CHINESE PHILOSOPHY ("love of wisdom") Chinese philosophy has passed through three distinct historical stages: The Classical Age: a creative period from the 6th to the 2nd century BC; The Medieval Age: from the 2nd century BC to the 11th century AD, a period of synthesis and absorption of foreign thought; The Modern Age: from the 11th century to the present, a period of maturation of earlier philosophical trends and introduction of new philosophies from the West. Throughout all these periods, Chinese thought has tended toward humanism rather than spiritualism and rationalism rather than mysticism.