ABSTRACT
Mou Tsung-san's interpretation of Confucianism is characterized by the influence of Western philosophy, especially that of Kant. This chapter sketches out Mou's interpretation of Confucianism and his grouping of the systems within Confucianism. In Mou's interpretation he employs not only Immanuel Kant's philosophical terms such as "thing-in-itself," "intellectual intuition," and "autonomy," but also his philosophical framework of "appearance" and "thing-in-itself." By explicating the hermeneutical implications of his method of philosophical interpretation, the chapter gives a justification for his approach. Kant's influence on Mou's interpretation of Confucianism can best be considered in two perspectives, the frameworks of philosophical thinking and moral philosophy. He criticizes the philologists of the Ch'ing dynasty for adopting a one-sided hermeneutical principle: the philosophical implications can be disclosed only after the clarification of the philological issues. On the contrary, Mou's "text-interpretative approach" is founded on the circular interactions between philological commentary and philosophical exposition.
