Book excerpt: Annotation Feng Youlan (1895-1990) was twentieth-century China's leading original philosopher as well as its foremost historian of Chinese philosophy. In his preface to The Hall of Three Pines, Feng likens his autobiography to accounts written by "authors of ancient times, who on completing their major works, often wrote a separate piece to recount their origins and experiences, giving the overall plan of their work, and declaring their aims."