A concise alphabetic guide to the main concepts, figures, topics and important movements of thought that have shaped Chinese philosophy over the last three thousand years.

Table of Contents

• Series Editor's Preface
• Introduction
• Using This Book
• Acknowledgements
• A
• aesthetics
• Ai Si-qi (1910-66)
• Analects
• analysis / analytic methodology / analytic philosophy
• analytic movement in modern Chinese philosophy
• argumentation/argument
• argument by analogy
• B
• being versus becoming
• Buddha
• Buddhism / Buddhist
• Buddhist karma and samsara
• C
• Chan (Zen) Buddhism (Chan-Zong )
• cheng (sincerity)
• Cheng Hao (Ch'eng Hao)
• Cheng Yi (Ch'eng I)
• Chinese Buddhism
• Chinese language and its related folk way of thinking
• Chinese language and reflective way of thinking in Chinese philosophy
• Chinese philosophy
• Classical (pre-Qin) Confucianism
• Classical Daoism / Lao-Zhuang Daoism / Lao-Zhuang Philosophy
• comparative philosophy
• conduct ethics
• Confucianism (Ru-Jia ) / Confucian
• Confucius (Kong Zi)
• Consciousness-Only Buddhism (Wei-Shi-Zong)
• consequentialism
• constructive engagement (methodology/purpose)
• constructive engagement movement in modern Chinese philosophy
• Contemporary Neo-Confucianism (dang-dai-Xin-Ru-Xue)
• “Continental” philosophy study movement in modern Chinese philosophy
• correlative thinking (correlative way of thinking)
• cosmology
• D
• Da-Xue (Ta Hsüeh) (Great Learning)
• Dai Zhen (Tai Chen) (style name “Dong-yuan” : 1723-77)
• dao (Way or the way things are; ultimate reality or the ultimate)
• Dao-De-Jing (Tao Te Ching)
• Daoism / philosophical Daoism / Daoist (Dao-Jia )
• Dao-Tong
• Dao-Xue (Learning of Dao)
• de (virtue; manifestations of the dao)
• determinism
• dialectical materialism and its development in China
• Dong Zhong-shu (Tung Chung-shu) (c. 179-104 BCE)
• dualism
• E
• egoism
• enlightenment (in Buddhism)
• enlightenment movement in modern Chinese philosophy
• epistemology
• er-di [lun] (double-truth account)
• ethics
• evocative argumentation
• F
• Fa-Jia
• Fa Zang (Fa-tsang) (643-712)
• Fan Zhen (450-515)
• Fang Dong-mei (Thomé H. Fang) (1899-1977)
• fatalism
• filial piety
• freedom
• Fung Yu-lan (Feng You-lan) (1895-1990)
• G
• ge-wu-zhi-zhi (investigating things and extending knowledge)
• global philosophy
• Golden Rule
• Gong-sun Long (Kung-sun Lung) (284-259 BCE)
• Graham Angus Charles (1919-91)
• gua
• Guan-Zi (Kuan Tzu) (The Book of Master Guan)
• Guo Xiang (Kuo Hsiang) (d. 312)
• H
• Han Fei (Han Fei Zi / Han Fei Tzu) (280-233 BCE)
• harmony
• he (harmony/harmonious; peace; concord)
• He Lin (1902-92)
• heart-mind
• heaven
• historical materialism
• holism
• Hong Qian (Hung Tscha) (1909-92)
• Hu Shi (Hu Shih) (1891-1962)
• Hua-Yan Buddhism (Hua-Yan-Zong)
• Huai-Nan-Zi (Huai-nan Tzu)
• Huang Zong-xi (Huang Tsung-hsi) (style name “Tai-chong” honorific name “Li-zhou” 1610-95)
• Hui Neng (638-713)
• Hui Shi (Hui Shih) (350-260 BCE)
• Hui Shi's Ten Propositions
• human (moral) nature
• humanism
• humanity
• I
• idealism
• ideographic language
• inner sageliness and outer kingliness
• intuition
• J
• Ji Zang (Chi-tsang) (549-623)
• Jin Yue-lin (1895-1984)
• jun-zi (morally superior person)
• justice
• K
• Kang You-wei (K'ang Yu-wei) (style name “Guangsha” alternative name “Chang-su” 1858-1927)
• knowledge
• L
• Lao Zi (Lao Tzu) (his legendary family name is “Li” given name “Er” style name “Dan” before the fourth century BCE?)
• Legalism / Legalists (Fa-Jia
• li (rules of propriety; rites)
• li (principle, pattern, reason, or rationale)
• li-xue (study of principle)
• li-yi-fen-shu (one principle with many manifestations)
• Liang Qi-chao (Liang Ch'i-ch'ao) (style name “Zhuoru” 1873-1929)
• Liang Shu-ming (style name “Shou-ming” 1893-1988)
• liang-zhi (innate knowledge)
• Lie-Zi (Lieh-tzu)
• logical argumentation
• Lu Jiu-yuan (Lu Chiu-yüan) (style name “Zi-jing” honorific name “Xiang-shan” (Hsiang-shan) 1139-93)
• Lun-Yü (the Analects)
• M
• Madhyamika Buddhism
• Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) Buddhism
• Mao Ze-dong (Mao Tse-dung) (1893-1976)
• Marxist philosophy
• materialism / materialist
• Marxist approach to knowledge in modern Chinese philosophy
• Mencius (Meng Zi, Meng Tzu) (given name “Ke” style name “Zi-Yü” 371-289 BCE)
• Mencius (Meng-Zi) (The Book of Mencius)
• metaphysics (xin-er-shang-xue)
• methodology (method)
• Ming-Jia
• Mo-Jia
• Mo Zi (Mo Tzu) (given name “Di” 470-391 BCE)
• Mo-Zi (Mo Tzu)
• Mohism / Mohist (Mo-Jia
• moral cultivation
• moral discretion
• morality
• Mou Zong-san (Mou Tsung-san) (1909-95)
• mystical/mysticism
• N
• nature/natural
• naturalism
• nei-sheng-wai-wang (inner sageliness and outer kingliness)
• Neo-Confucianism (Song-Ming Confucianism)
• Neo-Daoism
• New Confucianism
• nirvana (enlightenment / emancipation)
• nominalism
• O
• one principle with its many manifestations
• ontology
• P
• perspectivism
• philosophy / philosophical inquiry (zhe-xue ) and philosophy in China
• prajna
• pluralism
• pragmatic / pragmatism / pragmatics
• principle
• Pure-Land Buddhism (Jing-Tu-Zong)
• Q
• qi (ch'i)
• qing (ch'ing) (affections, emotions) and li (principle, rationale)
• Qing Confucianism
• quan (ch’üan) (moral discretion)
• R
• rationality / rational
• realism
• reason
• rectification of names
• reference (the issue of reference)
• ren (jen) (humanity, human-heartedness)
• righteousness
• S
• sage / sage king
• School of Names (Ming-Jia )
• self-constitution, at the individual level
• Self-constitution, at the social level
• self-cultivation (xiu-shen )
• self-freedom
• semantic / semantics
• Seng Zhao (Seng-chao) (384-414)
• Shang Yang (real name “Gong-sun Yang” : died 338 BCE)
• Shao Yong (Shao Yung) (style name “Yao-fu” : 1011-77)
• Shen Dao (Shen Tao) (c. 350-275 BCE)
• shi-fei (what is this versus not what is this; being this versus being not this; right/adequate versus wrong/ inadquate)
• shu
• Si-Shu (the Four Books)
• sincerity
• skepticism
• Sun Zi (given name “Wu” fourth century BCE)
• synthesis / synthetic
• T
• tai-ji (the great ultimate)
• Tang Jun-yi (T'ang Chün-i) (1909-78)
• Three-Treatise (Middle-Way) Buddhism (San-Lun-Zong)
• tian (t'ien) (heaven; nature-sky-heaven)
• tian-ming (decrees or mandate of heaven)
• tian-ren-he-yi (unity of heaven and the human)
• Tian-Tai (T'ien T'ai) Buddhism
• transcendence / transcendental
• truth
• U
• ultimate concerns
• unity of heaven and the human
• unity of knowledge and action
• universals
• utilitarianism
• V
• virtue
• virtue ethics
• W
• Wang Bi (Wang Pi) (style name “Fu-si” : 226-249)
• Wang Chong (Wang Ch'ung) (style name “Zhong-ren” (: 27-97)
• Wang Fu-zhi (Wang Fu-chih) (style name “Er-nong” alternative name ‘Chuan-shan’ : 1619-92)
• Wang Guo-wei (Wang Kuo-wei) (style name “Jing-an” : 1877-1927)
• Wang Shou-ren (Yang-ming) (style name “Bo-an” ; honorific name “Yang-ming” : 1472-1529)
• Wei-Shi Buddhism
• “White-Horse-Not-Horse” (bai-ma-fei-ma) thesis
• world philosophy
• wu
• wu-wei (non-action)
• wu-xing (wu-hsing) (five phases; five powers)
• X
• Xi (Ji) Kang (Hsi K'ang) (223-62; is pronounced “ji” in modern Chinese)
• xiao (hsiao) (filial piety)
• xin (hsin) (heart-mind or mind-heart)
• xin-xue (study of mind-heart)
• xing
• Xiong Shi-li (Hsiung Shih-li) (alternative name “Zizhen” : 1885-1968)
• xiu-sheng
• xu (hsü) (empty/emptiness; vacuous/vacuity)
• Xuan Zang (Hsüan-tsang) (596-664)
• Xun Zi (Hsün Tzu) (given name “Kuang” ; style name “Qing” : c. 300-230 BCE)
• Xun-Zi (Hsün Tsu) (Books of Xun Zi)
• Y
• Yan Fu (Yen Fu) (style name “Ji-dao” : 1853-1921)
• Yan Yuan (Yen Yüan) (style name “Yi-zhi” : 1635-1704)
• yan-yi-zhi-bian (the debate on the relation between speech and meaning)
• Yang Zhu (Yang Chu) (fifth century BCE?)
• Yangism / Yangists
• yi
• yi (righteousness)
• Yi-Jing (I Ching)
• Yi-Zhuan
• yin-yang
• yin-yang metaphysical vision (in the Yi-Jing)
• yin-yang way of thinking (yin-yang model of interaction and transformation)
• you (to have, being)
• you versus wu (being versus non-being)
• Z
• Zen Buddhism
• Zhang Dai-nian (style name “Ji-tong” : 1909-2004)
• Zhang Dong-sun (Chang Tung-sun) (style name “Sheng-xin” : 1886-1973)
• Zhang Xue-cheng (Chang Hsüeh-ch'eng) (style name “Shi-zhai” : 1738-1801)
• Zhang Zai (Chang Tsai) (style name “Zi-hou” honorific name “Heng-qu” : 1020-77)
• zheng-ming (rectification of names)
• zhi
• zhi-xing-he-yi (chih-hsing-ho-i) (unity of knowledge and action)
• zhong (chung) (sincere commitment; loyalty)
• Zhong-Yong (Chung Yung) (Doctrine of the Mean or Centrality and Commonality)
• Zhou Dun-yi (Chou Tun-i) (style name “Mao-shu” honorific name “Lian-xi” : 1017-73)
• Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi) (style names “Yuan-hui” and “Zhong-hui” : 1130-1200)
• Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) (given name “Zhou” : 375-300 BCE)
• Zhuang-Zi (the Chuang Tzu)
• zi-ran
• Zou Yan (Tsou Yen) (305-240 BCE)
• Subject Bibliography: Selected Further Reading
• Appendix 1: Comparative Chronology of Philosophers
• Appendix 2: Note on Transcription and Guide to Pronunciation