HomeDate: 2024-01-22
The phrase “a brilliant literary achievement” comes from Hu Shi’s elegiac couplet to Liang Qichao, which reads, “Throughout his life, he recognized himself as the New Citizen of China, and because of his brilliant literary achievement, he succeeded in promoting the revolution in China.” The short but powerful phrase encapsulates Liang Qichao’s achievements in his life. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Liang realized that he was in a “transitional era,” which, in his own words, “could not reach the shore at either end,” and thus made an astonishing effort to inherit the tradition and introduce the new ideas, and to foster the intellectual transformation of modern China. Beginning with Liang’s belief in “China will not die,” chapters in this book explore fields of academic research emerging in his time, including Yangming Learning, Mozi Learning, Western philosophy, history, religion, and so on. On one hand, he absorbed the achievements of the Japanese academia, and on the other hand, he explored the uniqueness of China with a critical perspective and a comparative approach between the East and the West. At the end, Liang established a new academic paradigm that served the presentist concerns of “new citizen,” “new nation,” and “the forging of a national soul.” For the author, Liang Qichao's thought demonstrates two characteristics. First, there is an intrinsic connection between academic thinking and political thinking, therefore, it is impossible to evaluate Liang Qichao correctly with his academic from political activities separated. Secondly, it is not appropriate to dismiss Liang Qichao’s life-long academic endeavors as shallow, incoherent and lack of profundity. The author believes that Liang Qichao’s thought demonstrates his personal style, his consistency, as well as the fact that he was a learned and perceptive thinker.
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