This section contains 10,041 words (approx. 34 pages at 300 words per page) |
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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY. The major developments in Chinese philosophy during the past three thousand years will be outlined here; ideas that are essentially religious, treated elsewhere, will be noted only as may be necessary to show the religious relevance and historical context of philosophical themes. This overview will be at once chronological and topical, as follows:
- The pre-Classical background (to the sixth century BCE)
- Classical philosophy (late sixth to late third century BCE)
- The first imperial era (to the third century CE)
- The development of Buddhism in China (to the ninth century)
- The Confucian revival (Tang and Song periods)
- The later empire (since the fourteenth century)
The Pre-Classical Background
China circa 550 BCE consisted only of what is now North China; even the states of the Yangtze River valley did not speak the language of what was recognized as the civilized heartland to the north. This known "world...
This section contains 10,041 words (approx. 34 pages at 300 words per page) |
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