Graham s major academic achievements, Graham s academic research

During his academic career, Graham not only studied philosophy per se, but also made groundbreaking studies of Chinese philosophy, and at the same time produced a large number of fine translations of Chinese Chinese, Chinese philosophy, and poetry. In the last decade of his life, he returned to the study of Neo-Confucianism, and his philosophical research experience influenced the evolution of his understanding of Neo-Confucianism.

Graham has a deep understanding of the characteristics of Chinese philosophy, and he believes that the way Chinese think and see the world tends to be interdependent rather than independent; There are parts in the whole, not a set of parts; The opposing sides complement each other, not contradict each other; Everything is changing (cyclical changes, not moving forward), not static; Value-oriented use of things, rather than the quality of things; Concern for mutual induction, not causality. He also thinks:

In the history of Chinese thought, there are two great periods, one is the Eastern Zhou and Warring States periods, and the other is the Song Dynasty, and Song ** studies are highly praised.

Graham has studied the philosophy of Song scholars Cheng Hao (Cheng Mingdao) and Cheng Yi (Cheng Yichuan), and his pioneering work "Two Chinese Philosophers - Neo-Confucianism of the Two Cheng Brothers" has made a comprehensive and systematic exposition and rigorous analysis of the thoughts of the two core philosophers in the field of Neo-Confucianism, which is unique in the literature in this field. From the perspective of Western scholars, the book makes a superb study of Ercheng's scientific thoughts. It has three characteristics:

The first is to separate the physical category system of Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao, and clarify the meaning of these categories; second, it examines the origin of Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao's philosophies, revealing the characteristics of the two philosophies; The third is to compare the similarities and differences between Chinese and European philosophies, highlighting the "differences" between the two. This book not only played a role in promoting the expansion and change of the field of Neo-Confucianism, but also maintained its practical significance and practical value as the clearest and most comprehensive English literature for the study of the thoughts of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi in the Northern Song Dynasty. It marks the starting point for those who are first confronted with the challenges of Chinese philosophy in the 11th century, and is a must-read for scholars from both the East and the West who are committed to the study of this field of thought.

The first draft of the book was submitted by Graham to the University of London in June 1953 for a doctorate in philosophy**. With the support of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Graham spent a year in Hong Kong and Japan from 1954 to 1955, where he revised the first draft after obtaining new information, and the monograph was officially published in England in 1958, reprinted in 1978, and reprinted in the United States in 1992. In particular, the translation and publication of the Chinese version of this book was undertaken by Mr. Cheng Dexiang (the twenty-ninth grandson of Cheng Yichuan), a direct descendant of Cheng Yichuan, who has studied Cheng Yichuan for many years and is skilled in Cheng Zi's original work, and the translation is accurate and fluent.