 It is indisputable that early Chinese philosophers of all major schools of thought were, at various points in their philosophical development, preoccupied to lesser and greater degrees with issues central to the philosophical studies of language and logic. However, whether they pursued these issues in ways that were similar to, or very different from, Western or other foreign orientations is a matter on which no general consensus has been reached. Common notions in the philosophical study of language include, for example, meaning, truth, reference, assertion, speech act, and propositional structure, notions that may or may not translate successfully into the vocabulary employed by early Chinese philosophers, given radical linguistic and cultural differences.