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A Brief Biography of Tang Yijie, the Honorary Member of the Society
Professor Tang Yijie 汤一介 (1927–2014) was awell-known philosopher, historian of philosophy,and teacher of philosophy. He was also a endowed
professor of philosophy at Peking University and an
important area expert and editor-in-chief for theRucang 儒藏 (Confucian Corpus) project. In addition, he was honorary director of the Confucianism
Research Institute, founding president of theAcademy of Chinese Culture, president of theChinese Confucian Academy, vice president of theAssociation for Yan Huang Culture of China, vicechairman of the International Federation of Daoism, and member of theCentral Research Institute of Culture and History. He held honorary doctoral
degrees from McMaster University in Canada and Kansai University in Japan.
Among his accolades, he counted the Peking University Philosophy
Department Lifetime Achievement Award in Philosophy Instruction, theConfucian Culture Award, and the Wu Yuzhang Lifetime Achievement Awardin the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Tang Yijie was born on February 16, 1927 in Tianjin. His ancestral home
was Huangmei in Hubei Provence. In 1947 he began his studies in thePhilosophy Department of Peking University, and in 1951 he began working
at the Beijing Administrative College. In 1956 he was transferred back to thePhilosophy Department of Peking University, where he became associate
professor in 1981, professor and doctoral student advisor in 1985, andendowed professor in 2006.
Professor Tang’s primary areas of specialization in instruction and researchwere Neo-Daoism of the Wei and Jin periods; early Daoism, Buddhism,Confucianism, and East-West cultural relations; and Marxist philosophy. His
major works include Guo Xiang yu Wei Jin xuanxue (Guo Xiang andNeo-Daoism of the Wei and Jin Periods, 1983), Zaoqi daojiao shi (A Historyof Early Daoism, 2006), Zhongguo chuantong wenhua zhong de Ru, Dao, Shi(Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in Traditional Chinese Culture, 1988),
Ru, Dao, Shi yu neizai chaoyue wenti (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism
and the Problem of the Inherent Transcendental, 1991), Confucianism,Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Chinese Culture (1991), Zai feiyou feiwu
zhi jian (Between Existence and Nonexistence, 1995), Feishi feixu ji (ACollection of Essays on the Nonreal and Nonempty, 1999), Xi bu zhi jin (The134

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Past Does Not Extend to the Present, 1999), Fojiao yu Zhongguo wenhua(Buddhism and Chinese Culture, 1999), He er bu tong (Harmonious YetDifferent, 2001), Wo de zhexue zhi lu (My Path in Philosophy, 2006), Ruxue
shi lun ji wai wu pian (Ten Commentaries on Confucianism, 2009), andZhuwang xin zhouxin shidai (Hopes for a Newly Centered Age, 2014).1 All ofthese works can be found in the ten-volume collection Tang Yijie ji (Works ofTang Yijie, 2014).2In the 1980s Professor Tang established the Academy of Chinese Culture,
which at the time led to great interest in culture. In 2003, when he was in hisseventies, he initiated and managed the Confucian corpus project Rucang,
which at present has nearly fifty academic institutions (in China, South
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam) and over four hundred scholars participating. The
compilation of Rucang attracted wide notice in society for establishing a firm
foundation for researching and promoting traditional culture. In 2011
Professor Tang, as editor in chief, finished compiling the nine-volume
Zhongguo Ruxue shi (The History of Chinese Confucianism).3 This general
history of Chinese Confucianism is the most extensively sourced, the richestin content, and the most systematic history of Confucianism to the present. It
received the Twelfth Beijing Special Award for an Outstanding Work in
Philosophy and the Social Sciences, the General Administration ofNewspaper Publications Fourth Outstanding Publication Award, and the Third
Government Chinese Publication Award.
Professor Tang was a pioneer in the field of Chinese philosophy andthought. In his understanding of the spirit of Chinese philosophy, research in
the Neo-Daoism of the Wei and Jin periods, explorations into Daoism and1 Guo Xiang yu Wei Jin xuanxue 郭象与魏晋玄学 (Wuhan: Hubei Renmin Chubanshe,1983), Zaoqi daojiao shi 早期道教史 (Beijing: Kunlun Chubanshe, 2006), Zhongguo
chuantong wenhua zhong de Ru, Dao, Shi 中国传统文化中的儒道释 (Beijing:Zhongguo Heping Chubanshe, 1988). Ru, Dao, Shi yu neizai chaoyue wenti 儒道释
与内在超越问题 (Nanchang: Jiangxi Renmin Chubanshe, 1991), Confucianism,
Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Chinese Culture (Washington, D.C.: Councilfor Research in Values and Philosophy, 1991), Zai feiyou feiwu zhi jian 在非有非無之間 (Taipei: Zhengzhong Shuju, 1995), Feishi feixu ji 非实非虚集 (Beijing: HuawenChubanshe, 1999), Xi bu zhi jin 昔不至今 (Shanghai: Shanghai Wenyi Chubanshe,1999), Fojiao yu Zhongguo wenhua 佛教与中国文化 (Beijing: Zongjiao WenhuaChubanshe, 1999), He er bu tong 和而不同 (Shenyang: Liaoning Renmin Chubanshe,2001), Wo de zhexue zhi lu 我的哲学之路 (Beijing: Xinhua Chubanshe, 2006), Ruxue
shi lun ji wai wu pian 儒学十论及外五篇 (Beijing: Beijing Daxue Chubanshe, 2009),
and Zhuwang xin zhouxin shidai 瞩望新轴心时代 (Beijing: Zhongyang BianyiChubanshe, 2014).
2 Tang Yijie ji 汤一介集 (Beijing: Zhongguo Renmin Daxue Chubanshe, 2014).
3 Tang Yijie 汤一介, Li Zhonghua 李中华, eds., Zhongguo ru xue shi 中國儒學史, 9 vols.
(Beijing: Beijing Daxue Chubanshe, 2010–2011).

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Buddhism, ability to discover new ways of explaining Chinese culture, ability
to conceptualize past and present cultural issues, and ability to plan anddirect great scholarly projects, he displayed a brilliant scholarly awarenessthat seemed divinely inspired and an intellectual spirit that united people in acommon enterprise. Professor Tang devoted his life to the great enterprise ofreconstructing Chinese culture for the new age.
May he forever rest in peace!
http://www.phil.pku.edu.cn/tyj/tangyijie.html

Zhongguo wenhua shuyuan (Academy for Chinese Culture) in Peking
University was co-founded by Professor Tang in 1984.

Photos by De-min Tao

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Telegram of Condolence to Professor Wang Bo, the Chair of thePhilosophy Department of Peking UniversityWe were shocked to learn of the passing yesterday of Professor Tang Yijie
and are incomparably grieved. Professor Tang and [his wife] Professor Yue
Daiyun received honorary doctorates from our university in 2006 and guided
us in our research. Many of our faculty members and graduate students
visited your department and engaged in advanced studies, receiving enthusiastic guidance from Professor Tang and other professors. We earnestly
express our heartfelt thanks and extend our sincerest condolences.
KUSUMI Harushige
President of Kansai University
Osaka, Japan
September 10, 2014

Professors Tang Yijie and Yue Daiyun received Honorary
Doctorates from President Kawata Teiichi in October 2006
when Kansai University was celebrating its 120th anniversary.
Courtesy of Kansai University(Photos by De-min Tao)