A Short History of Chinese Philosophy《中国哲学简史》

By Fung Yulan 冯友兰

The author Feng Youlan was hired as a chair professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 1947, teaching the history of Chinese philosophy. His English speeches were edited and written into "A Short History of Chinese Philosophy", which was published in 1948 by the McMillan Company of the United States. As soon as this book came out, it immediately became the first-choice introductory book for Westerners to understand and learn Chinese philosophy. Later, translations were published in French, Italian, Spanish, Yugoslav, and Japanese. For many years, this monograph has been a general textbook for Chinese philosophy in universities around the world and has had a great influence on the West.

"A Short History of Chinese Philosophy" has 28 chapters, covering the spirit and background of Chinese philosophy, including philosophical masters like Confucius, Laozi, Mozi, Xunzi, Han Feizi and other pre-Qin masters, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and other philosophical schools, as well as representative schools in Chinese history, and discussing the relationship between Chinese philosophy and the contemporary world.

In the book "A Short History of Chinese Philosophy", Feng Youlan first introduced the spirit and background of Chinese philosophy, which is based on the differences in the temperament and tradition of Chinese and Western philosophy. The book was originally written for Western readers, so it is necessary to introduce the spirit of Chinese philosophy and its geographical and economic background. It can be said that the first and second chapters are a high-level generalization and clarification of what Chinese philosophy is and why.

The third chapter is the beginning of Feng Youlan's formal writing of the brief history. Feng Youlan takes time as the thread to describe the development and origins of the philosophical thoughts of the various schools and presents us with the scene of cultural prosperity and contention of a hundred schools at that time. Afterward, on the development of each school, the book expounds the historical process of the evolution of each school, showing the entire history of Chinese philosophy macroscopically and concisely.

The Spirit of the Chinese People《中国人的精神》

By Ku Hongming 辜鸿铭

The Chinese Spirit is a book published by Yilin Publishing House in August 2012, authored by Gu Hongming. "The Spirit of the Chinese" is a famous worldwide by Gu Hongming, a "maverick in the late Qing Dynasty".

" The Spirit of the Chinese People ", also known as "Chunqiu Dayi", is Gu Hongming's most influential representative work in English. The whole book was published by the author in the English newspaper "China Review" in 1914 and is a series of English papers assembled with "Chinese Spirit" as the core. It is an early representative work of comparing Eastern and Western cultures. The main purpose of Gu Hongming's discussion is to reveal the spiritual life of the Chinese people and to elucidate the eternal value of Chinese traditional culture.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, China's image has been seriously distorted. Gu Hongming, who has learned both Chinese and Western, published "The Spirit of the Chinese" in English in 1915. With his own pen, he maintained the dignity of Chinese culture and changed some Westerners' prejudice against China. As soon as this book came out, it caused a sensation in the West and was later translated into various languages.

In his book, Gu Hongming compared the Chinese with Americans, British, Germans, and French, pointing out that the Chinese possess four virtues: profound, broad, simple, and spiritual at the same time, and he also held that problems in western societies should be addressed with Chinese thoughts.

This book strives to defend traditional Chinese culture. After its publication, it has aroused great repercussions in Western society. It has been translated into German, French, Chinese, and other languages, and has been republished many times. Germany set off decades of "Gu Hongming Frenzy" because of this book.

Tao Te Ching《道德经》

By Laozi 老子

The work Tao Te Ching was written by ancient Chinese pre-Qin scholars before the division of philosophical thoughts. It was admired by all the scholars at that time. It is said that the book was written by Lao Tzu (Li Er) in the Spring and Autumn Period, and it is an important source of Taoist philosophical thoughts. The Tao Te Ching is divided into two chapters. In the beginning, the first part, "Tao Ching" and the second part, "Te Ching", are not divided; but later changed into two parts, with the former 37 chapters belonging to the first part and the latter 38 to the second. The text takes "morality" in the philosophical sense as the guiding principle, discusses the ways of self-cultivation, governance of the country, military use, and health preservation, but mostly takes politics as the purpose. With "a saint inside and a king outside" as its core, the book is profound and encompassing.

The Tao Te Ching covers philosophy, ethics, political science, military science, and many other disciplines. It has a far-reaching impact on Chinese philosophy, science, politics, religion, etc., and reflects a world outlook and outlook on life of the ancient Chinese. All the cultural thoughts of the pre-Qin masters and the Chinese were not unaffected by Lao Tzu, and were hailed as the king of all scriptures. The influence of Tao Te Ching is also multi-faceted, including politics, culture, science, religion, and so on. According to incomplete statistics from the Yuan Dynasty, since the pre-Qin period, there have been more than 3,000 kinds of writings and annotations from the study till the Yuan Dynasty, with no less than 1,000 being representative ones, which illustrates the huge influence of the Tao Te Ching.

This version, translated by Raymond Bernard Brackney, the former president of Olivet College in the United States, has become a popular classic in the world. The text is easy to understand, and the interpretation is rigorous and highly restored. Besides, it is also a good material for Chinese English learners to enjoy authentic English from a western perspective.

The Seven Military Classics Of Ancient China (History and Warfare)《武经七书》

Translated by Ralph D. Sawyer 拉尔夫·D·索耶 译

"The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China" is a series of books on the art of war issued by the court of the Northern Song Dynasty as an official book, and it is the first military textbook in ancient China. It is compiled from seven famous military books, "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Wu Tzu's Art of War", "Six Taos", "Sima Art", "Three Strategies", "Wei Liao Zi", and "Li Wei Gong's Questions". Since the Song Dynasty, this series, which has been a must-read in martial arts, concentrated on the essence of ancient Chinese military writings. The emphasis on military historiography is also a prominent feature. The Seven Books is a contribution of the Northern Song Dynasty to the construction of military theory, and basically includes the representative works of ancient Chinese military writings before Song Dynasty. It expounds a series of military strategic thoughts and tactical principles and condenses the essence of ancient Chinese people's understanding of war. Whether in theory or in practice, it has had a profound impact on later generations and even the world.

It is the essence of ancient Chinese military books and a treasure of Chinese military theory. It is not only the spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation but also the common spiritual wealth of the people of the world. It laid the foundation of ancient Chinese military science and played a positive role in the development of modern military science in China and the world. The revision and promulgation of the "Seven Military Classics Of Ancient China" was a contribution of the Northern Song Dynasty to military theory. The Seven Books concentrates the essence of ancient Chinese art of war and was identified as a classic of military science by the Song Dynasty and later generations, which had an important impact on the development of Chinese military thought. Various annotations are useful for people to study these books.