Based on the influential metaphysical concepts of yin-yang, dao, and li in traditional Chinese philosophy and a clarification of their metaphysical objects, methods, and purpose, Reconstructing Metaphorical Metaphysics in Traditional Chinese Philosophy: Meta-One and Harmony proposes three new metaphysical categories: Meta-One (元一), Multi-One (殊一), and Utter-One (全一). These categories describe three dynamic stages of development, which are associated with four dynamical models of harmony: potential and factual, temporary and permanent, partial and full harmonies, and four models of static harmonies (unitary, binary, ternary, and multiple). In order to outline methodological principles for metaphorical metaphysics, Derong Chen classifies general metaphysical methods into direct vs. indirect, positive vs. negative, and logical vs. metaphorical methods, and establishes various methodological principles based on the features of Meta-One, Multi-One, and Utter-One, respectively. Chen argues that this new system of metaphorical metaphysics is rooted in and developed from traditional Chinese philosophy and is the metaphysical foundation of natural, social-political, ethical, moral philosophy, and aesthetics in the twenty-first century.

In Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan s New Metaphysics, Derong Chen explores Chinese philosophy through a comprehensive study and critical analysis of Feng Youlan s new metaphysics, proposing a systematic analysis of meaning that differs from the approach of the comparative linguistic analysis that A.C. Graham and Chad Hasen employed in their studies of Chinese philosophy. This detailed analysis of Feng Youlan s new metaphysics demonstrates that Feng s system is not the completely Westernized philosophical system many scholars identify it as, nor is it the pure logical and analytical system Feng himself intended to construct. Rather, the essence and characteristics of the new metaphysics at the core of Feng s philosophical system expose his philosophy as a continuation of the Chinese philosophical tradition in a new era. This approach is most applicable to scholars of comparative philosophy and of any era of Chinese philosophy.