A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy is an English lecture given by Mr. Feng Youlan when he was a visiting professor at 1947 University of Pennsylvania. In the words of Zhao Fusan, the translator of the book, "the materials are ancient, but the vision is modern." He also called Mr. Feng Youlan "a historian when using historical materials and a philosopher when discussing problems". The ideas and materials of this book written by Mr. Feng Youlan come from China, but the vision of considering philosophical issues comes from the world. Therefore, this book is still a classic of philosophy and culture today. Park geun-hye, the first well-known female president in Korean history, praised this book like this: "In my most difficult period, a Brief History of Chinese Philosophy was written by Feng Youlan, a famous Chinese scholar." It is enough to witness the influence of this book, and it also shows that the classics are never out of date.
Mr. Feng Youlan expounded the history of China's philosophy from the spirit and background of China's philosophy and the comparison of China's historical and cultural predecessors (Confucius, philosopher, Mozi, etc.). ), Taoism, Confucianism and so on. Western philosophy uses its own wisdom and knowledge language.
China's philosophy exists in the traditional culture of China. When it comes to philosophers, many people can name great western philosophers, such as Kant and Hegel, but in the history of China, no one has been exactly labeled as a philosopher. In fact, this is related to the way China cultural people express their thoughts. In terms of expression, China literati like to use proverbs, metaphors and examples to explain the reasons. It is inevitable that they are somewhat incomplete. They use the method of suggestion instead of pouring everything. This is the goal of China's poetry, painting and other arts. In China's literary tradition, a good poem is always eloquent and has endless implications. Thoughtful readers can read poems from outside and between the lines. The function of language lies not in its fixed meaning, but in its hints, which guide people to realize Tao. This is the realm of China's artistic pursuit, and it is also the style of China philosophers to express their thoughts. For example, the well-known first sentence of Saint Amethyst, "Nature is good", can be regarded as the embodiment of Mencius' basic philosophy. Therefore, once upon a time in China, if a person was educated, he was first educated in philosophy. The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean all contain philosophical wisdom.
So what is philosophy? Mr. Feng Youlan said: "Philosophy is a reflection on the system of life." But not everyone reflects on life, and even fewer people do systematic reflection. A philosopher always thinks philosophically, which is called reflection, because he regards life as a process of thinking, in which he systematically expresses his thoughts. Sakyamuni said: "Life is the root of suffering." Can we think that suffering is the wealth of life, and the process of suffering is also a process of thinking and the formation of philosophical thinking? Many people think that China's philosophy is a philosophy of life, and it is hard to say whether this view is right or wrong. China's philosophy is both idealistic and realistic. Very practical, not superficial. China's traditional philosophy emphasizes "learning" and "Tao". "Learning", in modern words, means increasing correct knowledge, "Tao" means improving mind, and philosophy is the latter category. The sage in China can be described as "sage inside and jade outside". "Inner Sage" means that his heart is devoted to spiritual cultivation; "Yu Yu" means that he looks like a king in social activities. The mission of philosophy is to make people establish the character of "being sage inside and being jade outside".
Ordinary people read philosophy, learning philosophy is to make people become people, not to be a special person, a high-ranking person or a person who doesn't eat human fireworks.
Speaking of China's philosophy, we have to say that Confucianism and Taoism in China are the ancestors of China's cultural philosophy. Confucianism is not only China's social philosophy, but also China's philosophy of life, which has the deepest influence on China people. Confucianism emphasizes individual social responsibility, while Taoism emphasizes the naturalness and automaticity of human heart. These two thoughts in China's philosophy are similar to classicism and romanticism in western thought. Reading the poems and songs of Du Fu and Li Bai, two poets who lived in the 8th century, it is not difficult to see the different influences of Confucianism and Taoism, two schools of China thought.
At the same time, Taoism strictly distinguishes between what belongs to nature and human beings, that is, nature gives people happiness and people give people pain, and emphasizes "the unity of man and nature", that is, the unity of man and nature and the universe. Until we step into the modern society today, these are still people's pursuits and longings.
Confucianism is the product of farming culture, economic conditions and geographical environment in China, so it is not difficult for the Chinese nation to understand that Confucianism has become the orthodox philosophy of China in the feudal history of more than 2,000 years.
Confucianism and Taoism have their own views on China's art and poetry. Confucianism regards art and poetry as tools of moral education. Taoism pursues the free flow of the soul and regards nature as the highest ideal, which gives artists endless inspiration.
From this point of view, China's philosophy is contained in the traditional culture of China, blending with each other and influencing China and the world. Modern society advocates Chinese studies and learns China culture. In this learning process, as long as we calm down and take some time to think, we can taste the philosophical wisdom, which is also carefully cultivated by our predecessors and left to the precious spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation in modern times and in the future.
This is just a little feeling after reading this book, and more things need to be studied and thought about.