The intellectual foundations of Chinese modernity : cultural and political thought in the Republican era / Edmund S.K. Fung.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fung, Edmund S. K., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liberalism--China--History--20th century.

Liberalism.

Conservatism--China--History--20th century.

Conservatism.

Socialism--China--20th century.

Socialism.

Social change--China--History--20th century.

Social change.

China--Intellectual life--1912-1949.

China.

China--Politics and government--1912-1949.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 319 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the early twentieth century, China was on the brink of change. Different ideologies - those of radicalism, conservatism, liberalism, and social democracy - were much debated in political and intellectual circles. Whereas previous works have analyzed these trends in isolation, Edmund S. K. Fung shows how they related to one another and how intellectuals in China engaged according to their cultural and political persuasions. The author argues that it is this interrelatedness and interplay between different schools of thought that are central to the understanding of Chinese modernity, for many of the debates that began in the Republican era still resonate in China today. The book charts the development of these ideologies and explores the work and influence of the intellectuals who were associated with them. In its challenge to previous scholarship and the breadth of its approach, the book makes a major contribution to the study of Chinese political philosophy and intellectual history.

Contents:

Towards an understanding of Chinese modernity

Some methodological issues

A community of critical intellectuals

The main arguments of the book

The structure of the book

The push of Westernized radicalism

The early East-West debate

The advocacy of thorough Westernization

Total Westernization : the advocacy of a fervent nationalist

The decline of Westernized radicalism

A critique of Westernized radicalism

The pull of cultural conservatism

The rise of modern Chinese conservatism

Easternization : the quest for cultural equality

Central themes of the conservative counter-discourse

Tiaohelun : the doctrine of mediation and harmony

New Confucianism

Reflections on cultural conservatism

The politics of modern Chinese conservatism

Nationalism, modernity and politicocultural nationalism

The politicocultural thought of Liang Shuming and Zhang Junmai

The politics of China-based cultural reconstruction

Wartime politicocultural nationalism

The political thought of the warring states group

Liberalism in China and Chinese liberal thought

The rise of Chinese liberalism

The liberals as a differentiated category

How was liberalism understood in modern China?

The features and concerns of Chinese liberal thought

Liberal thought, cultural radicalism, cultural conservatism

The state, government and rule of law

What did a strong Chinese state mean?

Omnipotent government and government with a plan

Good government and government by "good men"

The rule of law

The rise of reformist socialist thought

The socialist discourse, 1919

The 1920 controversy : capitalism versus socialism

Zhang Junmai and the German influence

The influence of British socialism

A liberal response to the Soviet experiment of the 1920s

Protosocialism in ancient Chinese thought

From state socialism to social democracy

State socialist thought up to 1945

Postwar social democratic thought

Conclusion

Glossary.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-20492-5

0-511-84684-3

1-282-61982-9

9786612619823

0-511-72927-8

0-511-72832-8

0-511-72597-3

0-511-72456-X

0-511-73013-6

0-511-72737-2

OCLC:

635290590