Abstract: The interaction between Chinese and Western philosophy has experienced a historical transformation. When missionaries came to China in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, Chinese and Western philosophy, as well as their cultures, began to encounter with each other. There was a kind of imbalance or asymmetry between Chinese and Western philosophy in the following way:representative European thinkers and European academic circle as a whole showed great interest in Chinese classics, cultural values and ideas when they were introduced into Europe by missionaries, whereas Chinese philosophers only paid attention to Western science and technology instead of Western mainstream culture and thought. However, there appeared another kind of imbalance or asymmetry in modern times. Since the late 19^th century, Chinese thinkers have been eager to learn Western thought and taken advantage of it as a universal intellectual resource, whereas Western mainstream thinkers and philosophers haven't treated Chinese philosophy as real philosophy. They have never understood Chinese philosophy at a deep level, let alone using it to construct their own systems. To enter into the world, Chinese philosophy shall firstly prove its universal significance. Chinese philosophy shall demonstrate its unique value in terms of solving philosophical problems on the one hand and creatively constructing contemporary Chinese philosophy on the other. Only based on mutual acceptance and appreciation can sound interaction between Chinese and Western philosophy become possible after going beyond the two kinds of asymmetry in the history.

Key words: Chinese and Western philosophy, asymmetry, sound interaction