ABSTRACT
This essay is an inquiry into the constructive challenge of Western philosophy to the development of the history of Chinese philosophy. The discussion focuses on the methodological aspects of three major works that appeared from 1919 to 1982. These works are remarkable, not only for illustrating the different Western philosophical assumptions and backgrounds of these writers, but also for their importance in Chinese philosophical education and discourse. As pre liminaries, in the first part, I consider the idea of Chinese philosophy and samples of the critical-historical spirit of ancient Chinese thought. In the second part, I turn to three major works on the history of Chinese philosophy, that is, works of Hu Shih (Hu Shi), Fung Yu-lan (Feng You-lan), and Lao Sze-kwang (Lao Si-guang), and conclude with some remarks on the contributions of a few recent works to the study of the history of Chinese philosophy.
