Thome H. Fang, Tang Junyi and Huayan Thought: A Confucian Appropriation of Buddhist Ideas in Response to Scientism in Twentieth-Century China

274 Pages·2016·1.71 MB·English

by  King Pong Chiu

Thomé H. Fang, Tang Junyi and Huayan Thought
Modern Chinese Philosophy
Edited by
John Makeham, Australian National University
Volume 8
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/mcp
Thomé H. Fang, Tang Junyi and
Huayan Thought
A Confucian Appropriation of Buddhist Ideas in
Response to Scientism in Twentieth-Century China
By
King Pong Chiu
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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To my parents,
Chiu Sik Lan 趙錫蘭 and Lee Siu Wing 李小穎,
my wife, Ting Ting 婷婷 and
my daughter, Tze Ning 子寧
∵

Contents
Acknowledgements xi
List of Figure and Tables xii
List of Abbreviations xiii
A Note on Transliteration and Translation xv
1 Introduction: Research Questions and Methodology 1
1.1 Research Questions 1
1.2 Methodology 7
2 The Historical Context of Modern Confucian Thinkers’ Appropriations
of Buddhist Ideas 16
2.1 ‘Ti’ and ‘Yong’ as a Theoretical Framework 16
2.2 The Western Challenge and the Chinese Response—
An Overview 18
2.2.1 T he Declining Status of Confucianism from the Mid-Nineteenth
Century 22
2.2.2 ‘ Scientism’ as a Western Challenge in Early Twentieth-Century
China 30
2.2.3 S earching for New Sources for Cultural Transformation as the
Chinese Response 35
2.3 Confucian Thinkers’ Appropriations of Buddhist Thought—
An Overview 42
2.4 Classical Huayan Thought and its Modern Development 51
2.4.1 A Brief History of the Huayan School in the Tang Dynasty 51
2.4.2 The Foundation of Huayan Thought 54
2.4.3 Key Concepts in Huayan Thought 60
2.4.4 The Modern Development of the Huayan School 74
2.5 Fang and Tang as Models of ‘Chinese Hermeneutics’—A Preliminary
Discussion 75
3 Thomé H. Fang and Huayan Thought 80
3.1 Thomé H. Fang’s General Philosophy 80
3.1.1 The Life of Fang and Major Characteristics of his Work 80
3.1.2 Fang on ‘Scientism’ and the Failure of Western Culture 86
3.1.3 F ang on the Purpose of Philosophy and the Characteristics of
Metaphysics 88
viii contents
3.1.4 I ntroduction to the ‘Correlative Structure of Men and the World’
or ‘Blueprint’ 91
3.1.5 The Force behind Self-Exaltation—Creative Creativity 97
3.1.6 ‘Comprehensive Harmony’ as a Criterion for Evaluation 101
3.1.7 A Discussion of Fang’s Thought 103
3.2 Thomé H. Fang’s Interpretation of Huayan Thought—A Critical
Review 108
3.2.1 Fang’s Overall Interpretation of Huayan Thought 108
3.2.2 F ang’s Criterion in Ranking Buddhist Theories—The Extent of
Harmony 117
3.2.3 I nsights and Limitations in Fang’s Interpretation of Huayan
Thought 120
3.3 Conclusion 124
4 Tang Junyi and Huayan Thought 126
4.1 Tang Junyi’s General Philosophy 127
4.1.1 The Life and Works of Tang Junyi 127
4.1.2 Tang on the Purpose of Philosophy 129
4.1.3 The Existence of Mind as a Theoretical Prerequisite 132
4.1.4 The Characteristics of the Mind 134
4.1.5 I ntroduction to the Theory of ‘The Nine Horizons of the
Mind’ 137
4.1.6 ‘Universal Observation’ on Universal Observations 145
4.1.7 The Theory of Practice—A Preliminary Discussion 148
4.1.8 Tang on the Failure of Western Culture 150
4.1.9 Conclusion—A Critical Review of Tang’s Thought 152
4.2 Tang Junyi’s Harmonization of Thomé H. Fang’s Thought 160
4.3 Tang Junyi’s Interpretation of Huayan Thought—A Critical
Review 163
4.3.1 Tang’s Overall Interpretation of Huayan Thought 163
4.3.2 T ang’s Criterion in Ranking Buddhist Theories—
The Harmonization of Values 176
4.3.3 I nsights and Limitations in Tang’s Interpretation of Huayan
Thought 177
5 Fang’s and Tang’s Appropriations of Huayan Thought and
‘Scientism’ 180
5.1 ‘Scientism’ as an Issue—From the Point of View of ‘Ti’ and
‘Yong’ 180
5.2 Ancient Chinese Thought as a Means for Enhancing ‘Ti’ 183
Contents ix
5.3 Revisiting the Role of Huayan in Fang’s and Tang’s Responses to
‘Scientism’ 185
5.3.1 F ang, His Appropriation of Huayan Thought, and
‘Scientism’ 186
5.3.2 T ang, His Appropriation of Huayan Thought, and ‘Scientism’ 191
5.4 The Writings of Fang and Tang in Terms of ‘Chinese
Hermeneutics’ 197
5.5 The Modern Relevance of Fang’s and Tang’s Thought—A Preliminary
Discussion 201
Appendices
1 Reply from the University of Wisconsin-Madison about Fang’s
Status 205
2 Prolegomena to A Comparative Philosophy of Life: An Outline 206
Bibliography 211
Index 247