChinese scholarsandspecificaspects ofChinese culture. The book isacollection ofsome of mypaperspublished inChina between 1982and 1988andsomelecturesdeliveredoutsideChinaduring the same period. It consists of four parts: Part I reflects my general viewsregardingthestructure ofChinesephilosophyintermsofitscate- goriesandtreatmentofthetrue,thegoodand thebeautiful,aswellasits recentprogressand future prospects.PartIIismyevaluationofConfu- cianism.Thearticleentitled"AnInquiryintothePossibilityoftheThird Phase Development of Confucianism" was originally a lecture at The Seventeenth World Congress of Philosophy, on the whole it represents my viewpointofrecent years toward traditional Chinese philosophy. In "The Problem of Harmonious Communities in Ancient China" I try to sort out the positive and negative influence of Confucian philosophy upon Chinese society and to indicate that the ideal of an harmonious society can always heighten the spiritual level of people. Part IIIcon- cerns thenative religionofChina, Daoism(Taoism),thestudyofwhich helps highlight certain characteristics of Chinese culture. Part IVcon- cernstheintroductionofBuddhismandChristianityintoChina.Thetwo paperson the introduction ofBuddhism attempt to describe the impact and dynamics ofthe introductionofa foreignculture. "The Attemptof MatteoRicci to LinkChinese and Western Culture" concernsthe intro- ductionofWesternculture intoChina.AsChina isstill facingproblem- atictensionsbetweenforeignandtraditionalculturesthesestudiesofthe introduction of Buddhismand Christianity into China may hold special interest. The Appendices are outlines oftalks at the University of Ore- gon. In sum,all my research isaimedatexploring the problemofcul- tural developmentata time when traditionalChinese culture is moving towards modernization. Because the papers and talks in this collection were written at in differenttimesand translated into English bydifferentpeople thereare inevitable variations in style and expression. Nevertheless, the text promises toconvey well myoriginal ideas. I am extremely grateful to all the friends and colleagues who helped in the translation. My particular gratitude goes to Prof. George McLeanwho tookthetroubletoeditthe book withattention to English Copyrightedmaterial 2 Introduction expression. I met Prof. McLean in August, 1984, at the Conference on Asian and Comparative Philosophy in Hawaii. In Winter, 1986, Prof. McLeanvisitedPekingUniversitywhereweplannedaJointColloquium on"ManandNature" which washeld in Beijing in theSummerof 1987. ThissuccessfulsymposiumhasbeenpublishedinbothChineseandEng- lish versions (Beijing: Peking University Press, 1990; Washington, D.C.: The Councilfor Research in Valuesand Philosophyand The University Press of America, 1989). Further colloquia: on "Man and Society" with the University ofPeking; on "Traditional Attitudesand Modernization" with the Institute of Philosophy of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences; and on "Confucianism and Christianity" with the Academyof Chinese Culture are projected for the coming year and will constitute future volumes intheseries. I wishalloftheseeffortsgreatsuccess. Tang Yijie StanfordUniversity June20. 1990 Copyrightedmaterial PART I THE STRUCTURE AND STUDY OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY Copyrightedmaterial
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