A special session was arranged recently to mourn Professor Chung-ying Cheng, a famous scholar of Chinese and comparative philosophy, at an international conference at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

Cheng was a professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He initiated the organizing of the 2024 International Symposium on Chinese and Western Philosophy and Overseas Dissemination of Chinese Culture in the New Globalization Era.

He and the university’s College of Foreign Languages had made preparations for about half a year, and he was about to travel from the United States to Shanghai to take part in the three-day event. But unfortunately, he died of a disease on July 2 in Hawaii. He was 89 years old.

He became a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in September 2023 and also served as honorary director of its institute dedicated to research on Chinese and foreign cultures, said Liu Qin, dean of the university’s college of foreign languages.

“Professor Cheng made great contributions to the establishment of this event, ranging from setting the agenda to inviting speakers,” Liu said.

“He said he wished to integrate liberal arts, including philosophy, literature and history, for cross-disciplinary research,” Liu said. “Although he passed away, we decided to continue the symposium to fulfill his wish and to inspire other scholars to promote his academic spirit.”

Cheng was born in Nanjing and earned a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University. He had taught at the University of Hawaii at Manoa since 1963.

He was not only a specialist in Chinese philosophy, both ancient and modern, but also made significant contributions to American philosophy, metaphysics, comparative philosophy, and philosophy of hermeneutics and onto-hermeneutics.

He was among the first to develop and promote Chinese philosophy in American philosophical circles and formalize the discipline of Chinese philosophy as early as 1965.

He founded the Journal of Chinese Philosophy in 1973 and had served as its editor-in-chief ever since. He also founded the International Society for Chinese Philosophy in 1967 and the International Society for the Yijing in 1985.

Cheng wrote more than 80 books in both English and Chinese, and over 450 papers in various fields of philosophy.

Many scholars at the symposium said they had been inspired by Cheng and called on everyone who knew him to carry on his legacy.

“We’re all sorry to see him go. This is a huge loss, but he’s left a wonderful legacy,” said Andrew Fuyarchuk, who teaches comparative religion and philosophy at Yorkville University in Toronto, Canada, and assisted Cheng in editing the International Society for Chinese Philosophy.

“His life has been so profound and he’s had such a life of achievement and we should celebrate it,” Fuyarchuk said. “Although he’ll be missed, he’s left us so many resources and such an influence we can continue to work with at the same time.”