Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy

Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan's New Metaphysics explores Chinese philosophy through a comprehensive study and critical analysis of Feng Youlan's new metaphysics, proposing a systematic analysis of meaning. This philosophical linguistic approach continues the tradition of A.C. Graham and Chad Hanson and characterizes metaphysics in Chinese philosophy as a metaphorical metaphysics clearly distinguished from that studied in Western philosophy. Derong Chenexamines the historical influences of ancient Chinese philosophy, Neo-Confucianist philosophy, and Western philosophy on Feng Youlan's work while illustrating the impact of Feng's philosophy on Chinese scholars, including Feng's contemporaries Zhang Shenfu, Zhu Guangian, He Lin, Jin Yuelin, and Feng's student Chen Lai. This detailed analysis of Feng Youlan's new metaphysics demonstrates that Feng's system is not the completely Westernized philosophical system many scholars identify it as, nor is it the pure logical and analytical system Feng himself intended to construct. Rather, the essence and characteristics of the new metaphysics at the core of Feng's philosophical system expose his philosophy as a continuation of the Chinese philosophical tradition in a new era. This approach is most applicable to scholars of comparative philosophy and of any era of Chinese philosophy.