A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

Wing-tsit Chan (1901–1994) was the Anna R. D. Gillespie Professor of Philosophy at Chatham University and professor emeritus of Chinese philosophy and culture at Dartmouth College.

“Indispensable to western students of Chinese philosophy.”—Times Literary Supplement

“Chan’s theme is Chinese humanism, because this is the unavoidable theme of Chinese philosophy in nearly all ages. Heroically he has translated his philosophers himself, with the result that for the first time the entire map is seen through a consistent eye. ‘Source Book’: no. Please look on it instead as a massive and superb anthology.”—Robert Payne, Saturday Review

“[Chan’s] brilliant scholarship has enabled him to strike a balance between modern, medieval and ancient periods as well as between Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, and for the first time a leading Chinese scholar has carefully weighed the influences and importance as well as the themes of many of the Chinese philosophers.”—John Coombes, Columbus Enquirer

“The Neo-Confucian translations in particular are the most reliable yet made, and show a familiarity with classical allusions, early colloquial idiom and the turns of Neo-Confucian thought which no Western translator can hope to emulate.”—A. C. Graham, Journal of the American Oriental Society

“The volume is virtually an encyclopedia.”—Journal of Bible and Religion