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 between 1919 and 1982. These works are remarkable, not only for illustrating the different Western philosophical assumptions and backgrounds of the writers, but also for their importance in Chinese philosophical education and discourse. As a preliminary, in Section 1, I consider the idea of Chinese philosophy and samples of the critical-historical spirit of ancient Chinese thought. In Section 2, I turn to the three major works on the history of Chinese philosophy, that is, works of Hu Shih (Hu, Shi 胡適 ), Fung Yu-lan (Feng, You-lan 馮友蘭), and Lao Sze-kwang (Lao, Si-kuang 勞思光), and conclude with some remarks on the contributions of a few recent works to the study of the history of Chinese philosophy.
