Lai, Pan-Chiu.  “Process Christology and Christian-Confucian Dialogue in China: With Special Reference to Cobb’s Christology.”  Process Studies 33, no.1 (Spring-Summer 2004): 149-165.

Abstract

According to Whitehead himself, his philosophy is closer to some strains of Chinese thought than to the mainstream of Western Philosophy. The similarities between Whiteheadian and Chinese philosophy have been noticed by many Chinese Scholars. Thom Fang, a Confucian scholar, affirms that there are significant contact points between Whitehead’s philosophy and the Chinese philosophical tradition, esp. the philosophy of hua-yen Chinese Buddhism. Fang thinks that if Whitehead took a closer look at the Chinese culture, he might have found that his own understanding of the cosmos was very similar to the Chinese one. Fang even makes use of Whiteheadian philosophical concepts to express Chinese philosophy and to introduce it the west. Tang Junyi, another famous Confucian, points out that Whiteheadian thought is very close to the philosophy of the Book of Change, and that among the Western philosophies, the panentheism of Whitehead and Hartshorne offers the most capable way to harmonize human freedom and divine disposition. Tang Junyi also admits that the Whiteheadian understanding of the relation between God and the world is very close to his own. Lau Kwok-keung, a student of Tang Junyi, does not reiterate Tan’s comment; he also argues that Tang’s thought can overcome some of the short coming of Whitehead’s thought. Lau further suggest that Whitehead’s philosophy together with the process theology generated by it can serve as a bridge to make Christian-Confucian more fruitful.