Xie Dikun (Beijing)

2 The Current Situation of Chinese

Philosophy: Problems and Tasks

Abstract: The cause of Chinese philosophy has made significant progress since it
began to reform three decades ago. However, Chinese philosophy also faces many
problems. Shaken by current market economic forces, it now confronts a huge
challenge in taking on its mission of raising questions, both theoretical and
practical, and responding to them using the methods of philosophy. This article
analyzes developments and problems in the three sub-disciplines of philosophy:
Marxist philosophy, the history of Chinese philosophy and foreign philosophies.
Using this framework, it will purposefully address the great historical responsi-
bility facing Chinese philosophers.

1 Research on Marxist Philosophy

In modern China, the most significant occurrence in the field of philosophy was
the introduction of Marxist philosophy. Although it originated in the soil of
Western civilization, Marxist philosophy differs from Western philosophy. It not
only opposes the abstract nature of Western metaphysics, holding that that
philosophy is real and concrete, but also defines its mission as changing the
world by means of revolutionary practice. The practical nature of Marxist philoso-
phy was the major reason it became the dominant discipline in philosophy and
the social sciences in China.
Before the beginning of reform in 1978, Marxist philosophy in China was
deeply influenced by the textbook of Soviet model. This model simplistically and
dogmatically limited philosophy to the four principles stipulated in the fourth
chapter of A Concise History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This
petrified model restricted the further development of Marxist philosophy in
China. In 1978, the great debate on the criterion of truth heralded a liberation of
the mind. It lead to deep reflection by Marxist philosophers about their discipline
and immense change in their field of research.
Over the past three decades, Marxist philosophy in China has been greatly
enriched and developed. Research elucidating multiple perspectives has ap-
peared. Researchers conduct their work from the perspective of classical texts,
intellectual history, ontology, epistemology, axiology, views of history and her-
meneutics. Their output is complementary and mutually supportive. Together,

DOI 10.1515/YEWPH-2016-0004
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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 7

they contribute to the development of Marxist philosophy. In the 1980s, the

topical issues under discussion were worldview, ontology, epistemology, views of
history and concepts of value, with a concomitant focus on reflection on the
discipline of philosophy itself. The issues that interested people in the 1990s fall
into two main categories: Firstly, the deepening of the discussions of the 1980s,
which were elevated to the level of such matters as the pursuit of, and reflection
on, the theoretical nature of philosophy; the subject matter and forms of philoso-
phical research; modes of thought; and conflicts between different schools of
philosophy. Secondly, there was in-depth thought about real-world issues, such
as development and its costs, justice and efficiency, truth and values, tradition
and modernity, and the scientific spirit and humanist concerns. These issues
spoke to changes in the Chinese peoples way of life, their way of thinking and
their conceptual lexicon, all in the course of a thoroughgoing social transforma-
tion.1
As we enter the 21st century, Marxist philosophy in China faces three major
tasks.
The first task is that of sinicizing Marxist philosophy. In the course of this
process to date, we have witnessed the emergence of Mao Zedong Thought, Deng
Xiaoping Theory, and important ideas that have been termed Three Represents,
the scientific view of development and the building of a harmonious society.
They all belong to Chinese forms of Marxism. We should elucidate the philoso-
phical foundation of these theories and ideas and how they have enriched and
developed Marxism during different historical periods. Further, we should base
our work on the practice of todays socialist road of development with Chinese
characteristics, striving ceaselessly to provide support for the exploration of new
developmental paths for China. This is the primary task facing Chinese Marxist
philosophy. The sinicization of Marxism represents the direction of future devel-
opment of Chinese philosophy; it brings about changes in the Chinese peoples
values, world outlook and view of life, and it alters the face of Chinese society.
The second task is to conduct historically oriented textual research on an
edition of the complete works of Marx and Engels. This research should be based
on the second German edition so as to provide an in-depth exposition of distinc-
tive features of the stance, viewpoints and methodology of Marxist philosophy,
and proceed by comparing and analyzing Marx and Engels manuscripts at
different historical periods and tracing the development of and changes in their

1 For the dissemination of Marxist philosophical theory in China and its development and
evolution see Yang Qian: The modern pursuit of Chinese philosophy: the process and mechanism of
the sinicization of Marxist philosophy. (2007)

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philosophical thought. The aim of this research is to provide an important

theoretical resource for the sinicization of Marxism.
The third task is the compilation of teaching materials on Marxist philosophy,
sponsored by the Central Project for Marxist Theoretical Research and Construc-
tion. This textbook should not only accurately set out the fundamental viewpoints
of Marxist philosophy and put on full display the academic product of Chinese
research on Marxist philosophy, but should also address itself to contemporary
questions and fully reflect the fruits of the sinicization of Marxism. On this basis,
it should quite comprehensively present the world outlook, epistemology, metho-
dology and values of Marxism.
The three tasks mentioned above are essentially intertwined. First, we should
stick to the basic principles of Marxism, and further develop Marxism on the basis
of an understanding of the fundamental viewpoints and methods of Marxist
philosophy. At the same time, we should address ourselves to serving socialist
construction with Chinese characteristics and derive from its practice new ideas
and views that will provide theoretical backing for future development. The
teaching materials should embody these two features. Our objective is to build a
Marxist philosophy that embodies Chinese characteristics and styles. The path to
realizing this objective is the flexible application, in a richly creative way, of the
basic principles of Marxist philosophy when responding to practical issues in
contemporary China, enriching and advancing it, in both form and content, with
distinctively Chinese characteristics.
However, a number of urgent questions await resolution before we can
achieve this objective.
The first is how to approach Marxist philosophy. The practical nature of
Marxist philosophy is readily apparent, but if it is viewed only as a practical
necessity completely at the service of present-day expediencies, how can its
theoretical transcendence be revealed? How can we avoid entangling it with
specific problems, so that it is possible to study and analyze major practical issues
by raising and expressing questions whose characteristics remain Chinese? How
can we abstract universal philosophical concepts and ideas from these particular
issues? If these questions are not resolved satisfactorily, it will be hard for us to
solve the next two problems. The first of these problems is that facts are divorced
from issues: we only see the specific facts before our eyes and not universal
theoretical issues; we are incapable of deriving philosophical concepts from
specific facts. The second is that academia is divorced from social reality: Marxist
philosophy is taken as a purely scholarly form of learning, and hence loses its
necessary dynamism. The key issue in the recent discussion of the philosophical
problems and problem-oriented philosophy that arose out of attempts to answer
these questions is how we are to achieve theoretical innovation in Marxist

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 9

philosophy. Our appreciation and understanding of this issue represents the

historical course, spiritual journey and progress of mental liberation of the devel-
opment of contemporary Chinese society.2 Appreciation and understanding of
this major issue is, therefore, a great challenge to contemporary Chinese philoso-
phy.
The second question we need to discuss relates to normal criticism and
debate between differing academic viewpoints. For instance, whether Marxist
philosophy should be defined as dialectical materialism, historical materialism or
practical materialism is an academic debate that broadens our perspective, and
hence should be encouraged. As another example, whether differences exist
between Marx and Engels philosophical ideas is a legitimate topic for discus-
sion, as it can reveal the progress of Marxism and deepen research on the history
of Marxist philosophy. It is wrong to define these differences as antagonistic
and to attempt to ban such discussion. Such efforts can only harm research on the
history of Marxist philosophy.
The third question is that of doing justice to research on Marxism in other
parts of the world. We should be aware that many problems Western societies
face today are global in nature; we may meet the same or similar problems
tomorrow. Among other examples are the eco-Marxism advocated by contem-
porary Western Marxists unhappy about environmental damage, the analytical
Marxism that grew out of efforts to assimilate the achievements of modern
Western philosophy, the post-Marxism that sprung from dissatisfaction with
earlier forms of Western Marxism,3 and the alternative globalization and alter-
native Marxism that react against US-led monopoly capitalisms domination of
the global economy.4 They all serve not only as theoretical reference points but
also as extremely practical ideas to which we should give due attention.
None of the aforementioned questions appeared overnight. The main reason
we have failed to solve them is that something is wrong with our approach to
philosophy. If we stress only the practical nature of philosophy and deny its
transcendent nature, we turn it into a mere tool. On the other hand, if we stress
only its transcendent nature while ignoring its practicality, we turn it into empty
and purposeless talk. If we cannot resolve these issues, if we do not find a suitable

2 Sun Zhengyu: Raising and exploring significant theoretical issues in research on Marxist
philosophy: reviewing some articles on philosophy in Social Sciences in China 2006. (2007)
3 For a report and related research on this subject, see the National Innovation Base for Marxism
and Intellectual Trends Abroad, Research Center for Contemporary Marxism Abroad, and School
of Philosophy, Fudan University, Report on research on Marxism abroad, 2007.
4 See Jacques Bidet and Grard Dumnil: Altermarxisme: un aute marxisme pour un autre monde.
(2007)

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balance in the tension between the practicality and the transcendence of philoso-
phy, we will be unable to build a true Marxist philosophy with Chinese character-
istics.

2 Research on the History of Chinese Philosophy

The concept of philosophy is an imported one. Traditionally, we have had
philosophical thought but no complete system that could establish philosophy as
a discipline. It was only in the nineteenth century, when our traditional civiliza-
tion encountered unprecedented challenges, that we degenerated into speech-
lessness. We were forced to make the painful choice between the modern world
and our traditional civilization; we had no choice but to accept Western philoso-
phy and express our ideas using a Western conceptual system.
In the process of accepting these Western philosophies from an alien culture,
we were either hesitant and irresolute, or went to extremes, thinking we had to
opt for either this or that, either the Western or the Chinese. This phenomenon
was evident from early on in the introduction of Western thought into China. We
can see it from the end of the nineteenth century, with such debates as the
distinction between Chinese and barbarian and Chinese learning for the es-
sence, Western learning for practical application, and in the 1919 May Fourth
Movement, after which ideas of complete Westernization and national nihilism
emerged. Great thinkers from among our predecessors were keenly aware of these
trends. At the beginning of the last century, Wang Guowei put forward the idea
that true learning knows no East or West. He claimed that scholarship seeks
only to distinguish between the true and the false. Beyond this, if it is mixed with
the views of a particular country, race or religion, it becomes a means only instead
of an end.5 Li Dazhao explicitly stated that Eastern and Western culture comple-
mented each other and that neither could be dispensed with; the future develop-
ment of world civilization would see them merged into one. Great thinkers like
Feng Youlan, Xiong Shili, Jin Yuelin and He Lin all transcended the division
between East and West and attempted to apply Western rationalistic thinking to
the exploration of philosophical issues in China and to uncover new lines of
reasoning for philosophy and culture. In so doing, they discovered unprece-
dented hopes for Chinese philosophy.
Since its initiation in 1978, the process of opening up and reform, once it
was done criticizing and transcending the former dogmatic approach of viewing

5 Wang Guowei: Classic works of Wang Guowei. (1997), p.99.

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 11

the history of philosophy solely as a confrontation between materialism and

idealism, has borne new fruit: research on the history of Chinese philosophy
now presents an imposing scene. We have not only made great progress in our
approaches to the history of philosophy and the preparation of a general
history of philosophy but also realized substantial achievements in research
concerning historical periodization and the various schools of thought and
individuals.
In the field of Confucianism, monographs have appeared on pre-Qin and Han
philosophy, Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism and the New Confucianism of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These works focus on particular aspects of
the development of Chinese philosophy, and allow us to deepen our understand-
ing of this developmental process. In carrying out the first stage of one of the key
national research projects, The Compilation and Research of Scripture of Con-
fucianism, we have edited five hundred classics from the Confucian canon. In
addition, the bamboo and silk documents unearthed since the 1990s have con-
tributed significantly to our understanding of some links in the evolution of pre-
Qin philosophy and stimulated questioning of some of the interpretations of Song
Confucianists.
In the field of Taoism, the most significant research achievement is the
completion of the compilation and editing of the Compendium of Chinese Taoism
and the publication of A Dictionary of Chinese Taoism. In addition, Chinese
scholars have been conducting research on the secret heart of Taoist culture, the
theory of an inner elixir, for as long as twenty-six years, resulting in the assem-
blage of a great amount of valuable material previously dispersed amongst indivi-
dual collectors. The veil of mystery that shrouded this theory is now being lifted,
enabling it to become part of legitimate research culture rather than existing only
in the repertoire of wandering mountebanks.
In the research field of Buddhism, more scholars are now paying attention to
the debate on different research paradigms. In this respect, the research ideas and
methodology of the history of religion are becoming increasingly popular. Strictly
speaking, this venture approaches the history of Buddhism as part of the history
of religion, divorced from the history of philosophy and intellectual history in
general. However, in philosophical circles, researchers still conduct their studies
into the history of Buddhism within the paradigm of the history of Chinese
philosophy, and examine Buddhist concepts by elevating them to the level of
philosophical concepts in an effort to give them universal theoretical significance.
This debate will not end soon.
At present, the two most controversial questions for historians of Chinese
philosophy are how best to understand the relationship between Chinese and
imported philosophy, i.e. between Chinese and Western philosophy, and how to

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unify research on the history of philosophy with the theoretical construction of

philosophy.
As far as the first question is concerned, those engaged in philosophical
research generally agree that the history of Chinese philosophy should be con-
sidered as part of the history of the development of human thought, since the
history of philosophy is concrete, is developing. Cultural and philosophical tradi-
tions naturally flow and change.6 They also agree that the history of Chinese
philosophy is both connected to and distinct from the history of human thought
in other countries. In the long history of human thought, different and even
contradictory standpoints and ideas about people, the external world and human
relations with the external world inevitably emerge. However, as long as some of
these standpoints and ideas embody part of the truth in a creative way, they
constitute significant links in the history of the development of human under-
standing. Secondly, since Chinese philosophical thought evolved in connection
and interaction with the philosophical thought of other peoples and countries, it
has a universality common to all mankind as well as its own uniqueness.
For example, the reason behind Buddhisms entry into China was that it
supplemented the lack of transcendence in Chinese philosophy. According to
Chinese philosophers from the seventh century on, Buddhism enabled them to
revisit their own cultural traditions, and especially the pre-Qing classics, in a new
light. In this way, Buddhism wrought great changes in Chinese philosophy while
itself undergoing a process of sinicization.
Another example is the debate a few years ago over the legitimacy of
Chinese philosophy. The main point at issue was the question of how to handle
philosophy as an interpretative mode and disciplinary construction imported
from the West on the one hand, Chinas ancient indigenous intellectual culture
and classical literature on the other, and the relationship between the two. In fact,
these questions have been around for a long time. While our traditional culture
has to defend itself in order to gain a foothold in the modern world, the so-called
legitimacy of Chinese philosophy has triggered debate not only on the issue of
China versus the West but also on the issue of the universality versus the
particularity of philosophy. Wang Guoweis claim that true learning knows no
East or West and Jin Yuelins view that the term Chinese philosophy was
inappropriate and should be replaced by philosophy in China both display a
deep appreciation of the issue. Feng Youlan, in contrast to the latter, claimed that
Chinese philosophy was a legitimate term because it contained substantial
general philosophical content; whereas adding in China indicated a concrete

6 Guo Qiyong: Three subjects in the research methodology of Chinese philosophy. (2007), p.6.

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 13

particularity that fell under the universal and abstract concept of philosophy. The
arguments and expositions of the older generation have not exhausted the truth
about this topic, but they can certainly give us food for thought.
In the excitement of the recent vogue for the Chinese classics, it is salutary to
review some fundamental issues in philosophical research so as to broaden our
field of view. We need to emphasize here that when faced with a conflict between
academic alternatives and subjective feelings or values, scholarship cannot be
replaced by subjective values, and still less can a scientific attitude be replaced by
bigoted passion. Academic issues should always be handled with a scientific
attitude; only by identifying problems as we progress can we ensure the develop-
ment of our philosophical enterprise.
With regard to the last question, I believe the history of both Chinese and
Western philosophy comprises a variety of philosophical ideas and the schools,
systems and people who represent them. As far as the present-day is concerned,
these schools, systems and philosophers have passed into history, but they
undoubtedly made an original contribution to the philosophy of their day, epito-
mizing the philosophical thought of their era and the blossoming of its philoso-
phy. We do not study the history of philosophy only in order to arrange and
analyze it, but, more importantly, to understand and grasp the philosophical
ideas it contains, and, on this basis, to carry them forwards, develop them in an
innovative fashion, and thence draw forth our own new ideas and theories. All
philosophers, in every historical period, came into being by studying their pre-
decessors, whose work they inherited and developed in a process of constant
renewal. It was only because of this that the history of philosophy attained its
current brilliant achievements. The study of history is not only a process of textual
research and annotation that sticks to the topic at hand; it must also move on to
the next stage of integrating theories of history in a process of synthesis and
creation. To continue, the study of the history of philosophy is the foundation
upon which we construct new philosophical theories. This construction is the
direction and aim of our research; the two are inseparable.
Obviously, todays research into the history of Chinese philosophy cannot be
satisfied simply by textual work on historical sources. The more important task is
the creation and construction of new philosophical theories. The difficulty we
encounter here is not simply the interrelationship of Chinese and Western philo-
sophy, but also the union of traditional civilization and modern society. If we
remain complacent, conservative and over-confident, surrounding ourselves with
heaps of old paper, we will not only lose the present-day significance of Chinese
philosophy, but, what is worse, its continuity and its vitality. We should confi-
dently absorb the advanced cultures of all nations and face todays world with an
attitude that treasures the past while not looking down on the present and use

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creative research to advance the history of Chinese philosophy (or more precisely,
philosophy in China): this is the historical mission that history has entrusted to
Chinese philosophers of our generation.

3 Research on Western Philosophy

In the Chinese mainland, research on foreign philosophy concentrates on the
field of Western philosophy. Although a few research institutions and universities
conduct research on Asian philosophy, they are small in scale and rather limited
in terms of their research level and influence. Moreover, the orientation and scope
of the discipline itself have yet to be discussed and decided upon.
As we have seen with the research into the history of Chinese philosophy, the
model of two opposing camps, materialism and idealism, was discarded with the
beginning of reform in the late 1970s. Similarly, Chinese researchers in the field of
foreign philosophy have ceased rejecting outright non-Marxist schools of thought
and non-Marxist philosophers and their works. Neither do they condemn whole-
sale as decadent and reactionary those Western philosophical trends that fol-
lowed Marx. Rather, we have returned to considering in a serious and rational
way those schools and personages that we once rejected and denounced, ap-
proaching new ideas and new schools of thought with a tolerant and open-
minded academic attitude. This has greatly broadened our horizons and the scope
of our research. We no longer simply introduce and analyze foreign philosophy,
but learn from the strong points of others; we absorb Western philosophys
conceptual judgments, logical analysis and eidetic reduction and essence reduc-
tion, while at the same time carrying with us the tradition of imagistic thinking
and the culturally Chinese combination of ethics and logic. We are endeavoring
to advance a new line of reasoning and a new methodology in the Chinese study
of Western philosophy, in the hope that it will result in original and distinctively
Chinese forms of research into Western philosophy.
Thanks to the reforms and the emancipation of mind that started in 1978,
Chinese exploration of Western philosophy was quickly resumed and expanded.
Beyond expanding upon the research achievements of the previous century, it
also opened up unprecedentedly wide-ranging and in-depth research into Wes-
tern philosophy. A large number of Western philosophical works have been
translated into Chinese, including the complete works of Aristotle, Plato, Kant
and Wittgenstein, the selected works of Fichte and the works of Nietzsche. Other
important works by major Western philosophers are being translated or are
scheduled for translation and publication in full or in part: these include the
complete works of Hegel, Gadamer and Cicero. Translations of these works have a

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 15

fundamental and indispensable significance in enabling Chinese researchers in

this field to make critical use of the research achievements of Western philosophy
and correctly understand and grasp Western philosophys essence and its internal
evolution.
At the same time, researchers are doing excellent work on the major schools
and on philosophers and their representative works for every historical period. In
particular, they have undertaken in-depth research on subjects including classi-
cal German philosophy, Greek philosophy, modern empiricism and rationalism,
phenomenology, existentialism, analytical philosophy, linguistic philosophy and
Western Marxism. On this basis, they have begun to compile comprehensive
histories of Western philosophy, with the aim of providing a complete overview of
its development, encompassing all schools and personages, and in doing so,
reveal its developmental laws and inner logic. So far, two major works have
appeared: History of Western Philosophy in eight volumes, authored mainly by
researchers at the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,7
and a ten volume work of the same title authored chiefly by researchers at the
Department of Philosophy, Fudan University.8 These works are the fruit of rigor-
ous scholarship and represent a serious contribution by Chinese scholars to the
intellectual community; they will leave a lasting imprint on the history of Chinese
scholarship.
In summary, the last three decades of Chinese research on Western philoso-
phy can be characterized as follows:
Firstly, it has taken on the task of bridging the gap between Marxist philoso-
phy and Western philosophy. In conducting our research under the guidance of
Marxism, we also broaden the scope of Marxist philosophy, understanding and
examining it in the context of the whole of classical Western philosophy and our
dialogue with modern Western philosophy, especially Western Marxism, so that
Marxist philosophy can maintain its lines of communication with Western philo-
sophy and continue competing with it.
Secondly, in terms of breadth, we have broadened the scope of our research
from the traditional concentration on classical German philosophy to other
aspects of Western philosophy: modern empiricism and rationalism, ancient
Greek philosophy and the religious philosophies of medieval Europe have all
been systematically explored. Moreover, developments in modern Western philo-
sophy, be they in continental philosophy, Anglo-American analytical philosophy
or todays postmodernism, political philosophy, applied ethics or cultural philo-

7 Ye Xiushan and Wang Shuren (eds.): History of Western Philosophy. (2005)

8 Liu Fangtong and Yu Wujin (eds.): History of Western Philosophy. (2006)

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sophy, are all tracked with such unprecedented care that we are kept almost
entirely up-to-date.
Thirdly, from the point of view of its effect, Chinese scholars research on
Western philosophy, and especially on enlightenment philosophy, classical Ger-
man philosophy, phenomenology, analytical philosophy and postmodernism, has
had a deep influence on their interpretation and understanding of Chinese philo-
sophy. We can safely say that research of this kind truly opens up a contextual
perspective for Chinese scholars research on traditional Chinese philosophy, and
hence provides rich resources for the integration of Eastern and Western philoso-
phy and for the rebirth of Chinese philosophy.
However, while giving full credit to our achievements, we should remain
clear-headed about the present situation in research on Western philosophy. The
most striking problem we face in this field is the fact that academic research is
divorced from social reality. This problem manifests itself chiefly in the following
ways:
Chinese scholars do not scrutinize Western philosophical theories from an
independent perspective, but blindly follow Western fashions, ignoring Chi-
nas social reality and measuring Chinese scholarship by a Western yardstick;
they follow slavishly in the footsteps of Western scholars and repeat what
they say. It is rare for them to make a creative contribution. In losing their
own independence, they also sap the vitality out of Chinese studies of the
West.
They do not see study of the West as creative work but rather as simple
introduction and commentary. Many researchers use a kind of Chinese that
no native speaker can make head or tail of to translate and expound
Western philosophies that they do not fully understand themselves. Their
translations are incomprehensible not only to the general reader but also to
experts.
There is a tendency towards superficiality, with researchers straining to
present something new and original. Some researchers deliberately talk up
certain theories or theorists, laboring to coin new words for concepts, so as to
give currency to their personal interpretations and take the part for the whole.
For example, there are many new Chinese translations for the German word
transcendental (outstanding), (superb), (going
beyond) and (transcendentalist). On the surface, all these transla-
tions can be justified. However, the translators have ignored the fundamen-
tal, and quite specific, meaning of the word transcendental, namely exist-
ing prior to being experienced. Related concepts include transcendent, a
priori, a posteriori, etc. Earlier translators, such as He Lin, translated
these words as (prior to experience), (above experience),

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 17

(innate) and (acquired).9 Their translations take into

account both the philosophical significance of the term and the subtle differ-
ences in the way it is used within the work of a particular philosopher. In
terms of Chinese expression, they all use the modifier-modified construction
to produce an elegant phrase. By contrast, so-called innovative translations
are redundant at best, if not misleading.
There is a lack of normal scholarly criticism. Many researchers are well aware
of these problems, some of which are very obvious, but to save face or for
other reasons they are seldom willing, or bold enough, to raise their criticisms
publicly. Of course this situation is largely caused by our academic manage-
ment and assessment system. It is incontestable that our academic atmo-
sphere and the quality of our scholarship are declining.

To solve these problems in research on Western philosophy, it is important for

researchers to be culturally self-aware and to see such studies as a truly demand-
ing task, a creative theoretical transformation.10 They should take the initiative
in combining their research with Chinas culture, national situation and current
reality and develop an organic unification of the Chinese and the global perspec-
tive. Rather than repeating what others say, they should develop what others
say and enter the autonomous creative realm of saying something for oneself.
In this process they should seek universal principles to solve both global pro-
blems and globalized Chinas problems, with a view to ultimately providing
intellectual and theoretical resources to help China actively participate in the
construction of the international order.

4 A Historical Responsibility
The debate held thirty years ago in Chinese circles on the criterion for truth
brought about profound intellectual and social changes in China. It also bap-
tized philosophy as a research field. Today, an important lesson emerging from
our reflections on the present situation and problems of philosophy in China is
that this debate was closely connected to the social reality of its times and took
practice as its point of entry. If we want philosophy today to revive its past
glories, we should focus again on practice as our point of entry.

9 For a detailed discussion of this concept, see J.J. Kockelmans: On the meaning of the
transcendental dimension of philosophy. (1989)
10 Zhao Dunhua: Some theoretical issues in Western knowledge. (2007) Actively participate
in the construction of the international order. A historical responsibility.

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Philosophy is the soul of a people, and creating contemporary Chinese

philosophical theory is an innate demand and urgent necessity for the Chinese
people in reflecting on their own life journey, understanding the circumstances of
their existence and seeking their own path to future development.11 Obviously,
the vitality and potentiality of contemporary Chinese philosophy remain depen-
dent upon our ability to understand and respond correctly to the major practical
questions posed by the developments in Chinese society. As part of our scrutiny
and criticism of Chinese reality, we should also offer rational proposals for future
development and provide the Chinese of today with ideals that are veracious and
rational. In doing so, we would be fulfilling philosophys practical role in guiding,
providing norms for and promoting the progress of society. To realize this aim,
philosophy must engage in theoretical innovation and ceaselessly expand upon
its theoretical content and formulation, so that it truly becomes the essence of
Zeitgeist.
On this premise, philosophy should undergo the following changes:
Firstly, our philosophical paradigm should change from being system-or-
iented to being problem-oriented. Although we have, over the last thirty years,
broken away from Zhdanovs dogmatic textbook model, his influence persists.
Consciously or unconsciously, our philosophical thinking still takes place within
a paradigm in which all philosophical questions are categorized as one of onto-
logical, epistemological or dialectical. The key to this change lies not only in
changing our attitude toward the life world, but also in the degree to which we
can objectively view and grasp the living questions of real-life society without
subjective bias. In philosophy, progress consists not of the disappearance of any
of the age-old philosophical problems, nor of the increasing dominance of one or
other of the conflicting sects, but in a change in the fashion in which the problems
are posed, and in an increasing measure of agreement concerning the character
of their solution.12 Therefore, if we truly want our philosophical theories to meet
the inherent needs of the times, the central focus of our research must be
problem-oriented. We need to give conscious and in-depth thought to the condi-
tions of existence for the Chinese today; reform our prevailing modes of thought,
perception and expression; respond boldly to the major intellectual issues of the
time; and guide the direction of the spirit of the times, so as to fully realize the
contemporary value of philosophy.

11 Gao Haiqing: The future development of the Chinese people requires its own philosophical
theory. (2004)
12 A.J. Ayer: Philosophy in the twentieth century. (2004), p.13.

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 19

Secondly, we should change from a Chinese to a global horizon, broad-

ening our field of vision. Philosophy is distinguished by the fact that it combines
particularity with universality. There can be no doubt that Chinese philosophy
should strive to offer solutions to Chinese problems, but this is simply a manifes-
tation of its particularity and national character. At the same time, it must look
outwards at the world around it, making its own contribution to the exploration
of universal truths of a global nature. Todays world is characterized by globaliza-
tion: the problems faced by a particular country or people are often global in
nature. Such a situation demands that we change the focus of our way of
observing and discussing issues from a national perspective to thinking and
researching with a globalized perspective that complements and improves upon
our own Chinese approach.13 Our task is to deal with the relationships between
traditional Chinese philosophy, Marxist philosophy and other cultural traditions
and philosophies. Like the ocean into which a hundred streams flow, we should
welcome the challenges of various intellectual cultures and ceaselessly reinvent
our research methods to adapt to changes in the world around us.
Thirdly, we should gradually merge the three separate research fields of
Chinese, Marxist and Western philosophies into one fusion of horizions, gradu-
ally constructing the concept of macro-philosophy. Philosophy was originally a
foundation subject that combined the natural and the social sciences, but it has
become divorced from the former in recent centuries. In China, philosophy has
been artificially divided into three competing disciplinary strongholds, leading to
a situation in which rigid and narrow-minded researchers may end up speaking
mutually incomprehensible dialects, even with regards to subjects of common
interest. As we enter the twenty-first century, the philosophical community has
convened several meetings of the discipline as a whole that have played a role in
the development of Chinese philosophy. The question now is how researchers can
avoid promoting standpoints and views solely from the perspective of their own
sub-discipline, while advancing research into Chinese philosophy and utilizing
philosophical topics of common interest to advance intellectual communication
and inter-disciplinary exchange, and thereby attain a genuinely creative synth-
esis, so that Chinese philosophy can truly grasp the manifold changes of the past
and the present, combine all the learning under the sun, and arrive at an under-
standing of universal truths.
To realize these three transformations is the communal historical task for
Chinese researchers in the field of philosophy, requiring disciplinary conscious-
ness and theoretical boldness. If we look around us, we see that Western philoso-

13 Feng Ziyi: Globalization and a research paradigm for the history of materialism. (2005)

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20 Xie Dikun

phy, although past its heyday, is still trying to respond to challenges despite its
sun having been setting over the last few decades. Chinese philosophy, on the
other hand, despite having experienced setbacks, is still capable of reviving and
constantly renewing itself, incorporating and interpenetrating other philosophies
and revealing a promising vitality. We firmly believe that Chinese philosophy,
like Chinese civilization, has cast the light of dawn on world philosophy.14 We
can open a new era for Chinese philosophy in the world history of philosophy if
we strive to identify significant practical questions arising from the development
of Chinese society, construct innovative theories to advance the development of
socialism with Chinese characteristics and use Chinese as its actually spoken to
express our philosophical ideas so that they conform to the Chinese way of
thinking. If we bend our efforts towards making philosophy palatable to the broad
mass of the people, it will have a wide and deep impact on the mental world of
the Chinese people and on Chinese society.

Translated by Xiang Long

Revised by Sally Borthwick and David Conroy

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Philosophy. (2005)

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 The Current Situation of Chinese Philosophy: Problems and Tasks 21

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