Hu Shih and Chinese Philosophy

“The second reason Pragmatism was most influential is because it was the guiding philosophy of the Intellectual Renaissance which Hu started in 1917. The literary revolution in which he and his fellow rebels freed Chinese thought from the bondage of the classical style and created a new literature of the spoken tongue is, as he put it, but the “practical application of evolution and Pragmatism.” [2] Much of the spirit of the Intellectual Renaissance, such as the emphasis on problems instead of theories, the insistence on results, the treatment of ideas as instruments to cope with actual situations, the critical approach, the scientific method, etc., came from Pragmatism. It is well known, of course, that accomplishments of the Renaissance far exceeded a new literature. It opened up new realms of thought and introduced new methods of approach that led directly to ethical and social revolution in many respects.”  – Chan Wing-Tsit