Overview of Ancient Chinese Historiography of Philosophy

Zhuofei Wang

Kassel University

pp. 99-113

in: Yoko Arisaka, Anke Graness (eds), Histories of Philosophy in a Global Perspective, East Asian Journal of Philosophy 2 (1), 2022.

Abstract

As a recently developed field of inquiry, the history of Chinese-language historiography of philosophy prioritizes studies of the history of Chinese philosophy since the 20th century. Relevant studies prior to the 20th century, mainly written in ancient Chinese, are highly marginalized. The historiography of philosophy in a global perspective attaches great importance to different expressions and frames of what is commonly referred to as“philosophy and history of philosophy”, thereby providing the essential theoretical support for the reconstruction of an ancient Chinese historiography of philosophy. This article outlines the historiography of ancient Chinese philosophy in order to present its basic characteristics in terms of approaches, methods and styles.