Chinese Philosophy of History - (Bloomsbury Studies in World Philosophies) by Dawid Rogacz

Book Synopsis

Challenging the Eurocentric misconception that the philosophy of history is a Western invention, this book reconstructs Chinese thought and offers the first systematic treatment of classical Chinese philosophy of history.

Dawid Rogacz charts the development from pre-imperial Confucian philosophy of history, the Warring States period and the Han dynasty through to the neo-Confucian philosophy of the Tang and Song era and finally to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Revealing underexplored areas of Chinese thought, he provides Western readers with new insight into original texts and the ideas of over 40 Chinese philosophers, including Mencius, Shang Yang, Dong Zhongshu, Wang Chong, Liu Zongyuan, Shao Yong, Li Zhi, Wang Fuzhi and Zhang Xuecheng. This vast interpretive body is compared with the main premises of Western philosophy of history in order to open new lines of inquiry and directions for comparative study.

Clarifying key ideas in the Chinese tradition that have been misrepresented or shoehorned to fit Western definitions, Rogacz offers an important reconsideration of how Chinese philosophers have understood history.

Review Quotes

An original and unparalleled description and analysis of the enduring Chinese fascination with the nature, meaning and writing of history, displaying an impressive command of historical sources and a mastery of philosophical understandings of history as process, narrative and expression in other forms of culture.
Philip J. Ivanhoe, Distinguished Chair Professor, College of Confucian Studies and Eastern Philosophy, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

The human longing to unite the past with the present is as important as our need to philosophize about it. This book shows in a truly enjoyable but learned way how much we need to learn from China if we are to experience the holistic nature of this reunion.
Jana Rosker, Professor of Sinology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

About the Author

Dawid Rogacz is Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland.