Studies On The Philosophical Thoughts Of Language In Gongsun Longzi

Gongsun Long was a representative of the pre-Qin school of names who insisted that the solidity can or should separate from the whiteness.The book Gongsun Longzi recorded of Gongsun Long’s academic thoughts in detail.It is the extant literature richest and most reliable degree works of pre-Qin school of names,has always been concerned by scholars.In addition to Gongsun Long’s some life stories is recorded in the “Chapter Ji Fu” which is added by posterity,other five chapters of Gongsun Longzi systematically present Gongsun Long’s philosophical thoughts on language.From the only five remaining literatures,we can deeply feel that Gongsun Long’s philosophical thoughts of language is distinct,rigorous and self-contained.He constructs a philosohy of language systematacially that takes ordinary names as its subejct,takes the concept analysis as its methods and takes the relationship between names and reality as its core problem.Among them,the theory of names and reality is the basis of cognition and logical starting point,the theory of Zhi and Wu and the theory of general transformation are natural derivation and sublimation of the relationship between names and reality,and the theory of white horse and the theory of the solidity and whiteness are two examples of the relationship between names and reality.In Gongsun Longzi,He adopts an paradoxical argumentative style and a self-answering narrative.By exposing contradictions,he reveals the deep meanings hidden behind ordinary language,involving many important philosophical problems of language,such as the relationship between names and objects,the epistemological functions and social functions of names,the ontological presupposition of names,the combination and separation of names,and the meaning and reference of names.So to say,it can be regarded as the model of ancient Chinese philosophy analysis,which contains extremely rich and profound thoughts of philosophy of language.It is surprisingly consistent with many topics of western philosophy of language,which has enlightening significance to the dialogue between Chinese and Western philosohy,and is helpful to constructe Chinese philosophy with Chinese style.Because Gongsun Longzi is an ancient book and was repeatedly marginalized and belittled by the so called “orthodox” school,there are many kinds of errors in the process of circulation.Therefore,it is necessary to accurately interpret and understand Gongsun Longzi as much as possible in order to reveal the ideas and argumentation methods that are of great academic value in Gongsun Longzi.Secondly,pre-Qin school of names were often slandered and denounced as sophists by ancient Chinese critics,and Gongsun Long was no exception.However,since modern times,with the introduction of Western logic and the revival of school of names,Gongsun Long has been praised as an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese logician.In fact,the excessive derogation and excessive praise are partially due to the misunderstanding or distorted of Gongsun Longzi.In view of this,this paper follows the principle of seeking truth from facts,always bases on the original literature,neither belitzes its value,nor beautifies its deficiencies,and tries to make a fair and objective evaluation of it.