Tong began teaching in ECNU's Philosophy Department as a lecturer in 1984, becoming associate professor in 1991 and full professor in 1994. After graduating from the University of Bergen, Tong served as the chair of the philosophy department at ECNU from 1995 to 1998 Tong's scholarship focuses primarily on philosophic paths for dialogue between China and the West and philosophy's application to contemporary society. whose 1992 work
Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy was translated into Chinese by Tong. Tong is also the author (with Li Guangcheng) of the Chinese translation of
Hilary Putnam's
Reason, Truth, and History. Tong continues to serve as director of ECNU’s National Institutes of Educational Policy Research. He is a foreign member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and member of the board of consulting editors for the journal
Philosophy and Social Criticism. He has also served as an advisory member of the Shanghai Ministry of Education and of the Shanghai Municipal
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). == References ==