However, because of their unique identity as sorcerers, Chinese philosophers were not merely pursuing knowledge out of a pure "love of wisdom" as did their western counterparts. While they also tried their best to explain naturally occurring phenomena, what concerned them most were social issues. The purpose of learning the "orders of things" was to provide a better and more complet systematic explanation to human matters, rather than solving the problem of the absence of spiritual dependence after the collapse of primitive religious beliefs in ancient China.
然而，由于信奉巫術(shù)的傳統(tǒng)，中國(guó)哲學(xué)家們“愛(ài)智慧”（小編注：“哲學(xué)”的英文philosophy源自希臘語(yǔ)，意為“愛(ài)智慧”）并不像西方哲學(xué)家們那樣純粹的。盡管中國(guó)哲學(xué)家們也嘗試著解釋一些自然現(xiàn)象，然而他們最關(guān)注的還是社會(huì)問(wèn)題。因?yàn)椋谙惹暗男叛鲶w系崩潰之后，“了解事物運(yùn)行的規(guī)律”（小編注：哲學(xué)的基本主題之一）是為了對(duì)的現(xiàn)有的社會(huì)存在做出更加全面、系統(tǒng)的解釋，而不是像西方哲學(xué)那樣為人們提供一個(gè)精神的歸宿。

The specific social and historical conditions that nurtured the birth of Chinese philosophers have not only contributed to the features of Chinese philosophy, but also influenced the characters of Chinese people."To examine heavenly order to learn human affairs," -- perhaps considered the prime task by ancient Chinese philosophers --characterized Chinese philosophy with the distinct feature of giving great attention to societal needs. The focal point on people led to Chinese philosophers' suffering and worries about society, especially at the times of social chaos.
這一特定的社會(huì)和歷史條件不僅僅孕育出了中國(guó)哲學(xué)，也深深中國(guó)人的本性產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的影響。“究天理而知人事”——被中國(guó)古代的哲學(xué)家們認(rèn)為是最重要的任務(wù)。因而，中國(guó)哲學(xué)也是就自然而然的形成了關(guān)注社會(huì)需求多于關(guān)注自然的特性。同時(shí)，對(duì)于人世的貫注也使得中國(guó)的哲人們?cè)谏鐣?huì)動(dòng)蕩時(shí)期尤為痛苦。

On the other hand, ancient Chinese had a good tradition of theoretical thinking. Though the focus was always on human affairs, Chinese philosophers were always looking for a reason to develop thought that explained ordinary or mundane affairs of the day-to-day world.
另一方面，中國(guó)古人有很好的理論思考傳統(tǒng)。盡管思考通常集中在社會(huì)事務(wù)方面，中國(guó)哲人們也試圖建立、發(fā)展著能夠解釋宇宙萬(wàn)物的思想體系。

中國(guó)哲學(xué)之所以會(huì)有這樣的特征，和它的起源息息相關(guān)。那么究竟是怎樣的社會(huì)、歷史條件孕育了中國(guó)哲學(xué)？請(qǐng)戳上集：【品讀國(guó)學(xué)】中國(guó)哲學(xué)的起源>>