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Hocbigg - Chinese Philosophy

Contents

Summary

The Chinese Philosophy curriculum is a complete education in Chinese Philosophy using online materials.

Communities

Curriculum

Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

This subject introduces the central concerns, conceptual frameworks, and comparative methodologies of Chinese philosophical traditions from antiquity to the imperial era.

An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy (Cambridge University Press / Karyn Lai) - A systematic introductory textbook examining key debates in ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology across Chinese intellectual history.

Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy (Hackett Publishing / Bryan W. Van Norden) - An accessible primer establishing historical context and core philosophical arguments of the Warring States period.

The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches Us about the Good Life (Harvard University / edX) - Free audit course examining how early Chinese thinkers approached ethics, ritual, and self-cultivation.

Chinese Philosophy Lecture Series (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - A comprehensive university video lecture playlist spanning classical thought, Chinese Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism.

History of Philosophy: Classical China Series (History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps / Peter Adamson & Karyn Lai) - Chronological audio series exploring early Chinese thinkers in their historical context.

Comparative Philosophy: Chinese and Western (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Analyzes methodological issues, translation challenges, and conceptual divergences between Chinese and Western thought.

Classical Confucianism: Kongzi, Mengzi, and Xunzi

This subject covers the foundational period of Confucian thought, focusing on moral self-cultivation, ritual propriety, virtue ethics, and debates over human nature.

Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (Hackett Publishing / Philip J. Ivanhoe & Bryan W. Van Norden, eds.) - The standard primary source anthology containing reliable translations of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi alongside rival Warring States schools.

Confucius: Analects with Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Hackett Publishing / Edward Slingerland, trans.) - A translation that embeds traditional Chinese commentaries directly alongside the aphorisms for essential hermeneutic context.

Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Hackett Publishing / Bryan W. Van Norden, trans.) - Translation highlighting Mencius's moral psychology, virtue theory, and argument for the inherent goodness of human nature.

Xunzi: The Complete Text (Princeton University Press / Eric L. Hutton, trans.) - The definitive complete translation of Xunzi's naturalist philosophy, ritual theory, and argument that human nature requires deliberate reformation.

Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Mencius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Xunzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Classical Daoism: Laozi and Zhuangzi

This subject examines early Daoist philosophy, emphasizing natural spontaneity, non-action (wuwei), skepticism toward conventional values, and linguistic perspectivism.

Daodejing (Hackett Publishing / Philip J. Ivanhoe, trans.) - A philosophical translation providing clear explanations for foundational concepts such as Dao, De, and wuwei.

Zhuangzi: The Complete Writings (Hackett Publishing / Brook Ziporyn, trans.) - An annotated translation capturing the humor, therapeutic paradoxes, and perspectivist epistemology of the Zhuangzi.

The Greatest Daoist Philosopher: Zhuangzi (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - University lecture on Zhuangzi's relativism, skepticism, and critique of conventional moral norms.

Laozi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Zhuangzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Daoism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Comprehensive overview surveying philosophical Daoist ontology, naturalism, and normative skepticism.

Mohism and the School of Names: Ethics, Logic, and Epistemology

This subject investigates Mohist consequentialism, early theories of state authority, linguistic paradoxes, and classical Chinese debates on epistemology and valid disputation.

Mozi: Basic Writings (Columbia University Press / Burton Watson, trans.) - An accessible core translation of the central Mohist doctrines, including impartial caring, opposition to aggressive warfare, and state consequentialism.

The Mozi: A Complete Translation (Columbia University Press / Ian Johnston, trans.) - Complete bilingual edition covering Mohist ethics along with the technical dialectical and logical chapters of the Later Mohists.

Mohism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Detailed analysis of Mohist consequentialism, ethical criteria, and political philosophy.

School of Names (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Explores the linguistic paradoxes and semantic inquiries of Hui Shi and Gongsun Long regarding names and reality.

Logic and Language in Early Chinese Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Examines semantic theory, dialectical disputation, and analogical inference across the Warring States period.

Epistemology in Chinese Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Analyzes classical Chinese conceptions of knowing, perceptual authority, linguistic sorting, and action-guiding knowledge.

Legalism: Statecraft, Power, and Institutional Realism

This subject explores the Legalist (Fa-jia) political tradition, centering on administrative technique, institutional design, the rule of law, and amoral political realism.

Han Feizi: Basic Writings (Columbia University Press / Burton Watson, trans.) - Core primary text detailing Han Feizi's synthesis of statecraft, institutional rewards and punishments, and sovereign power.

The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China (Columbia University Press / Yuri Pines, trans.) - Annotated translation of the foundational text that provided the militarist and administrative architecture for the Qin state.

Legalism in Chinese Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Surveys the institutional realism, administrative mechanics, and political philosophy of the Legalist thinkers.

Han Dynasty Synthesis, Cosmology, and the Philosophy of Change

This subject analyzes the imperial cosmological synthesis that integrated Yin-Yang, the Five Phases (Wuxing), Qi, and the divinatory metaphysics of the Yijing.

Readings in Later Chinese Philosophy: Han to the 20th Century (Hackett Publishing / Justin Tiwald & Bryan W. Van Norden, eds.) - Canonical anthology containing essential primary selections from the Huainanzi, Dong Zhongshu, and imperial correlative cosmologies.

Yinyang: The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture (Cambridge University Press / Robin R. Wang) - Conceptual history of Yin-Yang from early origins to its systematization into a universal explanatory scheme.

Chinese Cosmology (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - University lecture detailing the systemic interaction of Dao, Yin-Yang, Qi (vital energy), and the Five Phases.

Understanding the Classic of Changes (I Ching) (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - Accessible lecture on the structural mechanics, historical evolution, and process metaphysics of the Yijing.

Chinese Philosophy of Change (Yijing) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Examines hexagram symbolism, the Ten Wings commentaries, and the organismic metaphysics of dynamic change.

Philosophy in Han Dynasty China (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Traces the development of imperial syncretism, correlative cosmology, and critical rationalism during the Han era.

Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Systematic reference entry examining Qi, polarity, generation, and immanent order in Chinese ontology.

Chinese Buddhist Philosophy: Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan

This subject investigates the sinification of Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology, focusing on emptiness, interpenetration, Buddha-nature, and sudden awakening.

A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Princeton University Press / Wing-tsit Chan, ed.) - Seminal anthology featuring translated foundational texts and commentary on Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan Buddhist thought.

Basics of Buddhist Philosophy (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - Lecture exploring core Buddhist metaphysics, no-self, dependent origination, and ethical implications.

Buddhism Comes to China (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - Explores the intellectual transformation of Buddhism in China, including debates over monastic authority and harmonization with indigenous schools.

Huayan Buddhism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Explains Fazang's metaphysics, Indra's net, and the mutual non-obstruction of principle (li) and phenomena (shi).

Chan Buddhism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Surveys the epistemology of sudden awakening, language skepticism, and meditative practice in the Chan tradition.

Tiantai Buddhism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Detailed treatment of Zhiyi's Threefold Truth doctrine and the holistic ontology of mutual inclusion.

Neo-Confucianism: Song-Ming Metaphysics and Moral Psychology

This subject examines the intellectual revival of Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, centering on debates over principle (li), material force (qi), mind (xin), and self-cultivation.

Neo-Confucian Philosophy: Technologies of Self-Cultivation (Polity Press / Stephen C. Angle & Justin Tiwald) - Clear, structured guide systematically breaking down Neo-Confucian metaphysics, moral psychology, and self-cultivation practices.

Readings in Later Chinese Philosophy: Han to the 20th Century (Hackett Publishing / Justin Tiwald & Bryan W. Van Norden, eds.) - Provides primary translations of foundational thinkers including Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, the Cheng brothers, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming.

China's Favorite Confucian: Wang Yangming (Bryan Van Norden / YouTube) - University lecture on Wang Yangming's critique of Zhu Xi, the unity of knowing and acting, and innate moral knowledge (liangzhi).

Song-Ming Confucianism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Foundational overview tracing the revival of Confucian thought and the split between the School of Principle and School of Mind.

Zhu Xi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Detailed breakdown of Zhu Xi's synthesis of the Four Books, the investigation of things (gewu), and the dualism of li and qi.

Wang Yangming (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Critical analysis of Wang's School of Heart-Mind, the unity of knowing and acting, and original moral consciousness.

Neo-Confucian Philosophy (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - An accessible survey tracing the historical lineage from Northern Song pioneers through Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming.