Conclusion

Abstract

Fang Dongmei, one of the forerunners of New Confucianism, summarizes neatly the Science and Lifeview debate in 1927: “The Universe and life are a harmonious unity of affect and reason, which should not be divided.” Borrowing from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), he deftly points out that, spending hundreds of years from the Middle Ages on to modern times searching for the secret of life, Europeans are just like the little girl Alice, who is eager to open the door to the mysterious garden she is peeping at, but, after several futile attempts, fails to grasp the key to the door. For Fang, life (the realm of philosophy), driven by the endless creative evolution of desire and impulses, should be united with the universe (the realm of science), governed by the order of things and external appearances (sexiang色相‎, a Buddhist term). He maintains that the pursuit of knowledge should aid life: “Without you, Life, what’s the worth of knowledge?” The end of the chapter discusses the impact of life philosophy on the May Fourth period and after, including Wumingshi’s six-volume masterpiece, Wumingshu (The Nameless Book), written between 1945 and 1960.