An Early Attempt at Sino-Western Intellectual Dialogue: A Historical Study of Translation of Texts on Logic by Western Missionaries at the Turn of Ming–Qing Dynasties

During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the introduction of Western scientific knowledge to China, facilitated by Western missionaries, included logic as a critical element of Western philosophy and scientific culture. This concept was translated, interpreted, and disseminated, carrying both academic contribution and a historical mission of cultural integration and intellectual enlightenment. The development of the Chinese conceptualization of logic mirrors the intricate process of cultural negotiation and conceptual accommodation between Chinese and Western intellectual traditions. This process went beyond simple terminology translation, representing a significant epistemological shift that introduced into traditional Chinese thought a mode of systematic reasoning previously underdeveloped in the indigenous scholarly tradition. Unlike the systematic formalization of logic in the Western tradition, logical reflection in classical Chinese culture took different forms without coalescing into a comparable systematic field. This paper finds that the introduction of Western logic, with its emphasis on formal deduction and systematic reasoning, constituted an early but significant encounter that contributed to the longer-term transformation of Chinese philosophical discourse in three aspects: it introduced a cognition-centered methodological framework that offered an alternative to the ethically oriented traditional Chinese concepts; it provided intellectual resources that encouraged a gradual shift from purely moral speculation toward incorporating empirical investigation and logical demonstration; and it laid the essential conceptual groundwork for the eventual establishment of logic as a modern academic discipline in China. Collectively, these translated texts and concepts introduced new conceptual possibilities into the Chinese intellectual landscape, contributing over time to a gradual shift from prioritizing moral introspection and analogical reasoning toward increasingly valuing empirical investigation, formal demonstration, and systematic argumentation. Ultimately, the translation of logic was not a passive reception but an active intellectual engagement that introduced new conceptual possibilities into Chinese philosophical discourse, contributing over time to a broader reorientation toward rationality and systematicity.