A S O U R C E B O O K I N
C H I N E S E P H I L O S O P H Y
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
A S O U R C E B O O K I N
CHINESE
PHILOSOPHY
TRANSLATED AND COMPILED BY
WING-TSIT CHAN
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © 1963 by Princeton University Press
L.C. Card: 62-7398
ISBN 0-691-07137-3
•
Chapter 7, "The Natural Way of Lao Tzu," with additional notes and
comments, has been published as The Way of Lao Tzu,
copyright © 1963, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
•
Publication of this book has been aided by
the Ford Foundation program to support publication,
through university presses, of
works in the humanities and social sciences,
as well as by grants from the John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation, the Edward W. Hazen Foundation,
and the McInerny Foundation.
•
Wing-tsit Chan, now Anna R. D. Gillespie Professor of Philosophy at
Chatham College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is also
Professor of Chinese Culture and Philosophy Emeritus
at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. He did
his undergraduate work at Lingnan University
in Canton, China, and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.
He has taught both in China and in this
country since 1929, and is the author of many distinguished
publications in the field of Chinese philosophy.
•
First PRINCETON PAPERBACK Edition, 1969
TO GREGG M. SINCLAIR
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
• • • FOREWORD • • •
ONE OF THE HOPEFUL SIGNS in these otherwise hectic times in which
we are living is the long-overdue realization of the need for mutual
understanding between the peoples of the East and those of the West.
Genuine understanding of people who are separated from us by great
distances or who differ from us in language, in way of life, in social
custom, is difficult to achieve, even for those who are sincerely dedicated
to this task.
Such understanding is vital—humanly, intellectually, practically—
but it cannot be achieved through any superficial assessment of words or
actions which are often unrevealing or possibly even misleading. It can
be achieved only through a searching and serious study of the dominant
ideas, the motivating beliefs that have, down through the ages, shaped
the "mind," or over-all philosophy, of a race or a nation.
In getting at this basic philosophy, the only procedure available to
the outsider is to study the thought of the intellectual leaders, the molders
of the thought of the culture as a whole. And the only way to reach these
great minds is through their own words. No amount of second-hand ex-
planation or description or interpretation can assure the student that he
is getting at the real mind of the thinker. Studying the original (even in
translation), with the aid of knowledgeable guides where necessary—
this alone can make for clarity of comprehension and assurance of au-
thenticity.
This Source Book is devoted to the purpose of providing such a basis
for genuine understanding of Chinese thought (and thereby of Chinese
life and culture, since the relationship between the two is probably more
pronounced in China than in any other country). It brings to English-
speaking Westerners the basic materials for serious work in Chinese
philosophy, which in its profundity and its long historical development is
probably less adequately understood than that of any other great civiliza-
tion in the world today. By virtue of misguided selection of only ancient
texts, or popular texts, or texts which are primarily literary rather than
technical, the Chinese philosophical tradition has been distorted out of
all proportions. The Western philosopher, if he would be a true philoso-
pher in considering all the experiences, insights, and systematic intel-
lectual speculation of mankind as data for his comprehensive philosophi-
cal thinking, can no longer remain blind to the important insights of the
great Chinese minds of history. The Chinese philosophers have much to
contribute in many areas of the broad quest for truth, and it is high time
that we in the West overcome our basic ignorance of this field, or at least
vii
FOREWORD
attempt to correct the limited and possibly distorted interpretations that
we now have.
This Source Book is indeed a milestone along the complex and difficult
road to significant understanding by Westerners of the Asian peoples,
and a monumental contribution to the cause of philosophy. It is the first
anthology of Chinese philosophy to cover its entire historical develop-
ment. It provides substantial selections from all the great thinkers and
schools in every period—ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary
—and includes in their entirety some of the most important classical
texts. It deals with the fundamental and technical as well as the more
general aspects of Chinese thought. With its new translation of source
materials (some translated for the first time), its explanatory aids where
necessary, its thoroughgoing scholarly documentation, this volume will
be an indispensable guide for scholars, for college students, for serious
readers interested in knowing the real China.
I must take this opportunity, on behalf of all who are seriously con-
cerned about the development of greater understanding of Asian philos-
ophy, to thank Dr. Chan for producing this significant volume. Dr.
Chan has taught Chinese philosophy in both China and the United States
and, as far as I know, is the only Chinese philosopher who has taught
in the United States in this one field continuously for more than 25 years.
He knows thoroughly the needs and problems of students of Chinese
philosophy—and, as a public lecturer, he is also well aware of the in-
terests of the educated public. He brings to this work the valuable bene-
fits and advantages of this unique background and experience. The task
he has undertaken has been stupendous. Few scholars could have—or
would have—undertaken it; no one else could have handled it so well.
As mentioned by Dr. Chan in the preface, this volume is the second
in a series of Source Books in Asian philosophy. The first volume, A
Source Book in Indian Philosophy, edited by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and
myself, was published by Princeton University Press in 1957 and was
reissued in 1959. "A Source Book in Buddhist Philosophy," intended
as a third volume in this series, is now in preparation.
Charles A. Moore
Honolulu, Hawaii
viii
••• PREFACE •••
CHINA has changed more in the twentieth century than in any period in
her history. She has overthrown a 3,000-year-old monarchic system. She
has replaced the 1,300-year-old examination institution with modern
education. Men and women are for the first time equal. And she has
embraced Communism. These radical transformations and many more
have forced Westerners to ask why they have taken place. The search is
no longer one for information but for explanation. Realizing that neither
contemporary factors nor external influences alone can provide the
answer, they have begun to probe into Chinese thought. And since
Chinese thought is predominantly Confucian, they have looked into
Confucian teachings with great seriousness.
The study of Confucianism in the West is not new. James Legge's
translation of the Confucian Classics began a century ago. Unfortunately,
Western studies of Chinese philosophy have been largely confined to
ancient Confucianism and its rival systems, as if Chinese Buddhism were
not Chinese, Neo-Taoism did not exist, and later Confucianism but a
footnote to the Confucian Classics or at best a de luxe edition of them.
But the fact is that Chinese thought and the Chinese way of life in the
last several hundred years have, generally speaking, been the product of
Neo-Confucianism, which thrived from the twelfth to the sixteenth cen-
tury, and Neo-Confucianism is itself an outgrowth of ancient Confucian-
ism, modified by Taoism and Buddhism. Therefore, in order to under-
stand the mind of China, it is absolutely necessary to understand Chinese
thought, especially Neo-Confucianism, in its entire historical develop-
ment. The present book has been prepared primarily to meet this urgent
need.
In attempting to maintain an historical perspective, I have throughout
this work tried to strike a balance between the modern, medieval, and
ancient periods as well as between Confucianism, Taoism, and Bud-
dhism. The selections presented herein have been chosen with this
balance and perspective in view. In the chapters from the Analects, for
example, special attention has been given to sayings on knowledge,
human nature, human destiny, Heaven, and the like—perennial prob-
lems in Chinese philosophy—but only to the extent that such selectivity
does not distort the total teaching of Confucius. Moreover, my choice
of philosophers and schools has been guided by their relative influence
on the development of Chinese thought, not by the temporary interest
of non-Chinese scholars. Many Western scholars, for example, have been
much interested in Wang Ch'ung (27-100?), evidently because of his
skepticism and naturalism, but have been little interested in Wang Pi
ix
PREFACE
(226-249). In terms of philosophical influence, however, Wang Ch'ung
is almost insignificant whereas Wang Pi is of tremendous importance. I
have therefore given much more space to Wang Pi than to Wang Ch'ung
in proportion to the amount of their writing. Finally, my introductions to
the translations and comments on specific selections were written not
only to make the passages more meaningful and stimulating to the
reader, but also to show the interconnections between the various periods
and between the different schools of Chinese philosophy.
Wherever practicable, I have translated whole pieces. The present
work includes four books (the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean,
the Lao Tzu, and the T'ung-shu [Penetrating the Book of Changes])
by Chou Tun-i and thirty-seven chapters or treatises in their entirety1
besides many chapters almost complete.
I have chosen to translate the entire material myself instead of using
existing materials for several reasons. One reason is to achieve consis-
tency in translation, which is absolutely necessary for an adequate un-
derstanding of either an individual work or the historical development
of Chinese philosophy. Take, for example, the concept of chung-hsin
(loyalty and faithfulness), a basic concept in the Analects.2 It is clear
and definite, and no variation in translation is justified. Translations by
Waley, Legge, and Lin Yutang are admirable in many respects but they
are not consistent.
The second reason for a fresh translation is that much research has
been done and many commentaries have been published since most of
the existing translations appeared. Not many existing translations
have made use of research scholarship and commentaries in the first
place. In any case, recent materials cannot be ignored, for they have
thrown much light on various subjects. There are about 350 existing
commentaries on the Lao Tzu and over a hundred on the Chuang Tzu.
I have not consulted all of them but have seen a good number although
only the most important ones have been mentioned. It is the consultation
of commentaries and recent studies that has made me differ from other
translations in many places. In cases where alternate interpretations of-
fered by different commentators seem to be of equal merit, I have in-
dicated them in the footnotes.
1
These are: one from Mencius (ch. 3); one from the Hsün Tzu (ch. 6); two
from the Chuang Tzu (ch. 8); three from the Mo Tzu (ch. 9); five from the Kung-
sun Lung Tzu (ch. 10); four by Tung Chung-shu (ch. 14); one by Wang Pi (ch.
19); two by Seng-chao (ch. 21); the Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu (ch. 23);
three by Chi-tsang (ch. 25); two by Han Yü (ch. 27); one by Chou Tun-i (ch. 28);
three by Chang Tsai (ch. 30); two by Ch'eng Hao (ch. 31); two by Ch'eng I
(ch. 32); four by Chu Hsi (ch. 34); and one by Wang Yang-ming (ch. 35).
2 1:8; 5:27; 7:24; 9:24; 12:10; 15:5.
x
PREFACE
The third reason for a new translation is that many Chinese technical
philosophical terms, especially those of Neo-Confucianism and Bud-
dhism, require a new rendering. Until recently, there had not been suf-
ficient tools to help the translator. Chinese dictionaries and encyclopedias
are geared to Chinese literature, not philosophy, and many technical philo-
sophical terms are not included. The publication of the monumental
Daikanwa jiten (Great Chinese-Japanese Dictonary) in 1955-1960
has been a tremendous help to scholars. But even this great dictionary,
with more than half a million terms, leaves some important philosophical
terms out.8 Without adequate tools to help them, many translators have
rendered technical terms in their popular meanings. Thus ching is often
translated as "reverence," which will do so far as its popular sense is
concerned but not as a technical term in Neo-Confucianism.4 Unfortu-
nately there are very few tools to help the translator on Neo-Confucian
terms. The situation is much better in Buddhism, for excellent diction-
aries do exist. But even these dictionaries are not complete. The entry
cheng-chü, does not appear in them, for example. This term ordinarily
means "proof," but when one looks into commentaries on Buddhist
texts, one finds it to have a special meaning "to show" or "to demon-
strate."
Some Chinese terms are so complicated in meaning that there are no
English equivalents for them and they therefore have to be transliterated.
I have, however, kept these transliterations to a minimum. I prefer to
have a term translated even though the translation may not be entirely
satisfactory. More about these difficult translations will be said in the
Appendix.
I have used what I believe to be the best texts. In almost every text
there are variations of individual words. These are noted only when the
sense is seriously affected. And I have not noted obvious misprints
or misplaced phrases. All titles have been translated. With the excep-
tion of some twelve cases, the sources of the 900-odd quotations have
been given. Some sources are indicated in the original texts, but in most
cases they had to be traced. Since for many of these there is no indication
at all that they are quotations, and since indexes for most works are non-
existent, to find their origin is often like "fishing up a needle from the
bottom of a sea," as the common Chinese saying goes. But the identifica-
tion of sources is necessary to show the reader the historical and philo-
sophical connections between Chinese thinkers. It also enables him to
check the context if he so desires. Those sayings or phrases that have al-
ready become established expressions are ordinarily no longer under-
3
For example, chih-ming, or until destiny is fulfilled.
4
See Appendix.
xi
PREFACE
stood as quotations and there is therefore no need to trace their sources.
In most cases where an English translation is available, a specific page
reference is given to enable a comparison if desired.
The order of chapters is not strictly chronological but grouped by
schools within major periods, so as to give a better picture of the re-
lation of schools. The translated materials in each chapter are, for the
most part, arranged in their original order, with the original section or
chapter numbers retained. Wherever the original order does not give a
logical or well-rounded picture, however, selections are grouped under
topics, with consecutive numbers assigned for easy reference.
In many chapters a list of topics and references is given at the end of
the introduction. These chapters are indicated by an asterisk at the
end of their titles in the Table of Contents. Unless otherwise indicated,
all footnotes and insertions in parentheses and brackets are mine. Brack-
ets are intended for extraneous material while parentheses are for ex-
planation and identification. But it is not always easy to draw the line.
Except for some contemporaries who put their personal names before
their family names (as I do), Chinese and Japanese names are given in
the Chinese order, that is, with the family name first. Chinese and Japa-
nese scholars are not consistent in using the various names of Chinese
writers. Here the private names of philosophers, rather than their cour-
tesy or literary names, are used, except in the cases of Lu Hsiang-shan
and Wang Yang-ming, who are generally known in China, Japan, and
the West by their honorific names. Wherever desirable, courtesy, literary,
and other alternate names are given in parentheses to help identification.
Chinese words and names are romanized according to the modified
Wade-Giles system, save for well-known geographical and personal
names which do not conform to it. Unnecessary diacritical marks, how-
ever, have been omitted. Dates of persons, if known, are provided in all
cases except for those who are mentioned purely incidentally and
for Western and contemporary Asian writers. The dates of Con-
fucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, and Chuang Tzu are given only in the chap-
ters on them. The traditional Chinese calendar year is equated with its
corresponding Western year, though the two do not exactly coincide.
Thus 1525, for example, refers to the fourth year of the Chia-ching
period. In China when a person is said to be fifty, for instance, it means
he is in his fiftieth calendar year. I have followed this custom in referring
to age.
xii
••• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS •••
IT IS DIFFICULT to say when the preparation of this book began. In
1948-1949 I was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to prepare an an-
thology on Neo-Confucianism. Part of the material has gone into Sources
of Chinese Tradition which was compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary,
Burton Watson, and myself and published by Columbia University
Press. The entire material now forms part of this book. More work was
done in 1955-1956 under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Both
Dr. Henry Alien Moe, Vice-President and Secretary-General of the John
Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and Dr. Charles B. Fahs,
former Director for the Humanities of the Rockefeller Foundation, have
shown great interest and given strong encouragement, for which I am
thankful.
I wish also to thank the Harvard-Yenching Library and its Librarian,
Dr. K'ai-ming A. Ch'iu, the East Asiatic Library of Columbia University
and its Librarian, Mr. Howard P. Linton, the staff of Baker Library,
especially its Reference Division, of Dartmouth College, and Miss
Naomi Fukuda, Librarian of the International House of Japan, who has
been most helpful in locating and microfilming Japanese works for me.
The Ford Foundation, The Hazen Foundation, The Guggenheim Foun-
dation, and The McInerny Foundation have generously made grants
toward the publication of this book. I am deeply grateful to them. Need-
less to say, they are neither sponsors of the book nor responsible for its
opinions, but their interest in promoting the study of Chinese philosophy
is extremely encouraging. I am also grateful to the American Council
of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council for a
research grant in 1959 as well as to Dartmouth College for financial aid
in preparing this book. To Columbia University Press I express my ap-
preciation for its kind permission to use certain translations which I con-
tributed to two of its publications, Sources of Chinese Tradition, already
mentioned, and Instructions for Practical Living, and Other Neo-Con-
fucian Writings by Wang Yang-ming, translated by myself. These trans-
lations form small parts of present chapters 19, 24, 26, 28-35. I have
made some changes in them. Many friends have been keenly interested
in this work and have provided much inspiration. I particularly appre-
ciate the encouragement of Professor Edwin A. Burtt of Cornell Univer-
sity and Professor Alban G. Widgery of Duke University. My col-
league Professor Arthur Dewing, whom I have interrupted many a
ti