CHINESE PHILOSOPHY ("love of wisdom") Chinese philosophy has passed through three distinct historical stages: The Classical Age: a creative period from the 6th to the 2nd century BC; The Medieval Age: from the 2nd century BC to the 11th century AD, a period of synthesis and absorption of foreign thought; The Modern Age: from the 11th century to the present, a period of maturation of earlier philosophical trends and introduction of new philosophies from the West. Throughout all these periods, Chinese thought has tended toward humanism rath ....