The Formation of “Chinese Philosophy” and the Discourse on Yang Zhu during Meiji Japan

Title

The Formation of “Chinese Philosophy” and the Discourse on Yang Zhu during Meiji Japan

Author

Masayuki SATO

Page

39-78

DOI

10.6163/TJEAS.202212_19(2).0002

Abstract

This essay aims to elucidate an actual situation of the formation of the research field we call today “Chinese philosophy” with close focus on how Meiji intellectuals have discussed an early Chinese thinker Yang Zhu. Few traditional East-Asian intellectuals have shown their interest to this person, while in the intellectual scene by the end of Meiji period, he has been regarded as one of most important philosophers among the Warring States masters during early Chinese intellectual history. The present author assumes that the locus to have triggered such an interpretative change was Tokyo University in its fledgling first ten years (i.e., around during 1878-1888). Two group of peoples performed their pioneering role for making an image of Yang Zhu as one of indispensable philosophers in early China. One group were instructors of philosophy or Oriental philosophy, such as Ernest Fenollosa and Inoue Tetsujirô, who have focused upon philosophical aspects or role of Yang Zhu in their lectures. The other group were their students who wrote about Yang Zhu. In particular, Takigawa Kametarô was the first scholar who published an article, the main subject of which was Yang Zhu. In such a process of 1880s, in which the academic field of “Chinese Philosophy” has taken into form, scholars have sought counterpart philosophers and theory in Western tradition to those of Yang Zhu, and, on the other hand, tried to explain his significant philosophical role by such terms as “egoism”, “self-love”, “Retreatism”, etc. It was in such an intellectual attempt by Meiji young intellectuals that the image of Yang Zhu as a philosopher has been molded

Keyword

Chinese philosophy, Yang Zhu, Tokyo University, Inoue Teasujirô, Takigawa Kametarô

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