Lou Yulie

Lou Yulie (楼宇烈; 10 December 1934 – 9 October 2026) was a Chinese philosopher and historian of Chinese philosophy who taught for more than six decades at Peking University. His work covered the history of Chinese thought, Buddhism, Eastern philosophy and religious studies, and he was a prominent advocate for the "humanistic spirit" of traditional Chinese culture, especially the interrelated traditions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Early life and education

Lou was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and his family's ancestral home was in Sheng County (now Shengzhou) in the same province. He entered the Department of Philosophy at Peking University in 1955 and graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1960. According to Chinese obituaries, his teachers included Feng Youlan, Tang Yongtong and Ren Jiyu, three leading figures in twentieth-century Chinese philosophy and history of thought.

Academic career

After graduating, Lou stayed on at Peking University as a teacher. At the end of 1961 he was assigned to a national group compiling textbooks for higher education in the humanities, which produced a History of Chinese Philosophy. He held several administrative posts over the years, including deputy head of the Department of Philosophy, head of the teaching section for Eastern philosophy, head of the section for Buddhism and Taoism, and director of the university's Institute of Religious Studies. He later served on the university's academic committee and on the national planning group for the compilation and publication of ancient books. In his later years he was honorary dean of the university's Institute of Religious Culture.

Lou supervised a large number of graduate students. One biography puts the figure at nearly one hundred doctoral and master's students, both Chinese and foreign, while an earlier profile counted more than fifty.

Research

Wei-Jin metaphysics

Lou's best-known scholarly work concerns Xuanxue (the "Profound Learning" of the Wei and Jin period, 220–420 CE). His critical edition and commentary on the works of Wang Bi, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi (王弼集校释), is widely regarded as a standard reference in the field.

Buddhist studies

In Buddhist history, Lou concentrated on Chan Buddhism and modern Chinese Buddhism. He wrote on the Dunhuang manuscript of the Platform Sutra and the early Chan tradition, and he critically reviewed Hu Shih's studies of Chan history. He also studied Yang Wenhui, a late Qing reviver of Chinese Buddhist scholarship. His most important editorial project was the Selected Source Materials on Chinese Buddhist Thought (中国佛教思想资料选编), which runs to four volumes in ten fascicles and was used widely by Buddhist scholars in the 1990s and 2000s.

Modern Chinese thought

Lou also edited and studied late Qing and early Republican intellectuals. He worked on the writings of Kang Youwei and edited important texts by Yang Wenhui, Ouyang Jian, Lü Cheng and Taixu. He argued that the scholarship of this period deserves more attention than it usually receives.

Religious studies and Eastern philosophy

Lou argued for building a theory of religious studies grounded in Chinese cultural conditions rather than simply importing Western categories. He championed the field of Eastern philosophy and, in a 2026 symposium at Peking University, called for research in that area to be rooted in the subjectivity of Chinese culture.

Views on Chinese culture

From the 1990s onward, "humanistic spirit" (人文精神) became a central keyword in Lou's account of traditional Chinese culture. He held that the greatest spiritual difficulty facing modern people is their failure to master their own lives, whether because they are ruled by material desire or because they turn in helplessness to gods. He summarized Chinese culture in four characteristics: holistic interrelation, dynamic balance, natural coherence and intuitive thinking. He also took part in public debate on how Chinese traditions could contribute to responses to climate change.

Public engagement and the arts

Lou served as president of the Peking University Kunqu Society from 1987 to 2003. In his later years he promoted what he called "national arts" (国艺), a term covering kunqu opera, Peking opera, the guqin zither, Chinese calligraphy, tea culture and traditional Chinese medicine. He spoke regularly to general audiences and wrote popular books alongside his academic work. He also called his study "Three Nots Hall" (三不堂), summarizing his approach to the three teachings as avoiding arbitrariness, contrivance and fixation.

Selected works

• Wang Bi ji jiaoshi (王弼集校释), a critical edition and commentary on Wang Bi.
• Selected Source Materials on Chinese Buddhist Thought (中国佛教思想资料选编), four volumes in ten fascicles.
• Chinese Buddhism and the Humanistic Spirit (中国佛教与人文精神).
• Introduction to Eastern Philosophy (东方哲学概论).
• The Character of China (中国的品格) and The Humanistic Faith of the Chinese (中国的人文信仰), both aimed at general readers.
• The Wisdom of China (中国的智慧), 2023.
• Religious Studies in Contemporary China, vol. 5: Buddhism (2015), edited by Lou.
• Collected Works of Lou Yulie (楼宇烈文集), eight volumes in nine fascicles, 2025.
• On the Cultivation of Chinese Culture (中国文化修养论), edited by his student Li Silong and published in 2025.

Death and reception

Lou died of illness in Beijing on 9 October 2026. The Peking University Department of Philosophy (Department of Religious Studies) announced his death, and a farewell ceremony was scheduled for 15 October 2026 at Babaoshan in Beijing. Chinese sources report his age as 92, which follows traditional Chinese age reckoning; by Western counting from a December 1934 birth date he was 91.

Most detailed biographical accounts come from obituaries, institutional announcements and academic publishers, and they tend to be favorable. Readers seeking independent assessments of his interpretations of Wei-Jin metaphysics or of his cultural theses will need to consult specialist reviews.

References

1. 哲学史家、北京大学教授楼宇烈逝世 - 中国日报网cn.chinadaily.com.cn
2. 楼宇烈_学术_专栏作者_爱思想思想库_爱思想aisixiang.com
3. 讣闻丨国学大家楼宇烈逝世，享年92岁_中国共产党_先生_文化观sohu.com
4. 中国著名哲学家楼宇烈逝世，享年92岁|佛学|先生|冯友兰|北京大学哲学系_网易订阅163.com
5. 92 岁辞世，他把书房命名为三不堂，一生不苟为不刻意|楼宇烈|北京大学_新浪新闻sina.cn
6. 北京大学发布楼宇烈讣告|宗教学|澎湃新闻|佛学|北大哲学系|系主任_手机新浪网finance.sina.cn
7. 楼宇烈——北京大学sinoss.net
8. 中国国学大家楼宇烈辞世 享年92岁|北京大学|哲学系|哲学|讣告|宗教学_手机新浪网finance.sina.cn
9. 深切缅怀著名哲学家、中国哲学史家、宗教学家、佛学家楼宇烈先生_凤凰网guoxue.ifeng.com
10. Lou Yulieen.wikipedia.org
11. Interview Session: Four Generations of PKUers sharing their Affections for Peking Universityenglish.pku.edu.cn
12. Liu Qianhumanitieschinaen.substack.com
13. Lou Yulie（Former Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Peking University）_Baiduwikibaike.baidu.com
14. Author Detail-China Publishing Group Co., Ltden.cnpubg.com
15. Lou Yulie: What kind of intellectual resources does the Chinese culture provide in response to climate change? - Chinadaily.com.cnglobal.chinadaily.com.cn
16. Buddhism by Lou Yulie, Pei-Ying Lin: New Hardcover (2015) 1st Editionabebooks.com
17. Mahayana: China, Mongolia, Taiwan - Buddhism - Research Guides at University at Buffaloresearch.lib.buffalo.edu