A lecture by Dr. Cancan Liao, associate professor of Chinese philosophy in the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University, and a Harvard-Yenching Institute visiting scholar (2021-2022).

The late Ming and Early Qing (17th century) was a period during which China underwent an intellectual transformation influenced by Western natural science (more precisely, natural philosophy) and Catholicism transmitted by European Jesuits. During this period, the Classic of Changes (I Ching) became a medium of integration between Confucianism and “Western learning.” This talk focuses on Fang Yizhi (known as “the encyclopedic philosopher in late Ming”) and his image-numerology study of the Classic of Changes, which was seminal in this period.

Sponsored by Office of the Dean of the Faculty, Philosophy Department, Chinese & Japanese Department.

Campus community only, please.