A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

by Wing-Tsit Chan (Translator)

A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy is a milestone along the complex and difficult road to significant understanding by Westerners of the Asian peoples and a monumental contribution to the cause of philosophy. It is the first anthology of Chinese philosophy to cover its entire historical development. It provides substantial selections from all the great thinkers and schools in every period--ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary--and includes in their entirety some of the most important classical texts. It deals with the fundamental and technical as well as the more general aspects of Chinese thought. With its new translation of source materials (some translated for the first time), its explanatory aids where necessary, its thoroughgoing scholarly documentation, this volume will be an indispensable guide for scholars, for college students, for serious readers interested in knowing the real China.

Genres: Philosophy, China, Nonfiction, History, Reference, Religion, Buddhism

874 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1963

Reviews

[Joseph]

Called by many readers as "The Bible of Chinese Philosophy" The Sourcebook is a comprehensive compendium of the many different Philosophical and Religious Schools of Thought in Chinese history, both the magnificent and the lesser known.

Organized by school of thought and by philosopher/teacher/leader sections, filled with commentaries throughout history by different Chinese thinkers of note, filled with historical context for eased interpretation, and containing an intriguing glossary of Chinese Written Characters for the reader's pleasure, the Sourcebook is an indispensable tool for any philosopher, academic teacher, academic student, or public servant...the very persons the many philosophies were written down in history for.

[jabot scrob]

Believe it or not, I read this book straight through like it was a novel. While it can serve as a reference work, the author also does an amazing job of showing the continuity in the whole history so it has a definite narrative element as you go through. While it could certainly be argued that because this overall structure is so strong that he may have been tendacious in the excerpts or that the interpretations could be more sophisticated, it is essentially an introduction and as such is a great book.

[Chad]

I am currently taking an Asian Thought philosophy course, and I find the philosophies of the orient to be incredibly intriguing, as it is a focus completely separate and isolated from western philosophy's approach of seeking knowledge through competition and logic. Asian philosophy focuses on being in tune with nature and finding one's appropriate path through either spiritual or societal means. It is a nice escape from the stresses of modern American western thought.

[William Schram]

A Source Book of Chinese Philosophy is an anthology of ancient texts translated and compiled by Wing-Tsit Chan. The book has a glossary of Chinese names and terms in the original glyphs.

Chinese Philosophy is older than I thought. For example, I'd heard of Confucius but I never placed him properly in time. He was contemporaneous with Socrates or a bit earlier.

I like the practical aspects of Chinese Philosophy. Rather than asking questions like where we come from or where our knowledge gets its eggs, Chinese Philosophy focuses on how to improve yourself or be a better person. It's a refreshing look at something completely new to my American sensibilities.

I have the third printing of the 1969 paperback edition. The book may be outdated, but it provides an effective window into the thoughts of the Chinese people.

I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Nicholas]

I read this book in my early college days are part of a philosophy course. I found it to be an excellent course to understand the different Chinese philosophies and very well written. One of the things I personally liked was the annotated translation of the Tao Te Ching. I found this to be one of the best translations--with explanations for different interpretations.

[Maher Razouk]

كانت الحضارة الصينية والشخصية الصينية ستكونان مختلفتين تمامًا لو لم يُكتب كتاب لاوتزو مطلقًا. في الواقع ، حتى الكونفوشيوسية ، النظام السائد في التاريخ والفكر الصيني ، لم تكن لتكون هي نفسها ، لأنها مثل البوذية ، لم تفلت من التأثير التاوي. لا أحد يستطيع أن يأمل في فهم الفلسفة الصينية ، أو الدين ، أو الحكومة ، أو الفن ، أو الطب - أو حتى الطبخ - دون تقدير حقيقي للفلسفة العميقة التي يقدمها هذا الكتاب الصغير.

صحيح أنه بينما تؤكد الكونفوشيوسية على النظام الاجتماعي والحياة النشطة ، تركز التاوية على الحياة الفردية والهدوء ، مما يشير إلى أن التاوية تلعب دورًا ثانويًا. ولكن ، في الواقع ، من خلال مواجهة التأكيد الكونفوشيوسي بعدم التأكيد ، ومواجهة العالم الكونفوشيوسي بروح متعالية ، تعتبر التاوية منتقدًا شديدًا للكونفوشيوسية. في مذاهبها حول الحكومة ، في غرس الحياة والحفاظ عليها ، وفي التعامل مع الأشياء ، التاوية هي مساوية تمامًا للكونفوشيوسية.
.
Wing-Tsit Chan
A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Ethan Rogers]

The amount and quality of Chinese philosophy available in English translation has expanded tremendously since this volume's original publication. Even so, this remains a very valuable reference work. This book was my introduction to Chinese philosophy after the Qin dynasty, and the combination of Chan's translations and insightful commentary throughout make it still an excellent introductory volume to the world of Chinese philosophy.

The book becomes richer upon rereading. I still find myself returning years later to this text in order to compare my interpretation of some author with Chan's.

[Nicholas]

Still, after about 50 years, an excellent one volume survey of Chinese thought.

[EB Christen]

Simply incredible. Not for the rookie of philosophy though. An amazing read and profoundly important for our time and context.

[Brahn]

Fascinating. A good source in English for some often difficult concepts and arguments.

[Antonio Wolf]

A collection of essential primary texts. Barring some typos, and some contentious translation of some terms like li (principle vs pattern), the texts are coherent enough to be understandable without commentary. The editor comments are not often or intrusive, and much of it is a nice historical background to help orient the reader.

[Sol 솔]

As a one-stop educational text on Chinese philosophy, this is as good as it gets...

First, this book presents the great thinkers in their own words, sequenced historically, rather than in the typical Western explanatory narrative style. Second, these translations are best-in-the-world and form a set with consistent vocabulary. Third, Chan was a real Qing Dynasty Neo-Confucian who began studying the classics from age 6 to pass the imperial exams. These individuals are all gone now, and so a book like this cannot ever be written again. Classical Chinese is essentially the author's native language; he knew these philosophies natively, and it shows. The only downside is the use of the older Wade-Giles system (“Chu Hsi”) instead of modern pinyin (“Zhu Xi”).

This chronologically ordered review of 2,500 years of doctrines, from Kongzi to Mao, and from the Chinese point of view, is exactly what we need to get started in Chinese philosophy.

[Also, I have both the hardcover and paperback. The paperback is great, but if you find a good condition hardcover it is larger with bigger font, and looks even better. The digital version is free and online at InternetArchive.org.]

[Holly]

I picked this Chan book at the library not exactly sure what I was going to use it for. I ended up only using it for the Lao Tzu. It is only an okay interpretation as there is minimal commentary so a newcomer won't make much sense of this alone. However at the beginning there is a list of Taoism 'main topics,' such as non-striving, female, water, government, etc. and the chapter numbers they are discussed in. I found this guide really helpful to understanding the tao.

[Eric Grey]

I'm actually still reading this one - it's going to take many readings to make it through. It's a shame it's hard to find. Every serious student of Chinese medicine should try to make their way through it. It's an exhaustive study on the most important currents of thought throughout Chinese history.

[Patty Chang]

Even though it’s published in 1963 it’s still a clear and invaluable resource for getting grounded in topics and eras and dealing with relatively obscure philosophers. I wish someone would co e out with a more recent version updated to take into account the new texts found at Mawangdui etc. I love this book!

[Eric]

Impressively comprehensive with good translations and introductions that put the material in historical context. The only thing preventing it from getting that fifth star is my general problem with Confucianists.

[Joshua]

This is like the encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. It begins with the early mystics and ends with Chinese Communism.
It's a bit lengthy so I wouldn't recommend it unless you are highly interested in the subject matter or would like to use it as a reference.

[Bryan]

incredible introduction to the history of chinese philosophy

[Mark Gowan]

I took a class in eastern philosophy that used this book, and will be using it as a reference in my own classses in comparative religion. Concise, well-organized, and at times interesting.

[Zipthwung]

Like the Greeks, the chinese were concerned with questions of essence, morality and human nature. Dig it.

This was a textbook of mine in college.

[Nate]

every dynasty, confucius, buddhism, taoism, the whole nine yards. Bought for the taoism/confucianism camparison. Wasn't disappointed.

[Eric]

Course book for an excellent GMU class on Chinese Philosophy. The Chinese professors accent was a hoot, making “language ego” sound like “Eggo” waffles. Funny I still remember that.

[Kathleen Biglary Makvand]

Incredibly resourceful book for an introduction to Chinese philosophy. A bit out of date, but considering how comprehensive this volume is, I can't really complain.

[Daniel]

Read the Daxue and Zongyong translations. These are short and somewhat difficult texts; Chan's footnotes are only moderately useful.

[Gordon]

An eye-opener when I was in college, even if it now seems awfully dry and detached.

[Bendick Ong]

Excellent book by a well-respected Scholar both in China and overseas. Insightful, ingenious, indispensable!

[Bruce Crown]

Excellent source text and translation of eastern philosophy works. Commentary and annotations should be taken with a grain of salt, as with any philosophical text.

[Miranda]

PHI 210: Eastern Philosophy


Very confusing

[Ring Chime]

Good overview of philosophy in China, I'm not used to the non-Pinyin romanizations so that should be noted.

[Chris]

A powerful introduction into the great history of Chinese philosophy and a reminder that humanities is a discipline that extends further than the parochial borders of a Western education.