Chicago Academic Press Liang Qichao On the History of Chinese Culture Paperback

Liang Qichao On the History of Chinese Culture offers a sweeping exploration of China's cultural evolution by one of the country's most influential modern thinkers. Drawing on Buddhist philosophy, Liang defines culture as "valuable shared karma" shaped by human free will, creation, and imitation. He then delves into social organization-matriarchy and patriarchy, marriage, family, clans, surnames, class structures, rural governance, and urban development. The book also critically examines the origins of yin-yang and five elements theory, and traces the grand trajectory of Chinese intellectual history from the pre-Qin golden age through Confucian unification, Daoist and Buddhist eras, to early modern scholarship. First delivered as lectures in the 1920s, this English translation captures Liang's passionate, provocative style-comparing Chinese thought with Greek and Indian traditions, defending China's cultural heritage, and calling for a revival of national learning. Essential reading for students of Chinese history, philosophy, and sociology.