YAO Yong is a Lecturer and Master’s Supervisor in the Department of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Central South University. He also serves as a Council Member of the Hunan Confucius Society. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Lanzhou University in 2013, his M.A. in Chinese Philosophy from Nanjing University in 2017, and his Ph.D. in Chinese Philosophy from Fudan University in 2023. 

His research focuses on Chinese philosophy, particularly pre-Qin Confucian political philosophy, the Confucian philosophy of emotions, and Confucian discourses on yiduan 异端 (“heterodoxy”), with additional interests in the interpretation of early Confucian classics and Zhu Xi’s moral philosophy. Methodologically, his work combines close textual reading, conceptual analysis, and normative argumentation. His research addresses the moral foundations of political power, political education, the normative status of min 民 (“the people”), the motivational mechanisms of moral action, and the ethical and political functions of emotions.

His articles have appeared in CSSCI-indexed journals, including Morality and Civilization, Journal of Lanzhou University (Social Sciences), Journal of Anhui University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), and Journal of Nanchang University (Humanities and Social Sciences).

Current Research

His current research focuses primarily on:

• Confucian discourses on yiduan and their relationship to the construction of daotong 道统 and conceptions of orthodoxy;

• the moral evaluation of Confucian emotions and the motivational mechanisms of moral action;

• the conceptual meaning, political functions, and normative status of min in pre-Qin Confucian political thought.

September 2017 – June 2023

Ph.D. in Chinese Philosophy, School of Philosophy, Fudan University.

September 2014 – June 2017

M.A. in Chinese Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Nanjing University.

September 2009 – June 2013

B.A. in Philosophy, School of Philosophy and Sociology, Lanzhou University.

June 2023–Present

Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Central South University.

2026–Present

Master’s Supervisor, Central South University.

Pre-Qin Confucian Political Philosophy

The moral foundations of political power, political education, and the normative status of min 民, and the normative justification of political order.

Confucian Philosophy of Emotions

The status, mechanisms, and functions of emotions such as anger in moral judgment, moral action and political order.

Confucian Discourses on Yiduan ("Heterodoxy")

The concept of yiduan in the interpretation of Confucian classics, conceptions of orthodoxy, the construction of the Confucian daotong, and their interpretive genealogies.

“The Concept of ‘Anger’ in the Thought of the Pre-Qin Masters,” Youth Project of the Hunan Provincial Social Science Fund, Principal Investigator, Project No. 25YBQ020, 2025–2028.

I. Doctoral Dissertation

YAO Yong. Cognition, Evaluation, and Action: An Exegetical Study of the Chapter “Gong hu yiduan, si hai ye yi” (攻乎异端，斯害也已) in the Analects. Ph.D. dissertation in Chinese Philosophy, Fudan University, 2023.

II. Journal Articles

Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are single-authored and published in CSSCI-indexed journals.

1. Pre-Qin Confucian Political Philosophy

YAO Yong. “Mencius on the Moral Foundations of Political Power: A Theoretical Perspective of the Dichotomy of Legitimacy and Justification.” Journal of Lanzhou University (Social Sciences), no. 5, 2024, pp. 88–97.

YAO Yong. “Distinction between Heaven and Men and Differences in Their Functions: A New Interpretation of ‘The Officials Observe Heaven and the Sage Himself Observes the Way’ in ‘On Heaven’ of Xunzi.” Journal of Anhui University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), no. 3, 2020, pp. 33–40.

2. Confucian Philosophy of Emotions

YAO Yong. “The Ethical Implications of Zhu Xi’s Interpretation of ‘Not Transferring Anger’.” Morality and Civilization, no. 2, 2024, pp. 102–109.

3. Zhu Xi’s Moral Philosophy

YAO Yong. “‘Integrated’ or ‘Separated’ Cultivating Activities: The Twists and Turns of Zhu Xi's Interpretation of ‘Keji Fuli’.” Wuda Philosophical Review, no. 32, 2023, pp. 1–15. CSSCI-indexed academic series.

YAO Yong. “Zhu Xi’s View on the Relationship between ‘Keji Fuli’ and ‘Zhu Jing Xing Shu’: An Interpretation Based on the Motivation for Moral Action.” Journal of Nanchang University (Humanities and Social Sciences), no. 3, 2021, pp. 13–22.

I. Undergraduate Courses

Readings in Pre-Qin Confucian and Mohist Political Philosophy

This course examines the political philosophy of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and Mozi. Through close reading of classical texts, conceptual analysis, and normative evaluation, it explores political authority, political order, meritocratic governance, the political status of the people, and political education.

Readings in the Xunzi

This course examines selected major chapters of the Xunzi, with particular attention to human nature, the knowing mind, ritual and morality, political order, and sagely kingship. It aims to develop students’ abilities in classical textual interpretation and philosophical argumentation.

II. Graduate Courses

Readings in Mencius’s Political Philosophy

Centered on the original text of the Mencius, this course examines the moral foundations of political power, benevolent government, the Kingly Way, and the normative status of the people. Through close textual reading, conceptual analysis, and normative argumentation, it develops students’ problem awareness, competence in classical interpretation, and academic writing skills.

Field of Admission

Chinese Philosophy

Areas of Supervision

• Pre-Qin Confucian political and moral philosophy;

• Interpretation of early Confucian classics.

Students with a sustained interest in Chinese philosophy, especially pre-Qin Confucian political and moral philosophy, and who are willing to undertake systematic training in classical textual reading, philosophical argumentation, and academic writing are welcome to make contact.

Prospective students may contact YAO Yong by email and are encouraged to attach a curriculum vitae and a representative course paper or other academic writing sample.

Council Member, Hunan Confucius Society.