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Hu Shih

Hu Shih Quotes

Philosopher

Hu Shih (December 17, 1891 - February 24, 1962) was a prominent Chinese philosopher, litterateur, and educator. He was one of the key figures in the New Culture Movement and played a significant role in promoting the movement for vernacular Chinese, which had a profound impact on modern Chinese literature and thought.

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All Chinese China People Religious Absolutes Agnostic Century Contact India Novel

Famous Hu Shih Quotes

“The most outstanding characteristic of Eastern civilization is to know contentment, whereas that of Western civilization is not to know contentment. Contented Easterners are satisfied with their simple life and therefore do not seek to increase their material enjoyment... They are satisfied with their present lot and environment and therefore do not want to conquer nature but merely be at home with nature and at peace with their lot.”

“Even the absolute universality of the law of causality does not necessarily limit a person's freedom, because the law of causality not only enables him to explain the past and predict the future, but also encourages him to use his intelligence to create new causes and attain new results.”

Persons Doe Use Past Law Causes Results Limits Absolutes Universality Causality

Author:Hu Shih

“The sun exactly at noon is exactly [beginning to] go down. And a creature when he is born is exactly [beginning to] die.”

Dies Born Sun Creatures Down And Noon

Author:Hu Shih

“Grasp the opportunity with both hands to feel really very special as an Indian reading these quotes on the Indian Independence Day. A number of famous and reputed persons have thrown some light on the chapter of Indian Independence. India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border!"”

Feels Persons Hands Light Reading Opportunity Numbers Special Century India Independence Soldier China Indian Borders Thrown Chapters Independence Day Indian Independence Day

Author:Hu Shih

“India Conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”

“In such diffused changes of culture two factors are necessary: contact and understanding.”

Two Culture Understanding Contact Factors

Author:Hu Shih

“And revolutions always mean the breakdown of old authority.”

Mean Revolution Authority Breakdown

Book:English Writings of Hu Shih: Chinese Philosophy and Intellectual History

Source: English Writings of Hu Shih: Chinese Philosophy and Intellectual History

“Practically all the prominent leaders of thought in China today are openly agnostics and even atheists.”

Today Leader Atheism Atheist China Agnostic Prominent

Author:Hu Shih

“On the basis of biological, sociological, and historical knowledge, we should recognize that the individual self is subject to death or decay, but the sum total of individual achievement, for better or worse, lives on in the immortality of The Larger.”

Should Self Individual Subjects Achievement Bases Historical Immortality Decay Self Knowledge Sociological Individual Achievement Historical Knowledge

Book:English Writings of Hu Shih: Literature and Society

Source: English Writings of Hu Shih: Literature and Society

“Historically, there had been many periods of Chinese Renaissance.”

Periods Chinese Renaissance

Author:Hu Shih

“For all the social changes in China can be traced to their early beginnings in the days when the new tools or vehicles of commerce and locomotion first brought the Chinese people into unavoidable contact with the strange ways and novel goods of the Western peoples.”

People Way Firsts Social Novel Strange Tools Western China Contact Chinese Goods Vehicle Commerce Social Change

Author:Hu Shih

“It is only through contact and comparison that the relative value or worthlessness of the various cultural elements can be clearly and critically seen and understood.”

Values Elements Understood Various Contact Comparison Relative Worthlessness Relative Value

Author:Hu Shih

“On July 26, 1916, I announced to all my friends in America that from now on I resolved to write no more poems in the classical language, and to begin my experiments in writing poetry in the so-called vulgar tongue of the people.”

People Writing America Language My Friends Tongue Experiments Vulgar July Writing Poetry

Author:Hu Shih

“The underlying sickness of human life is an unwillingness to look with open eyes at the condition of the world.”

World Humans Looks Eye Life Is Justice Conditions Diversity Social Justice Human Life Sickness Open Eyes

Author:Hu Shih

“In the year 1915 a series of trivial incidents led some Chinese students in Cornell University to take up the question of reforming the Chinese language.”

Years Language Students Series University Chinese Incidents Reformation Chinese Language

Author:Hu Shih

“The Jesuits had learned that a Christian mission to China could never succeed if it were not in a position to show and convince the Chinese intelligentsia of the superiority of the European culture.”

Ifs Shows Christian Culture Position Succeed China Missions Chinese Convince Superiority Jesuit

Author:Hu Shih

“It is true that the Chinese are not so religious as the Hindus, or even as the Japanese; and they are certainly not so religious as the Christian missionaries desire them to be.”

Christian Desire Religious Chinese

Author:Hu Shih

“Confucius was a humanist and an agnostic.”

Humanist Agnostic

Author:Hu Shih

“And lastly, the political revolutions from 1911 to the present time have done more to bring about tremendous social changes everywhere than even the economic and industrial changes and the new schools.”

Done School Political Social Economic Revolution Social Change Present Time Political Revolution

Author:Hu Shih

“Only when we realize that there is no eternal, unchanging truth or absolute truth can we arouse in ourselves a sense of intellectual responsibility.”

Realizing Responsibility Eternal Intellectual Absolutes Absolute Truth Unchanging

Author:Hu Shih

“No student of Chinese history can say that the Chinese are incapable of religious experience, even when judged by the standards of medieval Europe or pious India.”

Religious Students Standards Europe India Chinese Judged Incapable Medieval Pious Religious Experience Religious Love Medieval Europe

Author:Hu Shih

“What is sacred among one people may be ridiculous in another; and what is despised or rejected by one cultural group, may in a different environment become the cornerstone for a great edifice of strange grandeur and beauty.”

People May Different Beauty Environment Groups Strange Sacred Ridiculous Rejected Grandeur Despised Cornerstones Edifice Different Environments

Author:Hu Shih

“Another important historical factor is the fact that this already very simple religion was further simplified and purified by the early philosophers of ancient China. Our first great philosopher was a founder of naturalism; and our second great philosopher was an agnostic.”

Firsts Important Facts Religion Simple Historical Ancient Philosopher China Factors Founders Agnostic Naturalism Great Philosophers

Author:Hu Shih

“Whenever you do something without asking yourself, "Why am I doing this?"-that is meaningless life... . The "why" of life makes it meaningful... . Only when an answer is given is one living life as a man.”

Men Given Answers Asking Meaningful Live Life Meaningless Questions And Answers Meaningless Life Asking Yourself Why

Author:Hu Shih

“The knowledge that mankind needs is not the way or principle which has an absolute existence, but the particular truths for here and now and for particular individuals. Absolute truth is imaginary, abstract, vague, without evidence, and cannot be demonstrated.”

Way Needs Truth Individual Existence Principles Mankind Particular Truth Is Evidence Absolutes Abstract Imaginary Vague Here And Now Absolute Truth

Author:Hu Shih

“But I wish to point out that it is entirely wrong to say that the Chinese are not religious.”

Wish Religious Chinese

Author:Hu Shih

“Life and human society are the chief concern of Confucianism and, through it, the chief concern of the Chinese people.”

People Humans Concern Chiefs Chinese Human Society Confucianism

Author:Hu Shih

“The Chinese people, too, went through all kinds of vicissitudes in their religious development.”

People Kind Religious Development All Kinds Chinese Vicissitudes

Author:Hu Shih

“The rise of the dramas in the thirteenth century, and the rise of the great novels in a later period, together with their frank glorification of love and the joys of life, may be called the Third Renaissance.”

May Together Joy Novel Century Periods Drama Thirds Frank Renaissance Joy Of Life Glorification Great Novels

Author:Hu Shih

“Within my own life, I read all the beloved novels by lamps of vegetable oil; I saw the Standard Oil invading my own village, I saw gas lamps in the Chinese shops in Shanghai; and I saw their elimination by electric lights.”

Light My Own Novel Saws Standards Oil Chinese Beloved Shops Gas Village Vegetables Electric Lamps My Own Life Elimination Invading Shanghai Electric Light Standard Oil

Author:Hu Shih

About the Author

Born: December 17, 1891
Died: February 24, 1962
Known for: Philosopher
Quotes: 30

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Books & Sources

English Writings of Hu Shih: Chinese Philosophy and Intellectual HistoryRelated source material

English Writings of Hu Shih: Literature and SocietyRelated source material

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