I. Mou Zongsan (1909–1995)

Mou Zongsan (1909–1995), courtesy name Lizhong, was born in Qixia, Shandong Province. A thinker and educator, he was a leading figure in modern Confucianism. In 1933, he graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and subsequently taught at West China University, Central University, Jinling University, and Zhejiang University, primarily focusing on logic and Western culture. After 1949, he taught at Taipei Normal College and Tunghai University in Taiwan. From 1960 onward, he taught at the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and New Asia Institute, and later at National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, Tunghai University, and Central University.

Mou Zongsan was deeply influenced by Xiong Shili, particularly by Xiong’s New Treatise on Consciousness-Only, which profoundly shaped his philosophical pursuits. He sought to integrate Confucian philosophy with Kantian philosophy, aiming to reconstruct a “moral metaphysics” in Confucianism. His representative works include Heart and Nature, Talent, Nature and Profound Principle, Buddha-nature and Prajna, and Integration of Chinese and Western Philosophy. He is regarded as an original and highly creative philosopher.

Mou Zongsan traced his ancestry back to Mou Jingming of the Ming dynasty, who moved from Hubei to Qixia, Shandong. His family became wealthy landlords, owning tens of thousands of acres of land. His father, Mou Yinqing, maintained a moderately prosperous life in late Qing times. Mou Zongsan was the youngest of three sons.

Mou believed that Confucianism, particularly the teachings of Confucius, Mencius, Lu Xiangshan, and Wang Yangming, represents the main lineage of Chinese culture. He studied Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism deeply, focusing on texts such as the Analects, Mencius, Zhongyong, and I Ching, emphasizing metaphysical and religious dimensions of Confucian thought.

He argued that Chinese culture has a “moral lineage” but lacks systematic scholarship and political structure. Confucianism emphasizes moral cultivation (inner sage) but historically weakens external governance. Mou proposed that contemporary Confucianism should develop a “new external governance” derived from its moral lineage, translating moral principles into democracy, science, governance, and practical achievements.

Mou Zongsan translated Kant’s three major critiques, integrating Kantian philosophy with the heart-mind philosophy of Confucius, Mencius, Lu Xiangshan, and Wang Yangming. He emphasized “truth, goodness, and beauty,” interpreting Confucian philosophy through Kantian thought, and sought to reconstruct a moral metaphysics for Confucius and Mencius.

He proposed a “three-stage development” of Confucianism:

The formative stage (Confucius, Mencius, Xun) – establishing the moral and political foundation of the Chinese empire.

The Song-Ming Neo-Confucian stage – emphasizing absolute subjectivity and inner cultivation.

The contemporary stage – transforming moral cultivation into practical governance, linking Confucianism to modern society.

Mou emphasized that the moral core of Confucianism (inner sage) could naturally give rise to democracy and science (outer governance) without external addition. Just as the Western Renaissance and Reformation generated modern science and democracy, the revival of Song-Ming philosophy could enable a modern Confucian cultural renewal.

In 1958, Mou Zongsan, Xu Fuguan, Zhang Junli, and Tang Junyi co-authored the manifesto An Appeal to the World Concerning Chinese Culture, explaining the ethical, religious, and metaphysical dimensions of Confucian thought. Mou stressed that Confucianism, far from being purely ethical, carries strong religious significance, as seen in rituals such as offering sacrifices to Heaven, paralleling Western religious practices. Confucian metaphysics of “heart and nature” is confirmed through moral practice, aligning with Kantian moral metaphysics.

Mou Zongsan passed away in Taipei in 1995 at age 86, leaving behind thirty-three volumes of works collected in The Complete Works of Mou Zongsan. His contributions have been studied extensively by scholars worldwide.

Sayings of Mou Zongsan

The freedom of Zhuangzi’s Xiaoyao You and equality in Qi Wu Lun are transcendental, not political.

Chinese people are romantic, admiring heroes and sages but often undervaluing practical achievements.

One may not oppose belief in Christianity, but must always safeguard the main current of Confucian culture—bearing dual responsibility.

God is universal. Confucius’ teachings are addressed to all humanity.

First, “rectify names”; life attains order, and reasoning is not disrupted.

II. Yu Ying-shih (1930–2021)

Yu Ying-shih (1930–2021) was born in Tianjin, with family roots in Qianshan, Anhui. A historian and sinologist, he was a member of the American Philosophical Society. He spent his life interpreting Chinese intellectual traditions, exploring “the connection between heaven and humans, and the transformation across time,” and became a leading authority in modern Chinese thought and culture globally.

Yu’s childhood coincided with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. At age seven, he returned to Anhui for classical education. At age fourteen, he witnessed the massacre of three hundred villagers by the Communist New Fourth Army, leaving lasting trauma. In 1946, he moved to Shenyang for secondary school, and in 1949, he entered the Department of History at Yenching University in Beiping. In 1950, he studied under Qian Mu at the New Asia College in Hong Kong, graduating in 1952 and teaching at elementary schools for two years. He then studied at Harvard under the sinologist Yang Liansheng, earning a PhD in history and philosophy. He held professorships at Harvard, New Asia College, Yale, and Princeton.

Yu specialized in the Chinese theory of “heaven-human unity” (天人合一). He distinguished it from Western transcendence: Chinese transcendence is “inward,” with humans internalizing heaven—the source of value—into the heart. Thus, “heaven” and human are unified, with heaven residing in the human heart. This is equivalent to the concept of God being within the heart, making “heaven-human unity” a religious idea.

Yu was a defender of freedom and democracy, with minimal interest in politics but sharp critique of the Communist Party. He argued that the Party obliterates human dignity, practices extreme violence, fosters corruption, and represents the “worst form of capitalist power,” predicting its eventual collapse. He supported Chinese democratic movements, including publicly supporting the 1989 Tiananmen protests. Yu assisted exiled Chinese intellectuals, helping establish the “Princeton Chinese Studies Society” as a haven.

He visited mainland China in 1978 and, seeing its transformation, resolved never to return under Communist rule, though he expressed willingness to return if the regime abandoned Communist ideology. His works were widely published during more liberal periods in the 2000s but suppressed under Xi Jinping.

Yu Ying-shih authored 59 books and over 400 articles, profoundly influencing half a century of sinology worldwide. Notable works include:

New Trends of Modern Civilization (1953)
Development of Democratic Institutions (1954)
History and Tradition (1982)
Hu Shi in Modern Chinese Thought (1984)
Religious Ethics and the Spirit of Commerce in Modern China (1987)
Democracy and Cross-Strait Trends (1993)
Modern Confucianism (1996)
New Perspectives on May Fourth (1999)
The Historical World of Zhu Xi (2003)
Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism and Political Culture (2004)
Chinese Historiography at the Crossroads (2008)
Humanities and Rationality in China (2008)
Chinese Sentiments: Selected Essays of Yu Ying-shih (2010)
On the Interrelation of Heaven and Humans: An Exploration of Ancient Chinese Thought (2014)

Sayings of Yu Ying-shih

Heaven-human unity: humans internalize heaven, the source of value, into the heart. Heaven and human become one; heaven is in the heart, the heart contains heaven, and heaven personified is God.

Heaven-human unity equals: God is in the heart.

“All my life, I have summoned the spirit of my homeland. The city walls remain, but the people are gone. Visiting ancient sites brings a heightened sorrow; I do not know where my home lies.”