中國哲學的起源

"Misfortunes of a nation may turn out to be fortunes of a philosopher," noted Qian Mu, a renowned expert in Chinese cultural studies.

國學大師錢穆曾說過：“民族的不幸是哲人的財富”

The sentence vividly summarizes Ancient Chinese philosophers and their work, with Chinese history providing verification through the passage of time. In the majestic periods of Chinese history like the Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, major achievements in the humanities occurred in the field of literature, but at times of social unrest, philosophical accomplishments were even more prominent.

這句話在中國哲學史上得到了很好的印證：國富民強的漢唐時代，古代文學熠熠生輝，而在動盪不安的年代，我們民族卻在哲學上取得了很高的成就。

Ancient Chinese philosophers were born out of sorcery. After a series of incidents, ancient belief systems in destiny were gradually shaken and finally collapsed. The symbolic events that indicated the birth of Chinese philosophy were all developed by historiographers and senior officials in the government of the Zhou Dynasty (about 11th Century-221BC) helping to explain natural and social phenomena. The old-type sorcerers, who were most used to providing theological explanations, discarded their most familiar habits of resorting to augury, and emerged anew as philosophers, trying to give logical explanations by employing reason. Chinese philosophy, as a new form of culture, was born.

中國古代哲學家們起初多信奉巫術。後來，隨着歷史的變遷，先前的信仰體系逐漸“禮崩樂壞”。中國哲學的起源，可以追溯到周朝統治階層中負責解釋自然、社會現象的史料編纂者和官員們。他們放棄了早先以占卜來詮釋萬事萬物的習慣，開始試圖尋求理性、邏輯的解釋途徑。中國哲學作爲一種全新的文化形式，由此誕生了。