Overview

The Question for Twentieth-Century China has been the integration of tradition and modernity. In this collection of essays written over a period of some twenty years (1987-2006), Chen Lai reflects on the question in an informative and original way. He reads behind the political slogans and engages with the thought both of Max Weber, Talcott Parsons and Western sociology, and representative Chinese thinkers, notably Feng Youlan and Liang Shuming. While the focus is on China, the book also appeals to anyone interested in this fascinating question of how to modernise whilst retaining the positive values of tradition. Chen Lai’s unique and balanced grasp of society marks him out as the foremost thinker in China on this topic today.

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9789004165786

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Reviews

The editors have wisely chosen to lead off the series with a collection of essays by Chen Lai, who is mainland China's most prominent scholar in the history of Confucian philosophy. The translation by Edmund Ryden is excellent, and the translator has added helpful footnotes to explain some of the references for the general reader...I strongly recommend this book for anybody who is interested in the history of twentieth-century Confucianism and what it can offer to China and the world. Daniel Bell, Tsinghua University This book is the first comprehensive English-language translation of key academic works by Chen Lai ( ) - a leading mainland philosopher and Dean of Tsinghua University's Guoxue Research Institute ( e05; 34e; fd; b66; a76; ).[...] Together the chapters provide deep insight into the ways that one of China's key contemporary intellectuals has grappled with the question of how to best utilise China's traditional culture for the nation's modernising aspirations.[...]Edmund Ryden's translator's notes are an important addition to this wonderfully translated volume.[...] Ryden's annotations provide a useful guide.They simultaneously clarify possible less-known facts and events, thus ensuring that the book is accessible to the general reader and experts alike. Selena Dramlic, University of Hong Kong, China Perspectives [Online], December 2011.

The editors have wisely chosen to lead off the series with a collection of essays by Chen Lai, who is mainland China's most prominent scholar in the history of Confucian philosophy. The translation by Edmund Ryden is excellent, and the translator has added helpful footnotes to explain some of the references for the general reader...I strongly recommend this book for anybody who is interested in the history of twentieth-century Confucianism and what it can offer to China and the world. Daniel Bell, Tsinghua University This book is the first comprehensive English-language translation of key academic works by Chen Lai ( ) - a leading mainland philosopher and Dean of Tsinghua University's Guoxue Research Institute ( ).[...] Together the chapters provide deep insight into the ways that one of China's key contemporary intellectuals has grappled with the question of how to best utilise China's traditional culture for the nation's modernising aspirations.[...]Edmund Ryden's translator's notes are an important addition to this wonderfully translated volume.[...] Ryden's annotations provide a useful guide.They simultaneously clarify possible less-known facts and events, thus ensuring that the book is accessible to the general reader and experts alike. Selena Dramlic, University of Hong Kong, China Perspectives [Online], December 2011.

Author Information

Chen Lai, PhD. (Peking University), is a Professor of Philosophy and the director of the Center for Confucian Study and the History of Chinese Philosophy at Peking University. He is one of China's most prominent scholars of the history of Chinese philosophy, is an honorary professor at eleven universities and is a member of the editorial boards of sixteen academic journals. Edmund Ryden, PhD. (SOAS, London University), translated Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy (Yale 2002) and the Laozi: Daodejing (Oxford World’s Classics 2008). He has also written on the philosophical background to human rights in a Chinese context.

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