A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

Why it’s on the list: Wing-tsit Chan’s single-volume anthology of Chinese philosophy in his own translations — from Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Laozi and Zhuangzi through Buddhism to the Neo-Confucian synthesis and on into the twentieth century — the primary texts with short introductions, rather than a survey about them.

Where I heard about it

• Li Lu — entry 9 in the Chinese Civilization, History, and Culture section of Li Lu’s Recommended Book List, the Himalaya Capital bibliography. That he gives Chinese thought its own numbered section is the clearest sign he reads two canons rather than one.

Connections

• Li Lu’s Recommended Book List — the bibliography this came from.
• China — the tradition surveyed.
• Religion · Morality — Confucian ethics and Chinese Buddhism are most of the volume.