Born in Shandong, he studied under
熊十力, moved to Taiwan in 1949 and later taught for many years in Hong Kong. With
唐君毅,
徐复观 and
张君劢 he signed the 1958 manifesto for Chinese culture that launched the New Confucian movement abroad. He read Confucian and Buddhist thought through Kant, and translated all three of Kant's Critiques into Chinese.
