“Spiritual Breakthrough” and “What Makes China”: A Study of Chen Yun’s The Historical Philosophy of Civilization and the Revision of Voegelin’s “Image of China”
International Confucian Studies June 15, 2026 Qiuliu Jiang
Abstract Through a critical reflection on Eric Voegelin’s narrative of the Chinese spiritual breakthrough, Chen Yun’s The Historical Philosophy of Civilization attempts to revise and reconstruct the “Image of China” in the Ecumenic Age. This reconstruction is defined by four comparative dimensions. First, the Sage (圣人), rather than the King (帝王), is identified as the true carrier of the Chinese...