5.1.4 Epistemology:Chinese Versus Western
In order to explore the ideology underlying the genre conventions,the researcher investigates the epistemological traditions by reviewing relevant studies contrasting Chinese and Western epistemology.Epistemology is“the study of knowledge and justified belief”,which concerns with what knowledge is as well as the source of knowledge among other things(Steup,2014).As pointed out by Kaplan and Grabe(1991),the teaching of writing focuses on the form,or the ability to write,rather than the epistemological foundation that determines the form.The present study goes beyond the form to examine the epistemological traditions of the three local communities.
5.1.4.1 What Is Knowledge
The question of what knowledge is lies at the heart of epistemology and indeed any scientific inquiry(Wolenski,2004).Although Chinese and Western epistemology were developed separately,there are more similarities regarding the nature of knowledge than people might think.
In Western epistemology,knowledge,or to be exact,propositional knowledge has been considered as a justified true belief since Plato.According to Plato,opinion may be erroneous,but knowledge is absolutely certain(Wolenski,2004).Although Plato’s interpretation of the nature of knowledge strongly represents the view of rationalism(especially the absolutely certain part)and his epistemological insights have been constantly challenged by empiricists,justified true belief is still a widely used definition of knowledge today(Steup,2014).Based on this definition,S(someone)knows that P(propositional knowledge)if and only if:1)P is true;2)S believes P;3)S has adequate justification(evidence)for P.If one does not have adequate evidence to justify a belief,then it is subject to criticism from skepticism,having its status of knowledge being questioned(Feldman,2003).
Similar to Western epistemology，knowledge is regarded as principles or structures that capture the“everlasting and unchangeable”features of the external or internal world in Chinese epistemology（Chang，1954，p.106）.The principles or structures are called li（理）in Chinese，which is a centre metaphysical concept in Chinese epistemology.Li originally means“the lines running through a piece of jade”（D.Zhang，2002，p.26）.In the Warring States period（403 BC - 221 BC），li was used by Mencius（372 BC - 289 BC）as a philosophical term to refer to the standard moral conduct（D.Zhang，2002）.It was not until the Song Dynasty（960 - 1279）that the term was fully developed as a metaphysical concept by Neo-Confucianists based on Yijing（The Book of Change，易经），which is an ancient Chinese philosophical book aimed at gaining a full understanding of reality（C.Cheng，2009）.Zhu Xi，a representative New-Confucian philosopher，considered li as a fundamental metaphysical concept which“was the ground principle of the constitution of things”（C.Cheng，2009，p.77）.Although li is usually translated as principles，Rošker（2010）proposed that structure or a structural pattern would be a better translation for the term since the concept defines the relations both between ideas and between phenomena.According to Rošker（2014），Chinese philosophers believe that the external world is“ordered structurally”and so is the human mind，which is a reflection of the external world.Li can be seen as a system of relations which represents the structure of the external world in human mind.For example，the world is represented in Chinese philosophers mind as the relation such as yin &yang（阴阳）or the Five Elements of Wood，Fire，Earth，Metal and Water（wuxing，五行）.Therefore，Chinese epistemology is also called the relational epistemology in contrast with the prevailing Western epistemology，which is called the naturalistic epistemology（Rošker，2014）.
Dao（The Way，道）is another important metaphysical concept in Chinese philosophy.Compared with li，dao is considered more like a cosmogonical concept which concerns with the process of generation and“development of reality as a world of events and things”（C.Cheng，2006，p.324）.But others believe that li and dao are roughly the same，with dao having“a wider，more general and universal meaning”（Rošker，2010，p.89）.
To sum up,both Western and Chinese epistemology regard knowledge as the general,long-lasting and certain principles underlying ever-changing phenomena.For western philosophers,scientific inquiry is an endeavor of exploring the theoretical foundations of everyday phenomena(Graham,2010).Similarly,for Chinese philosophers,to understand the world means to uncover the structures and relations of the external and internal world.However,in Western epistemology,the truthfulness of knowledge is emphasized and it is something needed to be justified with evidence,tools or other methods,whereas the truthfulness of knowledge is associated with if its proponents are authoritative and experienced.In addition,the way of obtaining knowledge also differs between the two traditions.
5.1.4.2 Way of Obtaining Knowledge
In Western epistemology,there are two main ideas regarding the way of acquiring knowledge,namely rationalism and empiricism.Rationalists believe in the existence of innate knowledge,that is,the knowledge people are born with,such as speaking a language or doing mathematics or reasoning.Knowledge is imprinted in human mind but needs the right people or occasion to bring it out.For rationalists,the way of obtaining knowledge is through deduction or reasoning.Empiricists,on the other hand,believe that all knowledge is obtained through experience of sensory perceptions,such as observation,which is deemed to be an important way of scientific inquiry.Contrary to rationalists,empiricists use induction as the main approach of obtaining knowledge(Wolenski,2004).In sum,reasoning and experience are two major sources of knowledge in the Western tradition.
In Chinese epistemology，secluded meditation，contemplation or inner reflection are regarded as the major process in understanding reality（Rošker，2014）.According to Chang（1954），Chinese philosophers hold the view that“since the activities of ordinary life are vain and futile they [people] should devote themselves to what is everlasting and unchangeable”（p.106）.The way of acquiring this eternal truth is through reflection and meditation[1]，in which intuition takes an important part.Intuition in Chinese epistemology refers to instincts based on both common sense and logical reasoning（Chang，1954）.Whereas common sense as a form of intuition was used by Chinese philosophers，in Western epistemology，the reliability of common sense was questioned by empiricists such as Hume（Norton，1982）.In the case of logical reasoning，Chinese philosophers did not develop the way of logical analysis as in the Western philosophy.Instead of breaking things down into small parts to analysis as in Western philosophy，Chinese philosophers tend to adopt a holistic view and see things as all interconnected in some way（C.Cheng，2006）.The way of knowledge attainment in Chinese epistemology shows a resemblance to that proposed by the school of rationalism in Western epistemology.But it is still very different from that followed by Western philosophers.
In short,the Chinese and Western epistemology share similarities in terms of the nature of knowledge but prefer different ways of obtaining knowledge(see Table 8).Both Chinese and Western philosophers regard knowledge as the abstraction or principles underlying observable phenomena,although justification and truthfulness of knowledge are emphasized in the Western tradition.As for the way of obtaining knowledge,experience through senses such as observation and reasoning are considered as the primary ways by Western philosophers,while their peers in Chinese tend to rely on meditation and intuition in understanding reality.
Table 8 A comparison between Chinese and Western epistemology
