A Study On Zhong Tai

Zhong Tai experienced late Qing Dynasty, Republic of China and New China periods. He was one of those intellectuals who thoroughly explored the spirit of Chinese culture and philosophy and spread the main theme of national culture against the background of turbulent cultural conflicts since the May Fourth Movement.The dissertation is a case study of Zhong Tai, in which the author tried to the best of her efforts include Zhong’s intellectual thoughts within the framework of the complicated sociological, academic and intellectual and cultural changes of late Qing period. Through Zhong Tai the author of the dissertation attempts to make a tentative study of Chinese philosophy, national learning, the problematics of Xunzi and Zhuangzi, including Zhong’s intellectual way of thinking, methodology and the pursuit of cultural ideals, expound his ideas on exploring modern transformation process in response to the changes of epoch.On the basis of comprehensively summarizing Zhong Tai’s intellectual thoughts, the author has illuminated three major characteristics of Zhong Tai’s intellectual ideas. Firstly, Zhong Tai emphasized the national features of Chinese philosophy and wrote his book of Chinese Philosophy with Chinese system. He attempted to bring Confucian School into the light in Chinese philosophy in the clashes of modern ideas between China and West, Old and New. Secondly, Zhong Tai had proposed a methodological principle of integrating Han Dynasty with Song Dynasty academic scholarships. By reflecting the dilemma of traditional scholarships since modern period, he was of the opinion that modern scholars should excavating and expounding the resources of national learning that embodied traditional Chinese culture and spirit so as to focusing on the Chineseness of Chinese culture. Thirdly, Zhong Tai had started to ponder on reconstructing Confucianism and devoted much of his energy to annotating and commenting on Xunzi and Zhuangzi so as to reconstruct the profound implications of Chinese cultural philosophy through reasonably integrating Confucian and Taoist resources, in his efforts to adjust to the trends of contemporary sociological developments and guide the Chinese with new Confucian ideas in their way of life during a time when traditional Chinese culture was confronted with the crisis and dilemma.The topic of Zhong Tai study emerges at a time when China is witnessing the great cultural revival, Chinese philosophy is faced with modernity reflexity, the research of national learning is in hot pursuit and the modern values of Confucianism are seriously probed. The major objective of this research is to summarize the insight and blindness of the above mentioned researches, reflect upon the experiences and lessons so as to absorb their valuable intellectual resources. Through the study of Zhong Tai, the present research can provide us with the following important revelations:Firstly, the academic and intellectual way of Zhong Tai has embodied a kind of orientation for exploring the modernity of Chinese culture. Throughout his intellectual life, Zhong Tai reflected on the future and fate of Chinese culture and proceeded from native cultural resources. To this author’s mind, the restructuring of Chinese intellectual culture today must take Chinese and Western, local and global relationships into consideration. However, this does not mean that each and every scholar must do his or her specific research through the above two parallel lines. Nearly all of Zhong Tai’s thinking was based on Chinese learning, which shows that to think of modernity we must proceed from one’s own ethnic cultural tradition so that the renewal of one’s own culture can be achieved.Secondly, while writing his genealogy of Chinese philosophical history, Zhong Tai distinguished the differences between Chinese and Western systems and attached special importance to display the prominent role of the subjective awareness of its nation so as to restore the true nature of Chinese philosophy. In constructing Chinese philosophy today, we are confronted with such important theoretical issues as how to avoid the limitations of westernized normative paradigms, dismantling the myth of using western philosophical method as the only universal method in order to reveal the true spirit of Chinese philosophy. Zhong Tai had profound thoughts on these issues and has shaped a systematic framework for Chinese philosophy. His methodology had great significance for later researches.Thirdly, Zhong Tai had devoted himself to the reinterpreting of Confucian classics and to excavating the modern value of Confucian ideas. He absorbed reasonable elements into Confucian thinking, such as the critical and reflective spirit of Xunzi and Zhuangzi, their thorough exposing of human nature as well as taking their ideas for constructing the institutions and moral philosophy so that Confucianism as a system and a spiritual realm could be near immaculate. Today, whenever we talk about the topics of "Dialogue between Civilizations", "Confucian China" or global ethics or life ethics, we cannot help trace their sources to the root, openness and plurality of Confucian thinking. The tentative reconstructing efforts by Zhong Tai to integrate Confucian resources are for Confucianism to effectively deal with the requirement of modernity, of which its value can never be underestimated.To sum up, the author of this dissertation considers that Zhong Tai was both a great scholar and a sensitive thinker. His intellectual and personal life have been characterized by his untrammeled character and critical thinking, whose intellectual thought and insight have been pointing to and anticipating a new period of modernity.