This chapter introduces and examines the philosophy of Feng Youlan 馮友蘭 (Yu-lan Fung 1895–1990). Feng Youlan was one of the major twentieth century Chinese philosophers. He wrote the first complete and comprehensive history of Chinese philosophy, introducing Chinese philosophy to Western audiences in an accessible and systematic way. Moreover, he created his own philosophy, called “New Doctrine of Principle” (xin lixue 新理學), which is a synthesis of Chinese and Western philosophy and an attempt to modernize Chinese philosophy by adopting logical and analytic methodology. His achievements as a historian of Chinese philosophy and as a philosopher with theoretical innovations were among the greatest in modern China. Although some political circumstances associated with the later period of Feng’s life have shadowed his works and his person, it is important to separate his philosophical accomplishments from non-philosophical aspects in evaluation. It is also worth noticing that in recent decades many scholars in mainland China have become more and more sympathetic to Feng’s situation in post-1949 China, given their better understanding of the complexity of the period.

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Feng Youlan

  • Xinyan Jiang

摘要

This chapter introduces and examines the philosophy of Feng Youlan 馮友蘭 (Yu-lan Fung 1895–1990). Feng Youlan was one of the major twentieth century Chinese philosophers. He wrote the first complete and comprehensive history of Chinese philosophy, introducing Chinese philosophy to Western audiences in an accessible and systematic way. Moreover, he created his own philosophy, called “New Doctrine of Principle” (xin lixue 新理學), which is a synthesis of Chinese and Western philosophy and an attempt to modernize Chinese philosophy by adopting logical and analytic methodology. His achievements as a historian of Chinese philosophy and as a philosopher with theoretical innovations were among the greatest in modern China. Although some political circumstances associated with the later period of Feng’s life have shadowed his works and his person, it is important to separate his philosophical accomplishments from non-philosophical aspects in evaluation. It is also worth noticing that in recent decades many scholars in mainland China have become more and more sympathetic to Feng’s situation in post-1949 China, given their better understanding of the complexity of the period.