A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy [Paperback]

Wing-Tsit Chan (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1969 | Series: Princeton Paperbacks

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[E]normous chunks of the philosophers, and the commentary reduced to the essential minimum. Mr Chan's theme is Chinese humanism, because this is the unavoidable theme of Chinese philosophy in nearly all ages. Heroically he has translated his philosophers himself, with the result that for the first time the entire map is seen through a consistent eye. 'Source Book': no. Please look on it instead as a massive and superb anthology. -- Robert Payne, Saturday Review



[Mr. Chan's] brilliant scholarship has enabled him to strike a balance between modern, medieval and ancient periods as well as between Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, and for the first time a leading Chinese scholar has carefully weighed the influences and importance's as well as the themes of many of the Chinese philosophers. -- John Coombes, Columbus Enquirer



[T]he Neo-Confucian translations in particular are the most reliable yet made, and show a familiarity with classical allusions, early colloquial idiom and the turns of Neo-Confucian thought which no Western translator can hope to emulate. -- A. C. Graham, Journal of the American Oriental Society



[T]he volume is virtually an encyclopedia. -- Journal of Bible and Religion

Product Details

• Paperback: 874 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1st Princeton p edition (April 1, 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691019649
• ISBN-13: 978-0691019642
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A few reservations....., June 1, 1998

By 

Gary Arbuckle ([e-mail]) (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Paperback)

I use this book in teaching, and am very grateful for it. However, there are a few "gotchas" that the reader/student should be aware of.

First, it's old. It was done in 1963 and won't be revised, since the author is dead. It thus has a very "traditionalistic" selection of texts, with philosophy more narrowly defined than I feel comfortable with. And of course, it doesn't include any of the textual discoveries since 1963, or any of the groundbreaking textual work, such as Graham's on the Chuang-tzu. There are major authenticity problems with some of the selections from the Kung-sun Lung-tzu and Tung Chung-shu as well.

Second, even for its time, it's conservative. The author was, to put it kindly, credulous about some early datings. The discussion of the Lao-tzu is particularly problematic. There is also an overly dismissive attitude towards the thought of some periods, such as the Han.

Third, it's somewhat biased, though in a very traditional way. The Neo-Confucian standpoint is more or less assumed true throughout. This detracts from the discussion of some documents earlier than the Neo-Confucians.

None of this is an argument not to use the book. But be just a bit careful if you do.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, April 23, 2000

By 

Marilyn H. Dorato (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Paperback)

Dr. Chan was my college Asian philosophy professor so I used the book under special circumstances. As I recall, it was to be a beginning for those interested in the subject and was not intended to satisfy those further along in their studies. He was always receptive to differing views, and I think, would have been pleased to argue his points. He might be called conservative, but it was not easy for intellectuals still stuck in Mao's China as he was as a young man. He told us of having to read in the toilet so no one would know. The book is very simply written, easy for a novice to grasp and structured in such a way as to encourage discussion about the various philosophers. I recommend it for those with a budding interest in the subject. It gives a good overview and would encourage most readers to go on. No book should be read without the possibility of questioning what it contains just as no teacher should ever be regarded as the ultimate authority.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful, but often problematic, anthology., November 15, 2000

By 

bryan12603 (Poughkeepsie, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Paperback)

We owe a great debt to the late Professor Chan for having translated this anthology of selections from over 2,500 years of Chinese philosophy. To my knowledge, this is the only anthology that gives so many selections from so many different periods in Chinese history. Perhaps there never will be a book like this again, at least by one scholar, because I doubt anyone else is competent to translate so many texts from so many different periods.

That being said, this book also has serious limitations. Arbuckle's review (which is nearby) expertly identifies many of them. Here are some more. Chan's English is much better than my modern Chinese, but he still sometimes lapses into incoherence. With a few exceptions, his comments on the translations are both confusing and confused. Chan likes to use Western philosophical terminology, but he is not in command of it. It is neither accurate nor helpful to describe the Ch'eng-Chu wing of Neo-Confucianism as "rationalistic," and the Lu-Wang wing as "dynamic idealism."

For many of the philosophers that Chan covers, this is still the best source for translations. This is especially so of later Chinese philosophy. I know of no better translation of selections from Ch'eng Yi and Ch'eng Hao, for example. But for many other philosophers, you would be better off with translations with a more narrow focus. Daniel Gardner's _Learning to Be a Sage_ is a great source on Chu Hsi. And I would (not surprisingly) recommend the anthology I co-edited for translations from ancient Chinese philosophers. (D.C. Lau, Victor Mair, and Burton Watson have also produced more extensive translations of major early Chinese philosophers. Look up their names here on amazon.com.)