We should therefore be very grateful to the Thornton Center’s China Thinkers series, which, like the Princeton China series, provides English-speaking readers with translations of representative works by prominent Chinese intellectuals. . The latest volume in the series includes his 19 essays by the ethicist and social commentator He Huaihong, as well as an excellent introductory essay by Cheng Li. The translation is excellent, and his insights and arguments deserve a wide audience: not only those who wish to understand modern China, but also those who wish to engage with and learn from China.
—Stephen C. Angle, china quarterly report
in Social ethics in changing ChinaRenowned scholar He Huaihong seeks to respond to and alleviate the moral malaise of modern China, reeling from the stresses and strains of the transition from the 19th century to the 21st century in one generation. Offering a clinic on cultural archeology, he unearths the rich veins of ethical thinking buried in the history and culture of this ancient civilization, guiding and revitalizing China’s continued trajectory of economic and political rise. It presents a bold vision of an egalitarian social ethic.
—Roger T. Ames, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii
Social ethics in changing China We identify the universal moral underpinnings of Confucian values ​​and suggest ways to realize those values ​​in contemporary Chinese society. His knowledge and candor about old and new China is impressive and you don’t need to be an expert to understand China. Since Professor He studies the foundations of morality, his books have made significant contributions to political theory in general.
—Aloysius Patrick Martinich, Roy Allison Vaughn Centennial Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin
Every society needs a “moral foundation.” Considering the rapid changes and development of society, today’s China especially needs to rebuild its ethical foundations. This reconstruction must not only be compatible with modern Chinese society, but also be based on the essential traditions of Chinese culture. This book by He Huaihong explains this need more sharply and deeply from an ethical perspective than any other book.
—Chen Lai, Professor of Philosophy at Tsinghua University and Director of China Academy of Studies