6. Why Modern Chinese Philosophers Have Rejected Christianity: The Case of Feng Youlan (中国现代哲学家为何拒绝接受基督教？—以冯友兰为例)

Abstract

In the twentieth century, many different types of Western philosophy arrived in China, where they played both a positive and a negative role in the transformation and development of Chinese society. Feng Youlan was one of the founders of the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University, and one of the most influential philosophers, historians of philosophy, and educators in twentieth-century China. He saw it as his duty to modernize traditional Chinese philosophy, society, and culture, and for this purpose he read widely, assimilating the finer points of both Western and Eastern philosophies, and later established his distinctive New Rational Philosophy . He always took an interest in religion, including Christianity. This chapter focuses on Feng as a typical example of a modern Chinese philosopher, and provides a concrete answer to the question of why Chinese philosophers refused to accept Christianity. Keywords:Chinese philosophers; Christianity; Feng Youlan; New Rational Philosophy; philosophyof human life; Western philosophy