Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture (Chinese-English)

Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture (Chinese-English)

The editorial board of Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture

Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press

October 2020

398.00 (CNY)

This book contains 900 terms on Chinese thought and culture， which reflect the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture and the way of thinking of the nation， reflecting the core values of China. These terms are intended to help readers truly understand Chinese philosophy， history， literature， and art. All entries are explained in both Chinese and English， with citations so that readers can understand their meaning and usage in Chinese history.

The editorial board of Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture

The editorial board of Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture consists of Han Zhen and others.

Han Zhen

Han Zhen is a Ph.D.， professor， and doctoral supervisor. He is also the director of the Academic Committee of Beijing Normal University and former president of Beijing University of Foreign Studies. His research interests include foreign philosophy and contemporary Western philosophy.

What are key concepts in Chinese thought and culture? They are the terms that comprise the core beliefs and expressions of the Chinese people， such as “Ren (Benevolence)，” “Qi (Vital Force)，” “Tian (Heaven)，” “Dao (Way)，” “Nine Zhou (Regions)，” “Imaginative Contemplation，” “People Are the Foundation of the State，” and “Have Ample Virtue and Carry All Things.” They can be seen as the crystallization of Chinese philosophy， humanistic spirit， way of thinking， and values.

The Chinese civilization is world-renowned for its long history and its extensive and profound legacy. Due to their particular geographical environment and historical development， the Chinese people have nurtured unique social structures， historical forms， political ethics， academic beliefs， and humanistic spirit， which have been refined by Confucius， Mozi， Laozi， Zhuangzi， Mencius， Xunzi， and many other great philosophers， and elaborated by scholars throughout the ages， to culminate in thousands of categories， concepts， and core words. Rich in content， those terms represent the magnificent outcome of independent inquiry into and rational contemplation of the universe， social ethics， and the relationship between human beings and nature， and constitute the hallmark thinking， spiritual pursuit， and civilization of the Chinese nation. They have been constantly renewed over thousands of years， and have remained brilliant as ever， illuminating the sky of human civilization. They are the great cultural legacy of the Chinese philosophers and the precious cultural wealth contributed by the Chinese nation to the world.

The concepts in the book have all been selected， explained and translated by professionals. The Project invited famous scholars Florence Chia-ying Yeh， Li Xueqin， Zhang Qizhi， and Lin Wusun as advisors， and Professor Han Zhen as head of the Expert Committee. A team of more than one hundred experts and scholars specializing in philosophy， literature and art， history， as well as in translation， communication and sinology has been organized， to take charge of the selection， explanation， translation， dissemination， and research of key concepts in Chinese thought and culture.

Compare the translation with the original， and we can see the painstaking efforts underlying every concept. Previously， translations of concepts were only found in a few English translations of ancient books， mostly as direct word-for-word rendering without further elaboration， and inundated among vast texts. In the translation of the 900 concepts， there was no past experience or ready references to draw on， so the challenges can only be imagined. As mentioned in the publisher’s note， to overcome those challenges， the translators abided by the following principles: 1) be faithful to the original text; 2) stick closely to the target language; 3) aspire to be comprehensible in explanation， using transliteration where appropriate; 4) follow standard procedures. The Project strictly followed the Chinese-English translation experience accumulated by Chinese translators over the past almost 70 years of practice. The concepts were rendered into English first， and the translation was then polished by scholars of China studies or native English experts before being finalized by experienced English experts in China. Those principles have proved not only practical， but also served to ensure the quality of the translation. For example， in translating “投桃報李” (literally “if you give me a peach， I’ll give you a plum in return”)， the translator chose not to just convey the literal meaning， but translated it into “Return Kindness with Kindness/Return Goodwill in Kind，” making it much easier for readers to understand its implication.

In European culture， concepts such as Democritus’ “atom，” Plato’s “doctrine of ideas，” Aristotle’s “form，” Montesquieu’s “spirit of laws，” Kant’s “a priori knowledge，” and Hegel’s “absolute spirit” are what underpins Western thought and culture.

As is the case with other nations in the world， China’s system of thought， culture， and knowledge possesses its own distinct concepts. It is these concepts that constitute the knowledge， culture， and thought with Chinese characteristics. Throughout history， Chinese scholars expressed their understanding of the world through academic discourse based on the Chinese system of time and space， thus giving rise to the longstanding and profound Chinese thought.

Today， anyone who wishes to understand Chinese academic thought and gain insight into the genealogy of Chinese academic evolution will be confronted with many concepts specific to Chinese culture， such as yin and yang， the middle way， harmony， righteousness， and propriety， having ample virtue and carrying all things， striving continuously to strengthen oneself， or unity of knowledge and action. Only by understanding such very Chinese concepts can one correctly grasp the essence of Chinese thought and culture.

The concepts in traditional Chinese thought and culture formed during the long evolution of Chinese civilization are of fundamental significance for understanding contemporary Chinese thought， culture， knowledge， and indeed China itself. First of all， such concepts contain the essence of Chinese cultural traditions and thought. Faced with the challenges of different systems of time and space， different peoples have different modes of production and lifestyles. For example， in terms of people’s production activities and lifestyles， there are different characteristics between tropical and temperate zones; between the plains and mountainous regions; between deserts and coastal areas; and between pastoral and agricultural areas. These characteristics of production activities and lifestyles gradually accumulate and coalesce. They inevitably affect people’s culture， behavioral habits， and spirit which， in turn， explain， maintain， and strengthen the specific modes of production and lifestyles on the basis of which they have emerged and developed.

For example， in ancient China， where agriculture was the mainstay， a certain scale of irrigation work was necessary to ensure the safety and production of the population. Therefore， harmony and order in interpersonal relations has always been paramount， which has found expression in the language. For instance， the words “family” and “state” are brought together in the concept “family， state， and all under heaven，” and imbued with a specific cultural connotation.

In English， the Chinese word guojia (國家) can be rendered variously as nation， country， or state. “Nation” generally denotes the people， “country” denotes its land mass， and “state” emphasizes the administration system. None of them has anything to do with family. However， the Chinese term guojia (literally national family) reminds people of the warmth of a family and proves the intrinsic link between the country and the family， a cell of society.

Secondly， concepts in Chinese thought and culture reflect the unique cultural traditions， ways of thinking， and structures of understanding of the Chinese people. The Chinese concept “the middle way” is closely related to the Chinese people’s reasoning， which effectively dissipates the tendency of extreme ways of thinking that occurs from time to time. The concept “harmony but not uniformity” has distinctive Chinese characteristics in the rational handling of interpersonal relations.

In fact， even when the Chinese people learn foreign theories and ideas， they understand them according to their own structure of understanding and cultural imagination. For example， when the Chinese people carried out socialist market reforms， they did not engage in shock therapy， but rather solved problems in a manner of “crossing the river by feeling the stones.” Such a balanced and rational approach ensured proper and rapid reform， opening up， and economic development， with impressive achievements.

In addition， China has made new advances in science and technology and in humanities and social sciences and has begun to increase its influence in the world academic community. This shows that China uses its own special cultural traditions and academic understanding structure to digest and transform foreign ideas and theories， in a manner conducive to taking ownership of such academic innovation. Thus， China independently and selectively absorbs and digests foreign academic achievements， utilizing the “structure of understanding” evolved by the Chinese people in the long process of understanding and transforming their world.

Finally， concepts in Chinese thought and culture are the basic expressions or specific symbols that constitute the academic system and discourse system with Chinese characteristics. In other words， they are the joints that link thoughts and ideas in the Chinese discourse system.

Many academic theories or doctrines of thought have universal significance. However， different theories or doctrines have their own ways of expression， and the uniqueness of theories is often reflected in different terms or concepts. For example， Joseph Nye coined the terms “soft power” and “hard power，” while thousands of years ago in China， the concepts “kingly way” and “despotic governance” were created. The “kingly way” means that the ruler governs according to the prevailing understanding of human nature， values， and social moral standards; on the other hand， if the ruling class relies on ruthless， arbitrary， and oppressive force， then it is deemed to be “despotic.”

When dealing with complementary things or relationships， all countries hold to the idea of maintaining a certain balance， but in China， the pursuit of balancing yin and yang is more active. The Chinese believe that femininity surpasses masculinity， and that yin is not only non-negative， but is a more positive force under certain conditions. The West tends to adopt zero-sum thinking toward competition， whereas the Chinese hold the idea that yin and yang are interwoven and can be transformed into each other， thus they are more willing to adopt a win-win approach. For the same reason， the Chinese term li (禮 rites/social norms/propriety) encompasses cultural and interpersonal institutional content beyond what is expressed in English by words such as “propriety.”

In short， over its long history， China has developed its own cultural traditions and structures of academic understanding， and concepts in Chinese thought and culture are the crystallization of such traditions and structures of thought. These concepts embody the essence of China’s cultural traditions and ideas， reflect the unique Chinese way of thinking and structure of understanding， and constitute the Chinese discourse system and the way of expressing ideas. Only by accurately understanding the subtle connotations of these concepts can one truly appreciate Chinese society and culture， and comprehend the thinking and behavior of the Chinese people in a deeper sense. It is therefore important to understand these concepts and terms and learn their special connotations and prescriptive nature， when examining， thinking about， and understanding China. And it is this that has made the collating， studying， and translating of the concepts in Chinese thought and culture a particularly meaningful task.