2019-12-20

• Re:Gratitude letter for the past generous supports of German foundations and a brief report on the related positive effects
• From research funds beneficiary Youzheng Li, Asian-American independent scholar in California, associated senior fellow, Center of Research of World Civilizations, CASS China

Dear DoctorsTobias Schönwitz,Niklas Hebing, Dorothea Ruland,representatives of Foundations of VW,DFG, DAAD

Dear Professor Drs. M.Lackner, R.Posner, E.Hollenstein, B.Waldenfels,

Please permit me to write to all of you to express my sincere thanks for your generously supporting me for carrying out my several research projects in Germany lasting over more than 9 years in 1983 - 1997. As a symbolic expression of my sincere thanks to German academia I am reporting here to you about one of my contributions towards the Chinese-German intellectual exchanges. It is a finished work of mine about a 8-volume translated selection of Husserl’s masterpieces in Chinese edition (see the list below) published by one of the leading Chinese academic publishers. For me, Husserl is not only the most important German philosopher in 20 century but also one of great western philosophers. Although I do my best to guarantee the precise translation of those modern classics my approach to phenomenology is also related to my interdisciplinary/cross-cultural epistemological position shaped over past 60 years. It was my earlier independent study about the 19-20 century German-Austrian

philosophy done in Maoist period that leads eventually to my lasting productive academic contacts and cooperation with German academic colleagues.

Another reason for motivating me to express my intellectual thanks to German colleagues now is due to my deep appreciation for your almost uniquely independent insight and critical attitudes concerning intellectual/scholarly evaluation about how to promote effective development of the humanities today. The ever-increasing speed of academic institutionalization has systematically confusing two different criteria yet: the traditional one for scientific truth and the current one for academic-market determination. Therefore with respect to a self-taught independent Chinese philosopher without any authorized degrees like me, his several research applications could be exceptionally confirmed and accepted by you. The financial supports for those projects with special themes in Germany makes me able to remarkably deepen my theoretical knowledge of current humanities epistemology in the world and also make me to obtain several rare chances for co-organizing a few Chinese-German-international humanities activities in China; for example, one was held in CASS Beijing 2004, mainly organized by Prof.Posner and the other one was the 9^th Congress of International Association for Semiotic Studies, exceptionally held in Nanjing, the historic Chinese Capital, 2012, where Prof.Waldenfels was invited to give an opening lecture to emphasize the desired dialogue between phenomenology and semiotics. This event could be the largest-scale international congress about the humanities and theories in China till then over past hundred years. To promote serious communication between Chinese intellectual history and western humanities theories has been my life-long intellectual ambition.

Thus I already asked my publisher to have sent two sets of my translated selection of Husserl’s classics to Prof.Lackner last month. He is one of leading German representatives devoted in promoting Chinese-German scholarly exchange. It was Prof.Lackner (when he worked at VW foundation) who, with a wide theoretical insight, initially judged and accepted my applied projects without being restricted by my weaker academic career, that can never happen in any other countries, I’m afraid. Retrospectively, it is Prof. R.Posner who recommended me to VW-Stifutong in 1988 and invited me to write “Chinese semiotic history” for a Semiotics Handbook(he is main editor in chief, published in Berlin). He also recommended me to be a vice-president(2004-2014) of IASS in 2004; it is Prof.E.Holenstein who kindly helped arranging my long project about Chinese ethics/ideology with VW (We share a common interest in trio-schools: phenomenology, semiotics and hermeneutics); it is Prof.B.Waldenfels who so much patiently and understandingly took care of my research stay in Bochum Philosophy for as long as 6 years. Let me take the chance to express my gratitude to all of them.

I am apologizing to interrupt you by the end of 2019 with this personal letter. I hope my lucky personal experience got in my years in Germany could present some useful information/explanation concerning the complicated intellectual backgrounds concerning contemporary western-eastern humanities exchange in our era of the technological-commercial dominations. Attached is a list of my main publications for your possible understanding of the works finished by an independent Chinese scholar living under particular historical conditions during the past 4 decades.

Youzheng Li

Independent theoretical scholar;former vice-president of IASS

Supplements:

(A) Brief records of Li’s projects finished through grants of German Foundations

1.From VW Stifutong (1988-1996):supports for two projects and their publishing grants : 

  1)about writing “General Introduction to semiotic theory”(in Chinese)(German sponsors: Prof.Dr.Roland Posner,TU Berlin and Prof.Dr.E.Hollenstein,Bochum),published in Beijing 1993.

  2)about writing “Semiotic-Hermeneutic Analysis of ancient Chinese ethics/academic ideology”(in English)(German Sponsor: Prof.Dr.B.Waldenfels),published by Peter Lang, Frankfurt 1997 (in two volumes, a preface given by Prof.Waldenfels)

2.From DFG (1986-1987):support for one project about “research/writing about contemporary western China Studies and

Comparative ethics” (Recommender/Sponsor: Prof.Dr.M.Lackner,Berlin/Erlangen ), one of research results, an English paper about Confucinist historical ideology，was published inNachrichten,Humburg (recommended by late Prof.Dr.Gerhard Fischer after the article refused by American sinology/comparative history reviewers) and the other one, as a booklet about comparative ethics (in Chinese), published by the Buddhist University Press, Taiwan 1998 and the Commercial Press Beijing 2000).

3.From DAAD (1983 March-May):support for a short-term research in Germany (German Sponsor: W.Stegmueller, Munich );the results include:1) many personal visits to German professors(including H-G. Gadamer, J.Habermas, L.Landgrebe, R.Posner and others)

  2)preparing research material about current German scholarship about phenomenology, hermeneutics and structuralism, which were realized in my entry articles for the Chinese Encyclopedia-Philosophy volume.

(B) The list of Translated selection of Husserl’s work    

       A Selection of Translated Edmund Husserl’s 8 Classic Volumes

     by  Youzheng Li

(as selection editor, writer of general introduction to the Chinese Edition, translator and writer of prefaces/research notes for 8 volumes in Chinese editions)

【Based on the German editions, also in comparative check-up with English, French editions】

                          Chinese Renmin University Press,  Beijing  (2012 - 2019)

1. Formale und Transzendentale Logik

2. Allgemeine Einführung in die Reine Phänomenologie (Ideen I) 【the first Chinese edition published by the Laurel Publisher, Taipei 1992, by the Commercial Press, Beijing 1993; this is the third edition】

3. Phänomenologische Untersuchungen zur Konstitution (Ideen II)

4. Die Phänomenologie und die Fundamente der Wissenschaften (Ideen III)

5. Phänomenologische Psychologie

6. Erfahrung und Urteil

7. Logische Untersuchungen(V,VI)

8. Die Bernauer Manuskripte über das Zeitbewusstsein

Picture of old German private library inside the castle building, Nieheim. In the room I finished a final review of the prove of the last volume of translated Selection of Husserl’works in May 2019. After the end of my research in Bochum 1997 I and my wife stayed in the castle for weeks.