This book develops a systematic philosophical account of moral cultivation as a foundational principle structuring Chinese civilization. It brings domains often treated in isolation into a unified perspective—cosmology, ethics, subjectivity, education, art, and socio-political order. It argues that the lived practice of moral cultivation, rather than purely rational or religious frameworks, constitutes China’s civilizational orientation. Traversing Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, and Buddhist traditions, and deploying original concepts such as the Taijitu mode of thinking, the generative character of the cosmos and of virtue, the greater self, and a morally grounded form of democratic life, it discloses an internally coherent and evolving whole. The book presents this tradition not only as indispensable for understanding China, but also as a significant resource for cross-cultural philosophical engagement with global challenges.

Zhuran You is a professor of education at Shaoxing University in China. He holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Purdue University. His overseas educational experience, combined with his work as a professor at Chinese universities and as a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, uniquely qualifies him to bridge the gap between Chinese thought and Western audiences. He has published widely on education and philosophy, including the award-winning monograph The Philosophy of Chinese Moral Education: A History, as well as many other English and Chinese articles.

Ms. Yingzi Hu works at the center of Faculty Development in the Office of the Provost at Shaoxing University in China. Prior to that, she was a lecturer in the School of Foreign Languages at Lingnan Normal University. She received a Master of Arts degree in Japanese Language and Literature from Hunan University. Her research interests focus on comparative education and philosophy of education. She has published many academic articles and co-authored two monographs and two textbooks.