Teacher Zhang Xianglong passed away yesterday…
I was fortunate, as an undergraduate, to sit in on his introductory philosophy course, and later I also had quite a bit of academic and personal contact with him. I always got used to calling him Master Xianglong, because he was the first person who made me feel what the bearing of a master was really like: truly bringing together Chinese, Western, and Indian thought, and making one feel the profundity and richness of thought.
Although Master Xianglong’s thought leaned toward antiquity, his horizon was broad and he kept up with the cutting edge. He insisted on reading the latest technology magazines, and when talking about topics such as artificial intelligence and deep learning he was quite an insider; I think he understood them more accurately than many experts who specialize in so-called philosophy of artificial intelligence.
In my personal view, Master Xianglong was the best phenomenologist in China, bar none. His phenomenology did not stop at textual study, but was thoroughly digested and incorporated into his own Confucian context.
On some of Master Xianglong’s views about the Confucian tradition, I did not agree; but that was precisely the point at which he influenced me the most. It was only when I encountered people like Master Xianglong in my undergraduate years that I personally came to understand that many thoughts with which one disagrees can also be profound and worthy of respect.
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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