Science in the Eyes of Chinese Phi-losophers in the 20^(th) Century

In terms of their understanding of science, 20^th century Chinese philosophers fall into four schools headed by Ding Wenjiang and Hu Shi, Zhang Dongsun, Mou Zongsan and Feng Qi respectively.

The Loss of Value Rationality & the Traditional Alignment among Chinese Literati in the Period of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties

Many people believe the expansion and furtherance of the process of modernization originate from an instrumental rationality with the aid of forces of science and technology. Such an understanding, however, overlooks the issues of cultural values at the inner core behind the scientific and technological background. The cornerstone of modern science in the West lies in value rationality deriving from the religious thought as evidenced in the faith in, curiosity about and exploration of an universal order and natural law governing behind the scenes. Rational thought sees the world as an objective target subject that is orderly, comprehensible by human wisdom, contrivable by computation, and to quantitative control and management.

A New Version of Modernity and Chinese Sociology

The old version of modernity centers on the conquest of nature and control of natural resources, leading to discord between society and nature and conflict between society and individuals. This type of modernity forces both society and nature to pay twice the price for its realization. If we say the new version of modernity comes from a positive and active examination of the old one, the post-modernism which calls for postmodernity is usually a negative and passive reaction to the old version of modernity. Its so-called deconstruction of society and knowledge＇s foundation has little to offer to the rebuilding of sociological norms in theoretical terms and equally little to offer to increasing social harmony in practical terms.

Another Discussion on the Rela-tionship between Lamaism and Tibetan Culture

Pursuit of the logos, learning and the implement is the main factor in Lamaism and Tibetan culture. The logos includes value rationality and object rationality, and mainly refers to various dimensions of faith. Learning involves rationality in theory, ethics and thought, and concretely refers to philosophy, logic, languages, literature and arts. ＂The implement＂ covers instrumental rationality and practical rationality, including technology, medicine, calendars and arithmetic, other technical dimensions.

A Thesis on the “National Security Dilemma” and Its Transcendence

To a great degree, the development of the current international system has proved that provided an anarchic state exists, the ＂national security dilemma＂ is an unavoidable reality. In the context of this dilemma, the rise of a big power in the international arena always leads to fierce competition for national security, even culminating in the outbreak of war. Hence it is natural for realist Western scholars of international relations to speculate that the dramatic growth of China＇s comprehensive national strength must pose a threat to the stability of the international system. If viewed from the essence of the situation, we may see the current international system （in the post-cold war era） does not differ from past international systems （during or before the cold war）.

A Tentative Discussion of the Sys-tem of Administrative Inspection Tours Implemented by the Qin and Han Dynasties

During the Period of the Warring States （475-221BC） as feudal regimes that featured centralization of the state power were established, a bureaucracy gradually came into being. At the same time as the central authorities introduced a system of shangji in which local officials submitted regular reports on their administrative achievements to the central government, an itinerant system of administrative inspection from top to bottom was gradually introduced, resulting in the strengthened supervision and investigation of administrative work at different localities.

Melanchthon and Religious Re-form in Germany

Phillip Melanchthon （originally, P. Schwartzerd, 1497-1560） was an eminent figure in the 16th century European movement of religious reform, whose historical position in the Reformation was only next to Martin Luther （1483-1546） and John Calvin （1509-1564）. From his teens, he had been groomed by humanist Johannes Rauchlin （1455-1522） and had come under the influence of Desiderius Erasmus （1469-1536）, so that he grew up to be a humanistic scholar. He was active in the movement, doing his utmost to support Luther. The drafter of the famous Augsburg Confession, he then became the leader of the movement after the death of Luther. During the three centuries since his demise, however, he has fallen into oblivion. His difference with Luther lies in his willingness to compromise with the Catholic Church while orthodox Lutheranists were in opposition to the humanistic stand of promoting religious reform within Catholicism.

Academic Dispute or Struggle for Survival?

The dispute between traditional and Western medicines in modem China found its main form of expression in the oppression of the former by practitioners of Western medicine, which holds the dominant position. Nominally, this is termed a controversy between the schools of traditional and Western medicines, but in practice, it involves the issue of the survival of traditional Chinese medicine confronted by the impact of the trend of scientism. In the course of confrontation, opposition and conflict, traditional Chinese medicine has become the target of criticism by both Western physicians and intellectuals of the whole society so that it has been forced to place itself in the passive position of defense, apology and resistance.

An Outline Exposition of Manage-rial Thought in the Pre-Qin Philo-sophic Schools

Among the philosophic schools that emerged before China＇s unification by the Qin Dynasty （221-206BC）, the different types of managerial thought preached by the Confucian, Mohist, military, Taoist and Legal schools were noted for their richness and diversity. They were characterized by the following distinctions： Confucianism stressed organized management. ＂Propriety＂ is the hallmark of Confucian doctrine, which calls for a country to be based on ＂propriety＂ symbolized by various ritual practices. The dis- tinctive characteristic of Confucian management lies in ＂rule by rites＂ to govern the process of national administration. The so-called ＂rule by a rites＂ means setting up a system to define mutual relations among the people and dictate the modes of their social activities. Mohism emphasized management by objectives, featuring a clear and rationally defined target on which managing activities were centered.

The Administrative Impact of Smallpox in the Early Years of the Qing Dynasty and Measures Adopted by the Qing Court

History is a theatrical stage fraught with human activities. The formation of a historical phenomenon not only comes from the people＇ s social activities, but also results from the interaction of various factors, including natural factors such as plagues. In the early Qing, a smallpox epidemic had become a severe annoyance to the Qing government. During winter and spring when epidemics ran out of control, the Manchu emperors such as Huangtaiji （reigned 1627-1644） and Shunzhi （reigned 1644-1662） had to seek shelter from the disease because they had not had smallpox and therefore were not immune to the epidemic. Some officials could not go to their offices due to its virulence.

The Last Successful Scholars in the Palace Examinations in the His-tory of the Chinese Imperial Ex-amination System

Having lasted continuously for some 1, 300 years, the imperial examination system （or the keju system） officially came to an end for good in September 1905. In the threeyear cycle of the imperial examinations, the year of 1905 saw neither the xiangshi （the provincial examination） nor the huishi （the metropolitan examination held in the imperial capital） being held as usual. Hence the metropolitan examination specially granted by the imperial court in the year of Jiacheng, the 30^th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu （1904）, became the last of its kind in the history of the 1,300-year-old imperial examination system, and the successful candidates attending the dianshi （the palace examination） held in July of that year became the last batch of scholars qualified for the title ofjinshi, or holders of the highest degree, in Chinese history.

Medical Science in the Guise of Religion: The Formative Mecha-nism and Origin of Taoist Asceti-cism to Maintain Mental Integrity

Taoist asceticism aimed at maintaining mental integrity originated from the bodybuilding skill by self-containment （shouyi yangsheng shu） preached by Laozi and Zhuangzi. Discussed by a series of Taoist religious texts such as Taiping Jing （Book of the Great Peace）, it was perfected step by step. According to it, in order to ward off evil spirits and diseases and gain a longer life, it is necessary to keep the human body＇s vital energy intact. If the vital powers leave the body, they must be collected and retrieved to the body by keeping up mental integrity. If one wants to live forever or become an immortal, it is necessary to utilize various complicated meditating methods to train and cultivate oneself to attain immortality.

The Conflict between and Inter-mingling of Christianity and Chi-nese Culture

From their ignorance and contempt for basic human rights and freedom of belief the diehard conservative officialdom of the Ming and Qing dynasties adopted a caustic attitude toward Catholic and Protestant churches from the West. Undertaking long journeys, the missionaries went to China to preach the gospel. This in itself constitutes a proclamation to Chinese men of letters that freedom of belief itself is a cardinal hallmark in the concept of human rights. The generousness and benevolence shown by the missionaries were in a sharp contrast with the mandarins＇ unkindness and acrimony. The latter knew nothing but blind defense of their national dignity, since they boasted that China was ＂the celestial kingdom＂ or the ＂divine land beneath heaven.＂ From this historical fact we may know that this insularity gave rise to an irreconcilably obstinate attitude towards the alien faiths in a closed country.

Rationality and Modernity

Defined by its philosophic implications, the term modernity refers to a complete set of ideological concepts and behavioral modes. While promoting success in modernization they show themselves as its result in the modernization process, giving rise to the distinctive personality of modem man and a modem society＇s specific attributes in the fields of economy, politics and culture. Among them rationality is a fundamental factor of modernity. A source of cognition and values, it is the highest expression and utmost achievement of human consciousness as well as a realistic norm for matter. Hence becoming rational is a marker for modernity.

Imaginal Thinking (Xiangsiwei) in Comparative Perspectives of China and the West

＂Imaginal thinking＂ epitomizes the basic contents and characteristics of the traditional mode of thinking in China. It is determined by the property of non-substantiality, which was the highest concept in Chinese thought and culture. Unlike the Western mode of conceptual thought featuring rationality and logic determined by the substantiality of its highest conception, the imaginal thinking is not a target-oriented and readymade mode of thoughts of duality containing the opposites of subject and object. On the contrary, it is intuitive as a whole, nontargeted and not ready-made. The rational and logical mode of Western conceptual thinking is necessary to us to realize modernization, but its alienated morphology such as scientism also brings some serious negative effects. Imaginal thinking is a more basic and primary mode of thinking than conceptual thinking oriented by rationality and logic.

On the Character of Universality:A Comparative Study on the Mor-phology of the Traditional Phi-losophies of China and the West

Since the era of Plato and Aristotle, Western philosophy has defined the pursuit of universal knowledge as its final goal, leading to the rise of the absolute concept of universality and the world of absolute principles composed of universal concepts. Tra- ditional philosophy in the West is a learning in search of universal knowledge while the highest aim for traditional Chinese philosophy is to acquire the realm of Tao. This is the demarcation line dividing the morphology of the traditional philosophies of China and the West. The so-called non-universality in China＇s traditional philosophy, first of all, refers primarily to the lack of awareness of universality in the minds of ancient Chinese scholars.

The Formation of Complementarity between Confucianism and Taoism in the Pattern of Thought in An-cient China

The early years of the Western Han Dynasty saw a major trend of intellectual intermingling. This ranged from free debate on the different schools of thought through the peaceful co-existence of six sects to the complementary duality of Confucianism and Taoism. In Sima Qian＇s masterwork Shift （Historical Records）, the diverse schools of thought flourishing before the rise of the Qin Empire in 221 BC had been reduced to six sects： Confucianism, Legalism, Logicism,Mohism, Taoism and the School of Yin and Yang. Among the six, Taoism had once held sway in the early years of the Han Dynasty when the regime＇s ruling strata were mostly believers in the doctrine preached by Huangdi and Laozi, so that the Taoist teaching of Qingjing wuwei （quietude and inaction） became an intellectual motto held with deep conviction by almost all walks of life in society. By the time of Emperor Han Wudi, Confucianism had assumed the dominant position.