The teachings of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, and their followers deal with the concepts of humanity, development, and appropriate forms of conduct. But the common and diverse views of man contained within them did not have an impact upon, nor explicitly inform the modern Western discipline, until 1978, when Chinese psychologists, in the wake of a political upheaval, took it upon themselves to link modern psychology to their own historical and philosophical past.

Psychological ideas were introduced into China to aid instruction in moral guidance, supported by Church-s…