"Philip J. Ivanhoe's elegant translations of some the most philosophically percipient and coherent essays by Zhang Xuecheng fill a gaping hole in the existing literature by drawing attention to the extra-historicist aspects of the Qing savant's richly textured thought, especially its ethical iterations and dimensions."
—On-cho Ng, The Pennsylvania State University

"In this first English translation of the philosophical works of Zhang Xuecheng, normally treated as an intellectual historian, Ivanhoe has exhibited an unusually good judgment in selection. The rich notes provided, in addition to the general introduction, are extremely helpful to readers. The translation is highly readable and accurate."—Yong Huang, Kutztown University

"The publication of this book is the event of the year in the study of Chinese philosophy in the English-speaking world. Ivanhoe's meticulous translation, as well as his extremely perceptive introduction and tremendously helpful notes, show us that Zhang Xuecheng, who died six years before Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit was published in Europe, has given us the first philosophical system that reconciles truth with history. Thanks to Ivanhoe's tour de force translation and commentary, we can now finally engage fully with Zhang's invigorating ideas." —Yang Xiao, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Kenyon College