Monday, September 22, 2008
Hong Zicheng
Hong Zicheng was a Chinese philosopher who lived during the end of Ming Dynasty. He is often quoted in the contexts of chess and vegetarianism. He wrote ''Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom From Ming China on Life and Living: Caigentan''.
Hao Wang (academic)
Wang Hao, also Hao Wang was a Chinese American logician, philosopher and mathematician.
Born in Jinan, Shandong, in the Republic of China , Wang received his early education in China. After obtaining a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from the National Southwestern Associated University in 1943 and an M.A. in Philosophy from Tsinghua University in 1945, he went to the United States for further graduate studies. He studied logic at Harvard University, culminating in a Ph.D. in 1948. He was appointed to an assistant professorship at Harvard the same year.
During the early 1950s, Wang studied with Paul Bernays in Zurich. In 1956, he was appointed Reader in the Philosophy of Mathematics at Oxford University, and in 1961, he was appointed Gordon MacKay Professor of Mathematical Logic and Applied Mathematics at Harvard. From 1967 until 1991, he headed the logic research group at Rockefeller University in New York City, where he was professor of logic. In 1972, Wang joined in a group of Chinese American scientists led by Chih-Kung Jen as the first such delegation from the U.S. to the People's Republic of China.
One of the most important contributions of Wang was the invention of Wang tiles. He showed that any Turing machine can be turned into a set of Wang tiles. The first noted example of aperiodic tiling is a set of Wang tiles, whose nonexistence Wang had once conjectured, discovered by Robert Berger in 1966. He also chronicled Kurt G?del's philosophical ideas and authored several books on the subject.
Born in Jinan, Shandong, in the Republic of China , Wang received his early education in China. After obtaining a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from the National Southwestern Associated University in 1943 and an M.A. in Philosophy from Tsinghua University in 1945, he went to the United States for further graduate studies. He studied logic at Harvard University, culminating in a Ph.D. in 1948. He was appointed to an assistant professorship at Harvard the same year.
During the early 1950s, Wang studied with Paul Bernays in Zurich. In 1956, he was appointed Reader in the Philosophy of Mathematics at Oxford University, and in 1961, he was appointed Gordon MacKay Professor of Mathematical Logic and Applied Mathematics at Harvard. From 1967 until 1991, he headed the logic research group at Rockefeller University in New York City, where he was professor of logic. In 1972, Wang joined in a group of Chinese American scientists led by Chih-Kung Jen as the first such delegation from the U.S. to the People's Republic of China.
One of the most important contributions of Wang was the invention of Wang tiles. He showed that any Turing machine can be turned into a set of Wang tiles. The first noted example of aperiodic tiling is a set of Wang tiles, whose nonexistence Wang had once conjectured, discovered by Robert Berger in 1966. He also chronicled Kurt G?del's philosophical ideas and authored several books on the subject.
Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang , is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the Zhuangzi which, along with the Laozi, forms the textual and philosophical basis of the school of thought.
The Guo Xiang redaction of the text revised a fifty-two chapter original by removing material he thought was superstitious and generally not of philosophical interest to his literati sensibilities, resulting in a thirty-three chapter total. He appended a philosophical commentary to the text that became famous, and within four centuries his shorter and snappier expurgated recension became the only one known.
This ''Zhuangzi'' recension is traditionally divided into three sections: ‘Inner Chapters’ , ‘Outer Chapters’ , ‘Miscellaneous Chapters’ . This division is quite old and is likely to have been part of the original recension.
Guo's redaction focuses on his understanding of Zhuangzi's philosophy of spontaneity . This practiced spontaneity is demonstrated by the story of Cook Ding, rendered as Cook Ting in the Burton Watson translation :
Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord . At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee, zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to tile Ching-shou Music.
"Ah, this is marvelous!" said Lord Wen-hui. "Imagine skill reaching such heights!"
Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, "What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint."
"A good cook changes his knife once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month, because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about it. That's why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.
Chapter 3 - The Secret of Caring for Life
Here, the careful yet effortlessly spontaneous way in which Cook Ding is described cutting up the ox is both an example of the cognitive state of mind Zhuangzi associated with the Dao and the assertion that this state is accessible in everyday life.
, a Russian TV Company has used a modified image of Guo Xiang's head as their logo.
* , translated by Burton Watson
*
The Guo Xiang redaction of the text revised a fifty-two chapter original by removing material he thought was superstitious and generally not of philosophical interest to his literati sensibilities, resulting in a thirty-three chapter total. He appended a philosophical commentary to the text that became famous, and within four centuries his shorter and snappier expurgated recension became the only one known.
This ''Zhuangzi'' recension is traditionally divided into three sections: ‘Inner Chapters’ , ‘Outer Chapters’ , ‘Miscellaneous Chapters’ . This division is quite old and is likely to have been part of the original recension.
Guo's redaction focuses on his understanding of Zhuangzi's philosophy of spontaneity . This practiced spontaneity is demonstrated by the story of Cook Ding, rendered as Cook Ting in the Burton Watson translation :
Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord . At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee, zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to tile Ching-shou Music.
"Ah, this is marvelous!" said Lord Wen-hui. "Imagine skill reaching such heights!"
Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, "What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint."
"A good cook changes his knife once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month, because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about it. That's why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.
Chapter 3 - The Secret of Caring for Life
Here, the careful yet effortlessly spontaneous way in which Cook Ding is described cutting up the ox is both an example of the cognitive state of mind Zhuangzi associated with the Dao and the assertion that this state is accessible in everyday life.
Trivia
, a Russian TV Company has used a modified image of Guo Xiang's head as their logo.
References and External links
* , translated by Burton Watson
*
Gu Zhun
Gu Zhun 顾准 （1915-1974) was an intellectual, economist and pioneer of post-Marxist Chinese liberalism. A victim of "anti-Rightist" purges he spent his later life in prisons and reeducation centres.
The recovery and publication of Gu's prison diaries and theoretical writings caused a sensation in intellectual circles when published in the mid 1990s. Having spent his life as a highly trained economist with Marxist convictions and heroic career as a revolutionary, his fall from grace and savage punishment led him to develop an authentic and deeply personal conversion to the values of liberal democracy. Cut off from the mainstream of 20th century Western thought, he in a sense "reinvented the wheel" of liberal theory. While certain critics have disparaged his ideas as "laughable if translated into English," from a Chinese liberal perspective he represents a rare case of authentic invention of liberalism, relatively free of suspect foreign influences.
Gu was an accountancy expert in his youth, joining the underground Communist Party in Shanghai in the late 1930s, and later appointed to leading roles in the post-Liberation Shanghai tax administration. However, having given outspoken and unwelcome advice to senior cadres, he was in 1952 charged with counter-revolutionary tendencies, demoted and sentenced to "remoulding."
In each of the succeeding cycles of Leftist-inspired purges Gu's "Rightist" label was reimposed and his punishments renewed. Rehabilitated in a brief period of political relaxation in the early 1960s, he was rescued from his pariah status by the economist Sun Yefang, with whom he had been associated in the Shanghai underground movement. Sun arranged a research position for Gu in the Institute of Economics of the Philosophy and Social Science Section .
*Luo Yinsheng, ''Gu Zhun huazhuan'' , Beijing Tuanjie chubanshe 2005 （罗银胜, 《顾准画传》, 北京：团结出版社).
*''Gu Zhun quanji'' , Guiyang: Guizhou People's Press, 1994 ( 。
*Gu Zhun riji , Beijing Jingji ribao chubanshe 1997 (《顾准日记》，北京：经济日报出版社，1997
*"试论社会主义制度下商品生产和价值规律"
*"社会主义会计的几个理论问题"
*"《从理想主义到经验主义》"
*《希腊城邦制度》"The city-state Constitution of Greece" (written 1974? Published by Chinese Social Science Press 1982）
*Translation: Joseph Schumpeter,''Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy''（Commercial Press 1979）
The recovery and publication of Gu's prison diaries and theoretical writings caused a sensation in intellectual circles when published in the mid 1990s. Having spent his life as a highly trained economist with Marxist convictions and heroic career as a revolutionary, his fall from grace and savage punishment led him to develop an authentic and deeply personal conversion to the values of liberal democracy. Cut off from the mainstream of 20th century Western thought, he in a sense "reinvented the wheel" of liberal theory. While certain critics have disparaged his ideas as "laughable if translated into English," from a Chinese liberal perspective he represents a rare case of authentic invention of liberalism, relatively free of suspect foreign influences.
Gu was an accountancy expert in his youth, joining the underground Communist Party in Shanghai in the late 1930s, and later appointed to leading roles in the post-Liberation Shanghai tax administration. However, having given outspoken and unwelcome advice to senior cadres, he was in 1952 charged with counter-revolutionary tendencies, demoted and sentenced to "remoulding."
In each of the succeeding cycles of Leftist-inspired purges Gu's "Rightist" label was reimposed and his punishments renewed. Rehabilitated in a brief period of political relaxation in the early 1960s, he was rescued from his pariah status by the economist Sun Yefang, with whom he had been associated in the Shanghai underground movement. Sun arranged a research position for Gu in the Institute of Economics of the Philosophy and Social Science Section .
*Luo Yinsheng, ''Gu Zhun huazhuan'' , Beijing Tuanjie chubanshe 2005 （罗银胜, 《顾准画传》, 北京：团结出版社).
*''Gu Zhun quanji'' , Guiyang: Guizhou People's Press, 1994 ( 。
*Gu Zhun riji , Beijing Jingji ribao chubanshe 1997 (《顾准日记》，北京：经济日报出版社，1997
*"试论社会主义制度下商品生产和价值规律"
*"社会主义会计的几个理论问题"
*"《从理想主义到经验主义》"
*《希腊城邦制度》"The city-state Constitution of Greece" (written 1974? Published by Chinese Social Science Press 1982）
*Translation: Joseph Schumpeter,''Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy''（Commercial Press 1979）
Gongsun Long
Gongsun Long was a member of the Logicians school of ancient Chinese philosophy. He also ran a school and enjoyed the support of rulers, and supported peaceful means of resolving disputes in contrast to the wars which were common in the period . However, little is known about the particulars of his life, and furthermore many of his writings have been lost. All of his essays, fourteen originally but only six still extant, are included in the book Gongsun Longzi .
He is best known for a series of paradoxes in the tradition of Hui Shi, including "White horses are not horses," "When no thing is not the pointed-out, to point out is not to point out," and "There is no 1 in 2."
In the ''White Horse Dialogue'' , one interlocutor defends the truth of the statement "White horses are not horses," while the other interlocutor disputes the truth of this statement. The argument plays upon an ambiguity in Chinese . The expression "X is not Y" can mean either
#"X is not a member of set Y"
#"X is not identical with Y"
"Whales are not mammals" and "You are not a philosopher" are examples of the former use of "is not." An example of the second use of "is not" is "Jimmy Olsen is not Superman." Normally, in Chinese and English, it is clear from context which sense is intended, so we do not notice the ambiguity. So the sentence "White horses are not horses" would normally be taken to assert the obviously false claim that white horses are not part of the group of horses. However, the "sophist" in the ''White Horse Dialogue'' defends the statement under the interpretation, "White horses are not identical with horses." The latter statement is actually true, since "horses" includes horses that are white, yellow, brown, etc., while "white horses" includes only white horses, and excludes the others.
This work has been viewed by some as a serious logical discourse, by others as a facetious work of sophistry, and finally by some as a combination of the two.
*指物論
*通變論
*堅白論
*名實論
*跡府 "Storehouse of Traces"
He is best known for a series of paradoxes in the tradition of Hui Shi, including "White horses are not horses," "When no thing is not the pointed-out, to point out is not to point out," and "There is no 1 in 2."
White Horse Dialogue
In the ''White Horse Dialogue'' , one interlocutor defends the truth of the statement "White horses are not horses," while the other interlocutor disputes the truth of this statement. The argument plays upon an ambiguity in Chinese . The expression "X is not Y" can mean either
#"X is not a member of set Y"
#"X is not identical with Y"
"Whales are not mammals" and "You are not a philosopher" are examples of the former use of "is not." An example of the second use of "is not" is "Jimmy Olsen is not Superman." Normally, in Chinese and English, it is clear from context which sense is intended, so we do not notice the ambiguity. So the sentence "White horses are not horses" would normally be taken to assert the obviously false claim that white horses are not part of the group of horses. However, the "sophist" in the ''White Horse Dialogue'' defends the statement under the interpretation, "White horses are not identical with horses." The latter statement is actually true, since "horses" includes horses that are white, yellow, brown, etc., while "white horses" includes only white horses, and excludes the others.
This work has been viewed by some as a serious logical discourse, by others as a facetious work of sophistry, and finally by some as a combination of the two.
Other works
*指物論
*通變論
*堅白論
*名實論
*跡府 "Storehouse of Traces"
Gaozi
Gaozi , or Gao Buhai , was a Chinese philosopher during the Warring States Period.
Gaozi's teachings are no longer extant, but he was a contemporary of Mencius , and most of our knowledge about him comes from the ''Mencius'' book titled "Gaozi".
Warring States philosophers disputed whether human nature is originally good or evil , see Graham and Chan . The "Gaozi" chapter begins with a famous metaphor about a type of willow tree (''qiliu'' .
The philosopher said, 'Man's nature is like the -willow, and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man's nature is like the making cups and bowls from the -willow.'
Mencius replied, 'Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.'
The philosopher said, 'Man's nature is like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage for it to the east, and it will flow to the east; open a passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. Man's nature is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to the east and west.'
Mencius replied, 'Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, you may make it go over your forehead, and, by damming and leading it you may force it up a hill - but are such movements according to the nature of water? It is the force applied which causes them. When men are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt with in this way.'
Gaozi's teachings are no longer extant, but he was a contemporary of Mencius , and most of our knowledge about him comes from the ''Mencius'' book titled "Gaozi".
Warring States philosophers disputed whether human nature is originally good or evil , see Graham and Chan . The "Gaozi" chapter begins with a famous metaphor about a type of willow tree (''qiliu'' .
The philosopher said, 'Man's nature is like the -willow, and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man's nature is like the making cups and bowls from the -willow.'
Mencius replied, 'Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.'
The philosopher said, 'Man's nature is like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage for it to the east, and it will flow to the east; open a passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. Man's nature is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to the east and west.'
Mencius replied, 'Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, you may make it go over your forehead, and, by damming and leading it you may force it up a hill - but are such movements according to the nature of water? It is the force applied which causes them. When men are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt with in this way.'
Feng Youlan
Feng Youlan or Fung Yu-Lan was a Chinese philosopher who was important for reintroducing the study of Chinese philosophy.
Feng Youlan was born on 4 December 1895 in Tanghe County, Nanyang, Henan, China, to a middle-class family. He studied philosophy at Shanghai University, then at Beijing University where he was able study Western philosophy and logic as well as Chinese philosophy.
Upon his graduation in 1918 he travelled to the United States, where he studied at Columbia University on a Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship. There he met, among many philosophers who were to influence his thought and career, John Dewey, the , who became his teacher. Feng gained his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1925, though he spent the last two years working on his thesis back in China.
He went on to teach at a number of Chinese universities (including , , and . It was while at Tsinghua that Fung published what was to be his best-known and most influential work, his ''History of Chinese Philosophy'' . In it he presented and examined the history of Chinese philosophy from a viewpoint which was very much influenced by the Western philosophical fashions prevalent at the time, which resulted in what Peter J. King of Oxford describes as a distinctly tinge to most of the philosophers he described. Nevertheless, the book became the standard work in its field, and had a huge effect in reigniting an interest in Chinese thought.
In 1939, Feng brought out his ''Xin Lixue'' . Lixue was a philosophical position of a small group of ; Feng's book took certain metaphysical notions from their thought and from taoism (such as li and tao, analysed and developed them in ways that owed much to the Western philosophical tradition, and produced a rationalistic neo-Confucian metaphysics. He also developed, in the same way, an account of the nature of morality and of the structure of human moral development.
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, the students and staff of Beiping's Qinghua and Peking Universities, together with Tianjin's University, fled their campuses. They went first to Hengshan, where they set up the Changsha Temporary University, and then to Kunming, where they set up Southwest Associated University.
When, in 1946 the three Universities returned to Beijing, Feng instead went to the U.S. again, this time to take up a post as visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania He spent the year 1948-1949 as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii.
While he was at Pennsylvania, news from China made it clear that the were on their way to seizing power. Feng's friends tried to pesuade him to stay, but he was determined to return; his political views were broadly , and he thus felt optimistic about China's future under its new government.
Once back home, Feng began to study Marxist-Leninist thought, but he soon found that the political situation fell short of his hopes; by the mid-1950s his philosophical approach was being attacked by the authorities. He was forced to repudiate much of his earlier work, and to rewrite the rest – including his ''History'' – in order to fit in with the ideas of the Cultural revolution.
Despite all this, Feng refused to leave China, and after enduring much hardship he finally saw a relaxation of censorship, and was able to write with a certain degree of freedom. He died on 26 November 1990 in Beijing.
Feng Youlan continues to be known mostly for his ''History of Chinese Philosophy'', which is still in print, but he was in fact an original and influential philosopher in his own right, deserving of greater attention.
*1934: ''A History of Chinese Philosophy''
**1983: translated by Derk Bodde ISBN 0-691-02021-3
**1948: ''A Short History of Chinese Philosophy'' — reprinted 1997: Free Press ISBN 0-684-83634-3
*1939: ''Xin Li-xue''
**1997''A New Treatise on the Methodology of Metaphysics'' ISBN 7-119-01947-3
*''Selected Philosophical Writings of Fung Yu-lan'' ISBN 7-119-01063-8
*''Xin yuan ren'' (''A New Treeatise on the Nature of Man''
*1946: ''Xin zhi yan'' (
*1947: ''The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy'' transl. E.R. Hughes
**1970: ISBN 0-8371-2816-1
*1961: ''Xin yuan dao''
* 1991: ''A Taoist Classic: '' ISBN 7-119-00104-3
* 2004: Peter J. King ''One Hundred Philosophers'' ISBN 1-84092-462-4
* 2001: Francis Soo “Contemporary Chinese Philosophy”, in Brian Carr & Indira Mahalingam [edd] ''Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy'' ISBN 0-415-24038-7
Early life, education, & career
Feng Youlan was born on 4 December 1895 in Tanghe County, Nanyang, Henan, China, to a middle-class family. He studied philosophy at Shanghai University, then at Beijing University where he was able study Western philosophy and logic as well as Chinese philosophy.
Upon his graduation in 1918 he travelled to the United States, where he studied at Columbia University on a Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship. There he met, among many philosophers who were to influence his thought and career, John Dewey, the , who became his teacher. Feng gained his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1925, though he spent the last two years working on his thesis back in China.
He went on to teach at a number of Chinese universities (including , , and . It was while at Tsinghua that Fung published what was to be his best-known and most influential work, his ''History of Chinese Philosophy'' . In it he presented and examined the history of Chinese philosophy from a viewpoint which was very much influenced by the Western philosophical fashions prevalent at the time, which resulted in what Peter J. King of Oxford describes as a distinctly tinge to most of the philosophers he described. Nevertheless, the book became the standard work in its field, and had a huge effect in reigniting an interest in Chinese thought.
In 1939, Feng brought out his ''Xin Lixue'' . Lixue was a philosophical position of a small group of ; Feng's book took certain metaphysical notions from their thought and from taoism (such as li and tao, analysed and developed them in ways that owed much to the Western philosophical tradition, and produced a rationalistic neo-Confucian metaphysics. He also developed, in the same way, an account of the nature of morality and of the structure of human moral development.
War and upheaval
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, the students and staff of Beiping's Qinghua and Peking Universities, together with Tianjin's University, fled their campuses. They went first to Hengshan, where they set up the Changsha Temporary University, and then to Kunming, where they set up Southwest Associated University.
When, in 1946 the three Universities returned to Beijing, Feng instead went to the U.S. again, this time to take up a post as visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania He spent the year 1948-1949 as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii.
While he was at Pennsylvania, news from China made it clear that the were on their way to seizing power. Feng's friends tried to pesuade him to stay, but he was determined to return; his political views were broadly , and he thus felt optimistic about China's future under its new government.
Once back home, Feng began to study Marxist-Leninist thought, but he soon found that the political situation fell short of his hopes; by the mid-1950s his philosophical approach was being attacked by the authorities. He was forced to repudiate much of his earlier work, and to rewrite the rest – including his ''History'' – in order to fit in with the ideas of the Cultural revolution.
Despite all this, Feng refused to leave China, and after enduring much hardship he finally saw a relaxation of censorship, and was able to write with a certain degree of freedom. He died on 26 November 1990 in Beijing.
Feng Youlan continues to be known mostly for his ''History of Chinese Philosophy'', which is still in print, but he was in fact an original and influential philosopher in his own right, deserving of greater attention.
Bibliography
Monographs & collections of essays
*1934: ''A History of Chinese Philosophy''
**1983: translated by Derk Bodde ISBN 0-691-02021-3
**1948: ''A Short History of Chinese Philosophy'' — reprinted 1997: Free Press ISBN 0-684-83634-3
*1939: ''Xin Li-xue''
**1997''A New Treatise on the Methodology of Metaphysics'' ISBN 7-119-01947-3
*''Selected Philosophical Writings of Fung Yu-lan'' ISBN 7-119-01063-8
*''Xin yuan ren'' (''A New Treeatise on the Nature of Man''
*1946: ''Xin zhi yan'' (
*1947: ''The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy'' transl. E.R. Hughes
**1970: ISBN 0-8371-2816-1
*1961: ''Xin yuan dao''
As translator
* 1991: ''A Taoist Classic: '' ISBN 7-119-00104-3
Secondary
* 2004: Peter J. King ''One Hundred Philosophers'' ISBN 1-84092-462-4
* 2001: Francis Soo “Contemporary Chinese Philosophy”, in Brian Carr & Indira Mahalingam [edd] ''Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy'' ISBN 0-415-24038-7
Fan Zhen
Fan Zhen was a philosopher of the Southern Dynasty, remembered today for his treatise ''Shén Miè Lùn'' .
He was born into a poor family in today's Zhumadian, Henan province. Later he became a high-ranked official for his erudition. Reacting to Buddhism prevailing in his time, he wrote ''Shen Mie Lun'' at 507, denying the ideas of reincarnation and . A courtier tried to persuade Fan to give up his opinion, in exchange of a higher official title, but was refused. Emperor Wu of Liang, unhappy with his subject's work, made an imperial decree to criticize the treatise, and ordered 64 of his courtiers to answer Fan back. 75 pamphlets were produced against ''Shen Mie Lun''. Fan did not surrender, though, and wrote back to hold fast to his opinion. The debate failed to disprove the treatise, and Fan Zhen was exiled by the emperor for his "heresy".
In ''Shen Mie Lun'', Fan writes that:
*"The soul is the body; the body is the soul. There is the body, there is the soul; when the body annihilates, so does the soul."（神即形也，形即神也。是以形存則神存，形謝則神滅也。）
*"The body is the substance of the soul; the soul is the effect of the body. That means the body refers to the substance, and the soul the effect. The body and the soul is one."（形者神之質，神者形之用，是則形稱其質，神言其用，形之與神，不得相異也。）
*"The soul to the substance is like sharpness to a blade; the body to the effect is like a blade to its sharpness. The blade and its sharpness do not share the same name. However, there is no blade without its sharpness, and no sharpness without the blade. As there is no sharpness without a knife, it is impossible for a soul to exist without its body."（神之於質，猶利之於刃，形之於用，猶刃之於利，利之名非刃也，刃之名非利也。然而舍利無刃，舍刃無利，未聞刃沒而利存，豈容形亡而神在。）
He was born into a poor family in today's Zhumadian, Henan province. Later he became a high-ranked official for his erudition. Reacting to Buddhism prevailing in his time, he wrote ''Shen Mie Lun'' at 507, denying the ideas of reincarnation and . A courtier tried to persuade Fan to give up his opinion, in exchange of a higher official title, but was refused. Emperor Wu of Liang, unhappy with his subject's work, made an imperial decree to criticize the treatise, and ordered 64 of his courtiers to answer Fan back. 75 pamphlets were produced against ''Shen Mie Lun''. Fan did not surrender, though, and wrote back to hold fast to his opinion. The debate failed to disprove the treatise, and Fan Zhen was exiled by the emperor for his "heresy".
In ''Shen Mie Lun'', Fan writes that:
*"The soul is the body; the body is the soul. There is the body, there is the soul; when the body annihilates, so does the soul."（神即形也，形即神也。是以形存則神存，形謝則神滅也。）
*"The body is the substance of the soul; the soul is the effect of the body. That means the body refers to the substance, and the soul the effect. The body and the soul is one."（形者神之質，神者形之用，是則形稱其質，神言其用，形之與神，不得相異也。）
*"The soul to the substance is like sharpness to a blade; the body to the effect is like a blade to its sharpness. The blade and its sharpness do not share the same name. However, there is no blade without its sharpness, and no sharpness without the blade. As there is no sharpness without a knife, it is impossible for a soul to exist without its body."（神之於質，猶利之於刃，形之於用，猶刃之於利，利之名非刃也，刃之名非利也。然而舍利無刃，舍刃無利，未聞刃沒而利存，豈容形亡而神在。）
Dong Zhongshu
Dong Zhongshu was a Han Dynasty scholar who is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as official ideology of the Chinese imperial state.
Dong was born in modern in 179 BC, he entered the imperial service during the reign of the Emperor Jing of Han and rose to high office under the Emperor Wu of Han. His relationship with the emperor was uneasy, though. At one point he was thrown into prison and nearly executed for writings that were considered seditious, and he may have cosmologically predicted the overthrow of the Han Dynasty and its replacement by a Confucian sage, the first appearance of a theme that would later sweep Wang Mang to the imperial throne.
Dong Zhongshu's thought integrated Yin Yang cosmology into a Confucian ethical framework. He emphasised the importance of the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' as a source for both political and metaphysical ideas, following the tradition of the ''Gongyang Commentary'' in seeking hidden meanings from its text.
There are two works that are attributed to Dong Zhongshu, the ''Ju Xianliang Duice'' in 3 chapters, being preserved under the ''Book of Han''. Another, a major work that has survived to the present, the ''Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals'' in 82 chapters. The ''Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals'' bears many marks of multiple authorship. Whether the work did written by Dong himself has been called into question by several scholars including Zhu Xi, Cheng Yanzuo, Dai Junren, Keimatsu Mitsuo, and Tanaka Masami. Scholars now reject as later additions all the passages that discuss theory, and much of the rest of the work is questionable as well. It seems safest to regard it as a collection of unrelated or loosely related chapters and shorter works, which could be subdivided into five categories. Most more or less connected to the ''Gongyang Commentary'' and its school, written by a number of different persons at different times throughout the Han Dynasty.
Other important sources for his life and thought include his ''The Scholar's Frustration'', his biography included in the ''Book of Han'', his Yin Yang and stimulus-response theorizing noted at various places in the ''Book of Han'' "Treatise on the Five Elements," and the fragments of his legal discussions.
Dong was born in modern in 179 BC, he entered the imperial service during the reign of the Emperor Jing of Han and rose to high office under the Emperor Wu of Han. His relationship with the emperor was uneasy, though. At one point he was thrown into prison and nearly executed for writings that were considered seditious, and he may have cosmologically predicted the overthrow of the Han Dynasty and its replacement by a Confucian sage, the first appearance of a theme that would later sweep Wang Mang to the imperial throne.
Dong Zhongshu's thought integrated Yin Yang cosmology into a Confucian ethical framework. He emphasised the importance of the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' as a source for both political and metaphysical ideas, following the tradition of the ''Gongyang Commentary'' in seeking hidden meanings from its text.
There are two works that are attributed to Dong Zhongshu, the ''Ju Xianliang Duice'' in 3 chapters, being preserved under the ''Book of Han''. Another, a major work that has survived to the present, the ''Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals'' in 82 chapters. The ''Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals'' bears many marks of multiple authorship. Whether the work did written by Dong himself has been called into question by several scholars including Zhu Xi, Cheng Yanzuo, Dai Junren, Keimatsu Mitsuo, and Tanaka Masami. Scholars now reject as later additions all the passages that discuss theory, and much of the rest of the work is questionable as well. It seems safest to regard it as a collection of unrelated or loosely related chapters and shorter works, which could be subdivided into five categories. Most more or less connected to the ''Gongyang Commentary'' and its school, written by a number of different persons at different times throughout the Han Dynasty.
Other important sources for his life and thought include his ''The Scholar's Frustration'', his biography included in the ''Book of Han'', his Yin Yang and stimulus-response theorizing noted at various places in the ''Book of Han'' "Treatise on the Five Elements," and the fragments of his legal discussions.
Dai Zhen
Dai Zhen was a notable scholar of the Qing Dynasty from . A versatile scholar, he made great contributions to mathematics, geography, phonology and philosophy. His philosophical and philological critiques of Neo-Confucianism continue to be influential.
Dai's philosophical contributions included contributions to the Han Learning school of Evidential Learning which criticized the Song Learning school of Neo-Confucianism. In particular, two criticisms that Dai made was that Neo-Confucianism focused too much on introspective self-examination whereas truth was to be found in investigation of the external world.
Second, he criticized the Neo-Confucian drive to eliminate human desire as an obstacle to rational investigation. Dai argued that human desire was a good and integral part of the human experience, and that eliminating human desire from philosophy had the bad effect of making it difficult to understand and control one's emotions as well as making it impossible to establish empathy with others.
Dai's philosophical contributions included contributions to the Han Learning school of Evidential Learning which criticized the Song Learning school of Neo-Confucianism. In particular, two criticisms that Dai made was that Neo-Confucianism focused too much on introspective self-examination whereas truth was to be found in investigation of the external world.
Second, he criticized the Neo-Confucian drive to eliminate human desire as an obstacle to rational investigation. Dai argued that human desire was a good and integral part of the human experience, and that eliminating human desire from philosophy had the bad effect of making it difficult to understand and control one's emotions as well as making it impossible to establish empathy with others.
Chung-ying Cheng
Chung-ying Cheng is a philosopher. He received his BA in 1956 from National Taiwan University, his MA in 1958 from University of Washington, and PhD in 1964 from Harvard University.
Professor Cheng's research interests are in the areas of Chinese logic, the I Ching and the origins of Chinese philosophy, and Neo-Confucian Philosophy, the onto-hermeneutics of Eastern and Western philosophy, and Chan philosophy. Recently he has specifically worked on the philosophy of c-management and Confucian Bio-Ethics as they relate to the Chinese tradition, and on how Chinese culture relates to world culture.
He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy published by Blackwell Publishers.
*''Contemporary Chinese Philosophy'', ed. with Nicholas Bunnin. . Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 429 pages.
*''A Treatise on Confucian Philosophy: The Way of Uniting the Outer and the Inner'', Beijing: China Social Scienes Publishers, 2001, 431 pages.
*Ontology and Interpretation, , Beijing: Sanlian Publishers, 2000. 382 pages.
*''C Theory: Chinese Philosophy of Management'' , Shanghai:Xueling Publishers, 1999. 458 pages
*''Light of Wisdom: The Contemporary Application of Chinese Management Philosophy'' . Shanghai: Chinese Textile University Press, 1997.
*C lilun: Yijing guanli zhexue. .Taibei: Dongda Tushu Chubanshe, 1995.
*Wenhua, lilun yu guanli: Zhongguo xiandaihua de zhexue xingsi. . Guiyang: Guizhou Renmin Chubanshe, 1991.
*Shiji zhi jiao de jueze: Lun Zhong-Xi zhexue zhong de huitong yu
ronghe. . Shanghai: Zhishi Chubanshe, 1991.
*''The Distribution of Power and Rewards: Selected Essays from the Conference on Democracy and Social Justice East and West'' . Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1991.
*''New Dimensions of Confucian & Neo-Confucian Philosophy,'' Albany: New York University Press, 1991.
*'''
Has won multiple gold medals in masturbation, and being a dick to nice people.'''
“Transforming Confucian Virtues into Human Rights: A Study of Human Agency and Potency in Confucian Ethics” in Wm deBary Confucianism and Human Rights. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
Professor Cheng's research interests are in the areas of Chinese logic, the I Ching and the origins of Chinese philosophy, and Neo-Confucian Philosophy, the onto-hermeneutics of Eastern and Western philosophy, and Chan philosophy. Recently he has specifically worked on the philosophy of c-management and Confucian Bio-Ethics as they relate to the Chinese tradition, and on how Chinese culture relates to world culture.
He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy published by Blackwell Publishers.
Major China-related publications
Books
*''Contemporary Chinese Philosophy'', ed. with Nicholas Bunnin. . Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 429 pages.
*''A Treatise on Confucian Philosophy: The Way of Uniting the Outer and the Inner'', Beijing: China Social Scienes Publishers, 2001, 431 pages.
*Ontology and Interpretation, , Beijing: Sanlian Publishers, 2000. 382 pages.
*''C Theory: Chinese Philosophy of Management'' , Shanghai:Xueling Publishers, 1999. 458 pages
*''Light of Wisdom: The Contemporary Application of Chinese Management Philosophy'' . Shanghai: Chinese Textile University Press, 1997.
*C lilun: Yijing guanli zhexue. .Taibei: Dongda Tushu Chubanshe, 1995.
*Wenhua, lilun yu guanli: Zhongguo xiandaihua de zhexue xingsi. . Guiyang: Guizhou Renmin Chubanshe, 1991.
*Shiji zhi jiao de jueze: Lun Zhong-Xi zhexue zhong de huitong yu
ronghe. . Shanghai: Zhishi Chubanshe, 1991.
*''The Distribution of Power and Rewards: Selected Essays from the Conference on Democracy and Social Justice East and West'' . Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1991.
*''New Dimensions of Confucian & Neo-Confucian Philosophy,'' Albany: New York University Press, 1991.
*'''
Life Accomplishments
Has won multiple gold medals in masturbation, and being a dick to nice people.'''
Articles and book chapters
“Transforming Confucian Virtues into Human Rights: A Study of Human Agency and Potency in Confucian Ethics” in Wm deBary Confucianism and Human Rights. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
Cheng Yi (philosopher)
Cheng Yi , courtesy name Zhengshu , also known as Mr. Yinchuan , was a Chinese philosopher born in Luoyang during the Song Dynasty. He worked with his older brother Cheng Hao , a tutor to Zhu Xi. Like his brother, he was a student of Zhou Dunyi, a friend of Shao Yong, and a nephew of Zhang Zai. The five of them along with Sima Guang are called the Six Great Masters of the 11th century by Zhu Xi.
Cheng entered the national university in 1056, and received the "presented scholar" degree in 1059. He lived and taught in Luoyang, and declined numerous appointments to high offices. In 1086, he was appointed expositor-in-waiting and gave many lectures to the emperor on Confucianism. He was more aggressive and obstinate than his brother, and made several enemies, including Su Shi, the leader of the Sichuan group. In 1097, his enemies were able to ban his teachings, confiscate his properties, and banish him. He was pardoned three years later, but was blacklisted and again his work was banned in 1103. He was finally pardoned in 1106, one year before his death.
Cheng entered the national university in 1056, and received the "presented scholar" degree in 1059. He lived and taught in Luoyang, and declined numerous appointments to high offices. In 1086, he was appointed expositor-in-waiting and gave many lectures to the emperor on Confucianism. He was more aggressive and obstinate than his brother, and made several enemies, including Su Shi, the leader of the Sichuan group. In 1097, his enemies were able to ban his teachings, confiscate his properties, and banish him. He was pardoned three years later, but was blacklisted and again his work was banned in 1103. He was finally pardoned in 1106, one year before his death.
Chen Hongmou
Chen Hongmou , courtesy name Ruzi and Rongmen , was a official, scholar, and philosopher, who is widely regarded as a model official of the Qing Dynasty.
Chen was born in , to a family who migrated from Chenzhou in Hunan province in the late Ming dynasty. He was noted for the longest total service and most provincial posts than any other official during the Qing dynasty. In their work ''Anthology of Qing Statecraft Writings'', He Changling and Wei Yuan praised him as an exemplary official, being surpassed only by Gu Yanwu.
Chen considered himself a disciple of Zhu Xi, but condemned various types of intellectual partisanship. His essays were very progressive for his time - in his vigorous advocation of education for people everywhere, he was one of the first philosophers to clearly state the idea that women and non-Chinese tribes could, and should, receive the same education has Han Chinese men.
*
Life
Chen was born in , to a family who migrated from Chenzhou in Hunan province in the late Ming dynasty. He was noted for the longest total service and most provincial posts than any other official during the Qing dynasty. In their work ''Anthology of Qing Statecraft Writings'', He Changling and Wei Yuan praised him as an exemplary official, being surpassed only by Gu Yanwu.
Philosophy
Chen considered himself a disciple of Zhu Xi, but condemned various types of intellectual partisanship. His essays were very progressive for his time - in his vigorous advocation of education for people everywhere, he was one of the first philosophers to clearly state the idea that women and non-Chinese tribes could, and should, receive the same education has Han Chinese men.
Further reading
*
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu played many different roles in Chinese history. He was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first and first . Chen was an educator, philosopher, and politician. His ancestral home was in Anqing , Anhui, where he established the influential vernacular Chinese periodical ''La Jeunesse''.
*October 9, 1879: Birth in Anqing, Anhui.
*1879 to 1901: Early life and education in China.
*1901 to 1908: Study in Japan, organising Republican revolutionary groups.
*1908 to 1911: Working as a teacher.
*1911 to 1915: Participation in the Xinhai Revolution, the post-revolution Republican government, the anti-Yuan Shikai revolution.
*1915 to 1920: Leading figure in the May Fourth Movement.
*1920 to 1927: Founding and leading the Communist Party of China
*1927 to 1932: Leading Communist forces participating in the Northern Expedition, conflict with Chiang Kai-shek leading to the April 12 Incident and massacre of Communists, conflict with Comintern leading to expulsion from Communist Party. Becomes leader of Troskyists in China.
*1932 to 1937: Arrest by Kuomintang authorities and imprisonment.
*1937 to 1942: Retires from public life.
*May 27, 1942: Death due to heart attack.
Chen Duxiu was born in the city of Anqing in Anhui province. His father died when Chen was very young, and he was raised primarily by his grandfather and later by his older brother.
Chen had almost no formal education, but his grandfather tutored him in classical Chinese literature, especially the Four Books and the Five Classics . A thorough knowledge of these literary and philosophical works were the pre-requisites for civil service in Imperial China. Chen was an exceptional student, but this lack of formal education resulted in a lifelong tendency to advocate unconventional beliefs and criticize traditional ideas.
Chen took and passed the county-level imperial examination in 1896, but he failed the provincial-level examination the following year. 1898, he passed the entrance exam and became a student of Qiushi Academy in Hangzhou. He moved to Shanghai in 1900 and then to Japan in 1901. It was in Japan where Chen became influenced by socialism and the growing Chinese dissident movement.
At the turn of the century, the Qing Dynasty had suffered a series of humiliating military defeats against the colonial foreign powers, namely the First Sino-Japanese War and the war against the Alliance of Eight Nations in the 1901 Boxer Rebellion. At the same time, widespread corruption within the Qing bureaucracy had left the empire in a state of total economic paralysis. Against this background Chen Duxiu became an increasingly influential activist in the revolutionary movement against both foreign imperialism and the Qing government itself.
Influenced by his time in Japan, Chen founded the Anhui Patriotic Association in 1903 and the Yuewang Hui in 1905. He was an outspoken writer and political leader by the time of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which led to the abdication of the last Qing emperor and the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. Chen fled to Japan again in 1913 following the short-lived "Second Revolution" of Yuan Shikai , but returned to China in time to take part in the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
In 1921, Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and other prominent revolutionary leaders founded the Chinese Communist Party . Because of more or less biased Chinese historiography and lack of knowledge elsewhere, it has been generally asserted that Chen, Li and the other Chinese radicals of the time formed the CCP out of diligent study of Marxist theories, inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. However, it is now clear that for this generation of Chinese radicals, Chen included, the road to Marxism was a long one, with several of their number being more or less anarchist or anarcho-communist even at the time of the birth of the Party; several of the prominent members at that time didn't even understand the fundamental premises of Marxist theory. Because of severe persecution and failed attempts at a more anarchistic social revolution, these prominent Chinese revolutionaries finally turned to communism, and were organized through the influence of a Comintern advisor by the name of Grigori Voitinsky who made a tour of China during 1920-21.
At the First Congress of the Communist Party in Shanghai, Chen was elected as the party's first general-secretary, and with the assistance of Li Dazhao, he developed what would become a crucial co-operative relationship with the international communist movement, the Comintern. However, this co-operation with the Comintern would prove to be a problem for the fledgling CCP over the next decade, as aggressive foreign Comintern advisors would try to force policy according to the wishes of Moscow and against the will of many prominent CCP leaders.
At the direction of the Comintern, Chen and the Chinese Communists formed an alliance with Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in 1922; almost every prominent member of the CCP was against this decision. China had disintegrated into an era of violent following the Wuchang Uprising, and the Nationalists were attempting to re-unify the nation under a Republican government. However, Chen became increasingly disillusioned with the Nationalists, which he perceived as rivaling the Qing dynasty in corruption. He also resented the foreign influence of the Comintern over the Chinese Communists. Chen was forced to resign as secretary-general in 1927 due to his dissatisfaction with the Comintern order to disarm during the April 12 Incident, which had led to the deaths of thousands of Communists, and his disagreement with the Comintern's new focus on peasant rebellions.
Afterwards, Chen became associated with the International Left Opposition of Leon Trotsky. Like Chen, Trotsky opposed many of the policies of the Comintern. Trotsky publicly criticized the Comintern's effort to collaborate with the Nationalists. Chen eventually became the voice of the Trotskyists in China, which caused him to be forced out of the pro-Comintern CCP in 1929. Chen continued to oppose nationalist measures like "New Democracy" and the "Bloc of Four Classes" advocated by Mao Zedong.
In 1932, Chen was arrested by the Nationalist-controlled government during the anti-Communist purges of President Chiang Kai-shek . Chen was released in 1937, but his political organization had been shattered in interim. The CCP had been almost completely destroyed in the purges. Both the supporters of Chen and the pro-Comintern leaders who opposed him had been either killed or fallen out of favor with the Communist membership. The Chinese Communist Party only managed to survive the purges by fleeing to the Northern frontier in the Long March of 1934, under the leadership of a new party chairman, Mao Zedong. Mao and this new generation of communists would lead the party in China for the next fifty years.
Chen was one of the few early leaders of the Communist party to survive the turmoil of the 1930s, but he was never able to regain any influence within the party he had founded. For the last decade of his life, he faded into obscurity. Chen later embraced liberalism, and refused to side either with the Nationalists or CCP. Chen Duxiu died in 1942 at the age of 62 in Sichuan province, and is today buried at his birthplace of Anqing.
Chen felt his articles must reflect the needs of society. He believed that the progress of society cannot be achieved without those who accurately report social weaknesses and sicknesses.
Chen's articles were always expressive. He criticized the traditional Chinese officials as and guilty of other wrongdoing. He was under constant attack and frequently persecuted by conservatives and had to flee to Japan four times.
Chen's articles strove to attract publicity, and often arouse discussion by using hyperbole. For instance, he emphasized his sadness about the backwardness and corruption in China, so that people suffering would be willing to send him their opinions. In ''New Youth'', he even wrote different articles by using different nicknames to form a 'discussion', so that the public could be aroused.
Chen's newspapers emphasized the responses from the audience. For instance, there were forums and citizens' columns in ''New Youth''. On average, there were 6 letters from the public in each publication. Whether in praise or strong opposition, Chen encouraged all to write. He also thought that teamwork was very important in journalism and consequently asked help from many talented authors and journalists, including Hu Shih and Lu Xun.
On March 31, 1904, Chen founded ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' , a newspaper that he established with Fang Zhiwu and Wu Shou in Tokyo to promote revolutionary ideas using vernacular Chinese, a language which was simpler and easier to read for the general public. While Chen was the chief secretary of the newspaper, the circulation increased from only a thousand copies to more than three times that figure in less than half a year to become one of the most popular vernacular Chinese newspapers. During 1904 and 1905, a total of twenty-three periodicals were published. Each had 40 pages - about 15,000 words. However, due to political pressures the paper was barred from publishing in 1905.
Chen had three main objectives in publishing ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' :
*To let his villagers keep abreast of the politics of Qing Dynasty.
*To inject knowledge to the readers through vernacular Chinese.
*To promote the revolutionary ideas to the public.
Chen found out that Chinese often ranked families at a prior position than the country. Furthermore, most of them were in his view too superstitious. Thus, Chen tried to urge Chinese people to participate in politics through the publication of Anhui Suhua Bao . After the sixteenth publication, the newspaper added an extra 16 topics, including military, Chinese philosophy, hygiene, astronomy, etc. Almost all of the added topics were written by Chen. His pen-name was San'ai . At least 50 articles were published under this name.
In early 1914, Chen went to Japan and was an editor and wrote critical articles in the ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'' for Zhang Shizhao . Chen once wrote an article entitled "Self consciousness on patriotism" which conveyed a strong sense of patriotism and instigated people to fight for their freedom. It spread the idea that those who love their country would spare no pains to protect the country and strive for the rights which the people deserve. This group of people should work together towards the same goal harmoniously. The article was threatening to the central government as it tried to arouse the self-consciousness of the Chinese people. This preliminary magazine was released for 10 issues in total before it was stopped from publishing. The magazine was resumed in 1925 in Beijing with the new name ''Tokyo Jiayin Weekly'' .
In 1915, Chen started an influential monthly periodical in Shanghai, ''The Youth Magazine'' , which was renamed ''La Jeunesse'' from 1916 to 1919. This became one of the most influential magazines in the May Fourth Movement. Chen was the chief editor of this periodical. It was published by Qunyi shushe and stopped in 1926. The magazine mainly advocated the use of plain language, socialism and Marxism and was strongly against feudalism.
Chen in fact had become the Chinese lecturer of Chinese literature and also the president of the school of Arts in Peking University（北京大学） since 1917. Having the approval from the principal of the Peking University, Chen collected writings of Li Dazhao , Hu Shih , Lu Xun and Qian Yuan etc. In order to expand the editorial department, ''New Youth'' was moved to Beijing. And in February of the same year, Chen used ''New Youth'' in promoting science, democracy and new literature, as well as against paleography and old literature. They advocated the use of and s in judgement and the achievement of political, economic, social and ethical democracy as their goals.
''New Youth'' was divided into different phases:
*1915 to 1918: it opposed the Chinese conservatism and promoted the development of democracy. So it became the centre of the New Culture Movement.
*1919 to 1921: , its nature turned from democratic to socialist, aiming at promoting Marxism.
*1921 to 1926: it became the theoretic base for the Communist Party.
The Shanghai local government banned the sale of ''Guomin Ribao'' on December 1, 1903. After this, Chen twice planned to found ''Aiguo Xinbao'' , but failed because of pressure from different groups. Yet, Chen continued to express his discontent towards the government, for instance, when ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' was published on March 31 1904, Chen was responsible for all editing and distribution.
On November 27 1918, Chen started another magazine, the ''Weekly Review'' with Li Dazhao so as to criticize politics in a more direct way and to promote democracy, science and new literature . Chen also edited ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'' and ''Science Magazine'' . Later, he became the Editor-in-Chief of ''Minli Bao'' and ''Shenzhou Daily'' .
From 1908 to 1910, students at Beijing University, namely Deng Zhongxia and Xu Deheng founded the and invited Li Dazhao as consultant. From 1912 to 1913, Chen asked for assistance from Luo Jialun and Fu Sinian and they founded ''Xinchao She'' .
Chen made many contributions in the field of Chinese journalism. He insisted on telling the truth to the Chinese people and strengthening the Chinese media for later generations. By establishing the newspapers and magazines concerning political issues, Chen had provided a main channel for the general public to express their ideas or discontent towards the existing government. Chen believed that the purpose of mass media is to reveal the truth. At a young age, Chen had already established Guomin Ribao , promoting the inefficiency of the Qing Dynasty. With a view to the things mentioned above, his contribition was said to be influential to journalism as a whole.
To sum up, Chen was a famous revolutionary advocator and journalist in the modern Chinese history. His experiences in newspapers had born profound impacts in the journalistic arena in China.
In 1918, ''New Youth'' published some new poems of Hu Shih and Liu Bannong , which were written in vernacular Chinese in order to conform with the above advocacy. Later on, all the articles in ''New Youth'' were written in vernacular Chinese and new punctuations marked his pioneer role in vernacular Chinese magazine publication.
In the second edition of ''New Youth,'' Chen published Cai Yuanpei's speech, that is the "Speech of Freedom of Religion" . He at that time criticized Chen for his misinterpretation about his speech on religion. As he puts it, "The publication of my speech on ''New Youth'' committed a number of mistakes." Fortunately, Cai did not become angry with Chen and the publication was then amended before publishing.
This crisis was about the political stand of ''New Youth''. Hu Shih insisted that ''New Youth'' should be politically neutral and the publication should be more or less concerned with Chinese philosophy. However, Chen attacked his rationale by publishing "Talking Politics" in the 8th edition. At that time, Chen was invited by Chen Jiongming to be the Education officer in Guangzhou in mid-December of 1920.
He decided to assign the publication to Mao Dun , who belonged to the Shanghai Communist Party. Hu Shih was dissatisfied with this and their partnership then crumbled.
Later, Chen wrote Hu Shih about his dissatisfaction with Hu’s intimacy with the research . He mentioned, "Please note your close relationship with the research faculty".
Others felt that the faculty was advocated by Liang Qichao , a supporter of the Duan Qirui government and their anti-new wave ideology. All of this made Chen greatly dissatisfied.
Chen suggested six guiding principles in an article called "Warning the youth" in ''New Youth'', which aimed at removing the old beliefs of Confucianism:
#To be independent instead of servile
#To be instead of
#To be aggressive instead of retrogressive
#To be instead of isolationist
#To be utilitarian instead of impractical
#To be scientific instead of visionary
''New Youth'' is one of the most influential magazines in the early modern Chinese history. Chen indoctrinated many new ideas such as individualism, democracy, humanism and scientific methods which compensate the removal of Confucianism in Communism.
Seen in this light, ''New Youth'' then became in a position to provide the alternative intellectual influence for many young people. Under the banners of democracy and science, the traditional ethics represented by Confucianism became the target of attack from ''New Youth''. In the first issue, Chen called the young generation to struggle against the Confucianism by "theories of literary revolution" .
To Chen, Confucianism was to be rooted out because:
#It advocated superfluous ceremonies and preached the morality of meek compliance, making the Chinese people weak and passive, unfit to struggle and compete in the modern world
#It recognized the familial values but not the individual as the basic unit of society
#It upheld the inequality of the status of individuals
#It stressed filial piety which made man subservient and dependent
#It preached orthodoxy of thought in total disregard of freedom of thinking and expression.
Chen called for the destruction of tradition and his attack on traditionalism opened a new vista for the educated youth. This magazine became the seed of the May Fourth Movement.
Chen came into conflict with Mao Zedong in 1925 over Mao's essay "An Analysis of Classes In Chinese Society". Although Mao had been one of Chen's students, he had begun to question Chen's analyses of China. While Chen believed that the focus of revolutionary struggle in China should primarily concern the workers, Mao had started to theorize the primacy of the peasants. According to Han Suyin in ''Mortal Flower'', Chen "opposed the opinions expressed , denied that a radical land policy, and the vigorous organization of the rural areas under the Communist party, was necessary; and refused the publication of the essay in the Central executive organs of publicity."
Chen, sticking to the orthodox Marxist line , would not accept Mao's new theoretical analysis as properly communist. Conversely, Mao thought that Chen was incapable of providing a robust historical materialist analysis of China. This dispute would eventually lead to the end of Chen and Mao's friendship.
Chronology
*October 9, 1879: Birth in Anqing, Anhui.
*1879 to 1901: Early life and education in China.
*1901 to 1908: Study in Japan, organising Republican revolutionary groups.
*1908 to 1911: Working as a teacher.
*1911 to 1915: Participation in the Xinhai Revolution, the post-revolution Republican government, the anti-Yuan Shikai revolution.
*1915 to 1920: Leading figure in the May Fourth Movement.
*1920 to 1927: Founding and leading the Communist Party of China
*1927 to 1932: Leading Communist forces participating in the Northern Expedition, conflict with Chiang Kai-shek leading to the April 12 Incident and massacre of Communists, conflict with Comintern leading to expulsion from Communist Party. Becomes leader of Troskyists in China.
*1932 to 1937: Arrest by Kuomintang authorities and imprisonment.
*1937 to 1942: Retires from public life.
*May 27, 1942: Death due to heart attack.
Early life
Chen Duxiu was born in the city of Anqing in Anhui province. His father died when Chen was very young, and he was raised primarily by his grandfather and later by his older brother.
Chen had almost no formal education, but his grandfather tutored him in classical Chinese literature, especially the Four Books and the Five Classics . A thorough knowledge of these literary and philosophical works were the pre-requisites for civil service in Imperial China. Chen was an exceptional student, but this lack of formal education resulted in a lifelong tendency to advocate unconventional beliefs and criticize traditional ideas.
Chen took and passed the county-level imperial examination in 1896, but he failed the provincial-level examination the following year. 1898, he passed the entrance exam and became a student of Qiushi Academy in Hangzhou. He moved to Shanghai in 1900 and then to Japan in 1901. It was in Japan where Chen became influenced by socialism and the growing Chinese dissident movement.
Politics
Foundation of the Chinese Communist Party
At the turn of the century, the Qing Dynasty had suffered a series of humiliating military defeats against the colonial foreign powers, namely the First Sino-Japanese War and the war against the Alliance of Eight Nations in the 1901 Boxer Rebellion. At the same time, widespread corruption within the Qing bureaucracy had left the empire in a state of total economic paralysis. Against this background Chen Duxiu became an increasingly influential activist in the revolutionary movement against both foreign imperialism and the Qing government itself.
Influenced by his time in Japan, Chen founded the Anhui Patriotic Association in 1903 and the Yuewang Hui in 1905. He was an outspoken writer and political leader by the time of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which led to the abdication of the last Qing emperor and the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. Chen fled to Japan again in 1913 following the short-lived "Second Revolution" of Yuan Shikai , but returned to China in time to take part in the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
In 1921, Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and other prominent revolutionary leaders founded the Chinese Communist Party . Because of more or less biased Chinese historiography and lack of knowledge elsewhere, it has been generally asserted that Chen, Li and the other Chinese radicals of the time formed the CCP out of diligent study of Marxist theories, inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. However, it is now clear that for this generation of Chinese radicals, Chen included, the road to Marxism was a long one, with several of their number being more or less anarchist or anarcho-communist even at the time of the birth of the Party; several of the prominent members at that time didn't even understand the fundamental premises of Marxist theory. Because of severe persecution and failed attempts at a more anarchistic social revolution, these prominent Chinese revolutionaries finally turned to communism, and were organized through the influence of a Comintern advisor by the name of Grigori Voitinsky who made a tour of China during 1920-21.
At the First Congress of the Communist Party in Shanghai, Chen was elected as the party's first general-secretary, and with the assistance of Li Dazhao, he developed what would become a crucial co-operative relationship with the international communist movement, the Comintern. However, this co-operation with the Comintern would prove to be a problem for the fledgling CCP over the next decade, as aggressive foreign Comintern advisors would try to force policy according to the wishes of Moscow and against the will of many prominent CCP leaders.
Expelled by the Party
At the direction of the Comintern, Chen and the Chinese Communists formed an alliance with Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in 1922; almost every prominent member of the CCP was against this decision. China had disintegrated into an era of violent following the Wuchang Uprising, and the Nationalists were attempting to re-unify the nation under a Republican government. However, Chen became increasingly disillusioned with the Nationalists, which he perceived as rivaling the Qing dynasty in corruption. He also resented the foreign influence of the Comintern over the Chinese Communists. Chen was forced to resign as secretary-general in 1927 due to his dissatisfaction with the Comintern order to disarm during the April 12 Incident, which had led to the deaths of thousands of Communists, and his disagreement with the Comintern's new focus on peasant rebellions.
Afterwards, Chen became associated with the International Left Opposition of Leon Trotsky. Like Chen, Trotsky opposed many of the policies of the Comintern. Trotsky publicly criticized the Comintern's effort to collaborate with the Nationalists. Chen eventually became the voice of the Trotskyists in China, which caused him to be forced out of the pro-Comintern CCP in 1929. Chen continued to oppose nationalist measures like "New Democracy" and the "Bloc of Four Classes" advocated by Mao Zedong.
In 1932, Chen was arrested by the Nationalist-controlled government during the anti-Communist purges of President Chiang Kai-shek . Chen was released in 1937, but his political organization had been shattered in interim. The CCP had been almost completely destroyed in the purges. Both the supporters of Chen and the pro-Comintern leaders who opposed him had been either killed or fallen out of favor with the Communist membership. The Chinese Communist Party only managed to survive the purges by fleeing to the Northern frontier in the Long March of 1934, under the leadership of a new party chairman, Mao Zedong. Mao and this new generation of communists would lead the party in China for the next fifty years.
Chen was one of the few early leaders of the Communist party to survive the turmoil of the 1930s, but he was never able to regain any influence within the party he had founded. For the last decade of his life, he faded into obscurity. Chen later embraced liberalism, and refused to side either with the Nationalists or CCP. Chen Duxiu died in 1942 at the age of 62 in Sichuan province, and is today buried at his birthplace of Anqing.
Literature
Writing style
Chen felt his articles must reflect the needs of society. He believed that the progress of society cannot be achieved without those who accurately report social weaknesses and sicknesses.
Chen's articles were always expressive. He criticized the traditional Chinese officials as and guilty of other wrongdoing. He was under constant attack and frequently persecuted by conservatives and had to flee to Japan four times.
Chen's articles strove to attract publicity, and often arouse discussion by using hyperbole. For instance, he emphasized his sadness about the backwardness and corruption in China, so that people suffering would be willing to send him their opinions. In ''New Youth'', he even wrote different articles by using different nicknames to form a 'discussion', so that the public could be aroused.
Chen's newspapers emphasized the responses from the audience. For instance, there were forums and citizens' columns in ''New Youth''. On average, there were 6 letters from the public in each publication. Whether in praise or strong opposition, Chen encouraged all to write. He also thought that teamwork was very important in journalism and consequently asked help from many talented authors and journalists, including Hu Shih and Lu Xun.
Journalistic works
''Anhui Suhua Bao''
On March 31, 1904, Chen founded ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' , a newspaper that he established with Fang Zhiwu and Wu Shou in Tokyo to promote revolutionary ideas using vernacular Chinese, a language which was simpler and easier to read for the general public. While Chen was the chief secretary of the newspaper, the circulation increased from only a thousand copies to more than three times that figure in less than half a year to become one of the most popular vernacular Chinese newspapers. During 1904 and 1905, a total of twenty-three periodicals were published. Each had 40 pages - about 15,000 words. However, due to political pressures the paper was barred from publishing in 1905.
Chen had three main objectives in publishing ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' :
*To let his villagers keep abreast of the politics of Qing Dynasty.
*To inject knowledge to the readers through vernacular Chinese.
*To promote the revolutionary ideas to the public.
Chen found out that Chinese often ranked families at a prior position than the country. Furthermore, most of them were in his view too superstitious. Thus, Chen tried to urge Chinese people to participate in politics through the publication of Anhui Suhua Bao . After the sixteenth publication, the newspaper added an extra 16 topics, including military, Chinese philosophy, hygiene, astronomy, etc. Almost all of the added topics were written by Chen. His pen-name was San'ai . At least 50 articles were published under this name.
''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine''
In early 1914, Chen went to Japan and was an editor and wrote critical articles in the ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'' for Zhang Shizhao . Chen once wrote an article entitled "Self consciousness on patriotism" which conveyed a strong sense of patriotism and instigated people to fight for their freedom. It spread the idea that those who love their country would spare no pains to protect the country and strive for the rights which the people deserve. This group of people should work together towards the same goal harmoniously. The article was threatening to the central government as it tried to arouse the self-consciousness of the Chinese people. This preliminary magazine was released for 10 issues in total before it was stopped from publishing. The magazine was resumed in 1925 in Beijing with the new name ''Tokyo Jiayin Weekly'' .
''New Youth'' magazine
In 1915, Chen started an influential monthly periodical in Shanghai, ''The Youth Magazine'' , which was renamed ''La Jeunesse'' from 1916 to 1919. This became one of the most influential magazines in the May Fourth Movement. Chen was the chief editor of this periodical. It was published by Qunyi shushe and stopped in 1926. The magazine mainly advocated the use of plain language, socialism and Marxism and was strongly against feudalism.
Chen in fact had become the Chinese lecturer of Chinese literature and also the president of the school of Arts in Peking University（北京大学） since 1917. Having the approval from the principal of the Peking University, Chen collected writings of Li Dazhao , Hu Shih , Lu Xun and Qian Yuan etc. In order to expand the editorial department, ''New Youth'' was moved to Beijing. And in February of the same year, Chen used ''New Youth'' in promoting science, democracy and new literature, as well as against paleography and old literature. They advocated the use of and s in judgement and the achievement of political, economic, social and ethical democracy as their goals.
''New Youth'' was divided into different phases:
*1915 to 1918: it opposed the Chinese conservatism and promoted the development of democracy. So it became the centre of the New Culture Movement.
*1919 to 1921: , its nature turned from democratic to socialist, aiming at promoting Marxism.
*1921 to 1926: it became the theoretic base for the Communist Party.
Other publications
The Shanghai local government banned the sale of ''Guomin Ribao'' on December 1, 1903. After this, Chen twice planned to found ''Aiguo Xinbao'' , but failed because of pressure from different groups. Yet, Chen continued to express his discontent towards the government, for instance, when ''Anhui Suhua Bao'' was published on March 31 1904, Chen was responsible for all editing and distribution.
On November 27 1918, Chen started another magazine, the ''Weekly Review'' with Li Dazhao so as to criticize politics in a more direct way and to promote democracy, science and new literature . Chen also edited ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'' and ''Science Magazine'' . Later, he became the Editor-in-Chief of ''Minli Bao'' and ''Shenzhou Daily'' .
From 1908 to 1910, students at Beijing University, namely Deng Zhongxia and Xu Deheng founded the and invited Li Dazhao as consultant. From 1912 to 1913, Chen asked for assistance from Luo Jialun and Fu Sinian and they founded ''Xinchao She'' .
Chen's contribution to Chinese journalism
Chen made many contributions in the field of Chinese journalism. He insisted on telling the truth to the Chinese people and strengthening the Chinese media for later generations. By establishing the newspapers and magazines concerning political issues, Chen had provided a main channel for the general public to express their ideas or discontent towards the existing government. Chen believed that the purpose of mass media is to reveal the truth. At a young age, Chen had already established Guomin Ribao , promoting the inefficiency of the Qing Dynasty. With a view to the things mentioned above, his contribition was said to be influential to journalism as a whole.
To sum up, Chen was a famous revolutionary advocator and journalist in the modern Chinese history. His experiences in newspapers had born profound impacts in the journalistic arena in China.
Poetry
In 1918, ''New Youth'' published some new poems of Hu Shih and Liu Bannong , which were written in vernacular Chinese in order to conform with the above advocacy. Later on, all the articles in ''New Youth'' were written in vernacular Chinese and new punctuations marked his pioneer role in vernacular Chinese magazine publication.
Intellectual contributions and disputes
Crisis with Cai Yuanpei
In the second edition of ''New Youth,'' Chen published Cai Yuanpei's speech, that is the "Speech of Freedom of Religion" . He at that time criticized Chen for his misinterpretation about his speech on religion. As he puts it, "The publication of my speech on ''New Youth'' committed a number of mistakes." Fortunately, Cai did not become angry with Chen and the publication was then amended before publishing.
Crisis with Hu Shih
This crisis was about the political stand of ''New Youth''. Hu Shih insisted that ''New Youth'' should be politically neutral and the publication should be more or less concerned with Chinese philosophy. However, Chen attacked his rationale by publishing "Talking Politics" in the 8th edition. At that time, Chen was invited by Chen Jiongming to be the Education officer in Guangzhou in mid-December of 1920.
He decided to assign the publication to Mao Dun , who belonged to the Shanghai Communist Party. Hu Shih was dissatisfied with this and their partnership then crumbled.
Later, Chen wrote Hu Shih about his dissatisfaction with Hu’s intimacy with the research . He mentioned, "Please note your close relationship with the research faculty".
Others felt that the faculty was advocated by Liang Qichao , a supporter of the Duan Qirui government and their anti-new wave ideology. All of this made Chen greatly dissatisfied.
Anti-Confucianism
Chen suggested six guiding principles in an article called "Warning the youth" in ''New Youth'', which aimed at removing the old beliefs of Confucianism:
#To be independent instead of servile
#To be instead of
#To be aggressive instead of retrogressive
#To be instead of isolationist
#To be utilitarian instead of impractical
#To be scientific instead of visionary
''New Youth'' is one of the most influential magazines in the early modern Chinese history. Chen indoctrinated many new ideas such as individualism, democracy, humanism and scientific methods which compensate the removal of Confucianism in Communism.
Seen in this light, ''New Youth'' then became in a position to provide the alternative intellectual influence for many young people. Under the banners of democracy and science, the traditional ethics represented by Confucianism became the target of attack from ''New Youth''. In the first issue, Chen called the young generation to struggle against the Confucianism by "theories of literary revolution" .
To Chen, Confucianism was to be rooted out because:
#It advocated superfluous ceremonies and preached the morality of meek compliance, making the Chinese people weak and passive, unfit to struggle and compete in the modern world
#It recognized the familial values but not the individual as the basic unit of society
#It upheld the inequality of the status of individuals
#It stressed filial piety which made man subservient and dependent
#It preached orthodoxy of thought in total disregard of freedom of thinking and expression.
Chen called for the destruction of tradition and his attack on traditionalism opened a new vista for the educated youth. This magazine became the seed of the May Fourth Movement.
Conflict with Mao
Chen came into conflict with Mao Zedong in 1925 over Mao's essay "An Analysis of Classes In Chinese Society". Although Mao had been one of Chen's students, he had begun to question Chen's analyses of China. While Chen believed that the focus of revolutionary struggle in China should primarily concern the workers, Mao had started to theorize the primacy of the peasants. According to Han Suyin in ''Mortal Flower'', Chen "opposed the opinions expressed , denied that a radical land policy, and the vigorous organization of the rural areas under the Communist party, was necessary; and refused the publication of the essay in the Central executive organs of publicity."
Chen, sticking to the orthodox Marxist line , would not accept Mao's new theoretical analysis as properly communist. Conversely, Mao thought that Chen was incapable of providing a robust historical materialist analysis of China. This dispute would eventually lead to the end of Chen and Mao's friendship.
Carsun Chang
Zhang Junmai 张君劢 , also known by his courtesy name Carsun Chang), was a prominent Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and political figure. Zhang Junmai was a major exponent of Chinese liberalism.
A pioneering theorist of human rights in the Chinese context, Zhang established his own small "Third Force" democratic party during the Nationalist era.
Equipped with the traditional Confucian degree of ''xiucai'' or "accomplished scholar", Zhang went on to study at Waseda University in Japan where he came under the influence of Liang Qichao's theory of constitutional monarchy. In 1918 he accompanied Liang’s tour of post-war Europe, later going to Germany to study philosophy fpr a short time in Berlin University. While in Germany he came under the influence of the teachings of Rudolf Eucken and Henri Bergson . With Hans Driesch, who was formerly Eucken's student, Zhang travelled throughout China in the early 1920s, serving as Driesch's Chinese translator as he lectured on Eucken's philosophical vision. Appointed a professor of philosophy at Beijing University, he instigated polemics over science and metaphysics He wrote extensively on what now forms part of modern neo-Confucianism.
With Zhang Dongsun, he organized a National Socialist Party . In 1933 he and Huang Yanpei organized the China Democratic League, a Third Force party with strong commitments to liberal doctrines of separation of powers, freedom of expression and human rights. After the war against Japan, Zhang became the chairman of the China Democratic Socialist Party.
Opposed to the Chinese communists, but also dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek 's noncompliance with the constitution, Zhang Junmai went to the United States after 1949. The Democratic Socialist Party moved to Taiwan afterwards and continued resisting the implementation of a one-party dictatorship and oppression by the Kuomintang though its very survival in Taiwan was due to its tacit cooperation with the Kuomintang. Zhang Junmai reappeared in 1962 calling for the unity of the party, but returned to the United States before his death in 1969.
A pioneering theorist of human rights in the Chinese context, Zhang established his own small "Third Force" democratic party during the Nationalist era.
Equipped with the traditional Confucian degree of ''xiucai'' or "accomplished scholar", Zhang went on to study at Waseda University in Japan where he came under the influence of Liang Qichao's theory of constitutional monarchy. In 1918 he accompanied Liang’s tour of post-war Europe, later going to Germany to study philosophy fpr a short time in Berlin University. While in Germany he came under the influence of the teachings of Rudolf Eucken and Henri Bergson . With Hans Driesch, who was formerly Eucken's student, Zhang travelled throughout China in the early 1920s, serving as Driesch's Chinese translator as he lectured on Eucken's philosophical vision. Appointed a professor of philosophy at Beijing University, he instigated polemics over science and metaphysics He wrote extensively on what now forms part of modern neo-Confucianism.
With Zhang Dongsun, he organized a National Socialist Party . In 1933 he and Huang Yanpei organized the China Democratic League, a Third Force party with strong commitments to liberal doctrines of separation of powers, freedom of expression and human rights. After the war against Japan, Zhang became the chairman of the China Democratic Socialist Party.
Opposed to the Chinese communists, but also dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek 's noncompliance with the constitution, Zhang Junmai went to the United States after 1949. The Democratic Socialist Party moved to Taiwan afterwards and continued resisting the implementation of a one-party dictatorship and oppression by the Kuomintang though its very survival in Taiwan was due to its tacit cooperation with the Kuomintang. Zhang Junmai reappeared in 1962 calling for the unity of the party, but returned to the United States before his death in 1969.
Cai Yuanpei
Cài Yuánpéi was a educator and the chancellor of the Peking University, known for his critical evaluation of the Chinese culture that led to the influential May Fourth Movement. In his thinking, Cai was heavily influenced by Anarchism.
* Courtesy name: Hèqīng
* Sobriquet: "Lone Citizen"
Biography
Born in Shānyīn Village, Shaoxing Subprefecture, Zhejiang Province, Cai was appointed to the at 26. In 1898, he became involved in administering institutes and became:
* Superintendent of Shaoxing Chinese-Western School
* Head of Shèng District Shànshān College
* Director-Teacher of the Special Class of Nanyang Public School
He established Guangfuhui in 1904 and joined Tongmenghui the next year.
After studying philosophy, psychology, and art history in the Universit?t Leipzig of Germany in 1907 with Karl Lamprecht, he became the provisional Republic's Minister of Education in January 1912, but later resigned during Yuan Shikai's presidency. Subsequently, he returned to Germany, and then went to France.
Cai came back to China in 1916 to became the Chancellor of Peking University the next year. It was during his tenure at Peking University that he recruited such famous thinkers to the school as Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. In 1927, he co-founded the National College of Music, which later became the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In April 1928, he became the first president of the Academia Sinica.
Cai proposed the equal importance of five ways of life — "Virtue, Wisdom, Health, Collective, and Beauty" — that are still learned as a slogan today in Taiwan. He was also an opponent of foot binding and concubinage, as well as being a proponent of women's right to divorce and remarriage.
Cai Yuanpei died at the age of 76 in Hong Kong.
---Cai Yuanpei and the National Art Academy
Bibliography
* Cai Jianguo. ''Cai Yuanpei: Gelehrter und Mittler zwischen Ost und West.'' Deutsch von Hans Christian Stichler. Münster : Lit 1998.
* Wang Peili. ''Wilhelm von Humboldt und Cai Yuanpei: eine vergleichende Analyse zweier klassischer Bildungskonzepte in der deutschen Aufkl?rung und in der ersten chinesischen Republik.'' Münster; New York: Waxmann 1996.
Wang Bi
Wang Bi , courtesy name Fu Si , was a philosopher.
His most important works are commentaries on Laozi's ''Dao De Jing'' and the ''I Ching''. The text of the ''Dao De Jing'' that appeared with his commentary was widely considered as the best copy of this work until the discovery of the Mawangdui texts in 1973.
He served as a minor bureaucrat in the Kingdom of Wei, one of the Three Kingdoms, and was married with a daughter. He died of pestilence at the age of 24.
His most important works are commentaries on Laozi's ''Dao De Jing'' and the ''I Ching''. The text of the ''Dao De Jing'' that appeared with his commentary was widely considered as the best copy of this work until the discovery of the Mawangdui texts in 1973.
He served as a minor bureaucrat in the Kingdom of Wei, one of the Three Kingdoms, and was married with a daughter. He died of pestilence at the age of 24.
Tien-Lcheu
Tien-Lcheu was a philosopher. He was credited for being the inventor of Indian ink in 2697 BC. The type of ink that he invented was a mixture of pine smoke's soot, lamp oil mixed with gelatin on donkey's skin and musk. His invention became common by 1200 BC.
Tang Zhen
Tang Zhen , born Tang Dadao , courtesy name Zhuwan , was a Chinese philosopher and educator born in during the late and early dynasties. His given name was Dahao, but later he changed his given name to Zhen and his courtesy name to Puyuan .
In 1657, he successfully achieved the rank of ''juren'' or quasi-master degree provincial level. He then became the mayor of a town in Shanxi province. Later in life he became an author, philosophizing about politics and life.
In 1657, he successfully achieved the rank of ''juren'' or quasi-master degree provincial level. He then became the mayor of a town in Shanxi province. Later in life he became an author, philosophizing about politics and life.
Tang Junyi
Tang Junyi was a Chinese philosopher, who was one of the leading exponents of New Confucianism. He was influenced by Plato and Hegel as well as by earlier Confucian thought.
Born in mainland China, Tang Junyi went into exile in Hong Kong in 1949, after the declaration of the People's Republic of China, living there for the rest of his life.
There he helped found the New Asia College, which was integrated into the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1963. His work has mainly been influential in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States.
Born in mainland China, Tang Junyi went into exile in Hong Kong in 1949, after the declaration of the People's Republic of China, living there for the rest of his life.
There he helped found the New Asia College, which was integrated into the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1963. His work has mainly been influential in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States.
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a revolutionary and leader often referred to as the . Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional when the Republic of China was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the Kuomintang where he served as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century politicians for being widely revered in both Mainland China and in Taiwan.
Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly-founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the s who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party bring about over the country. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Communists, split into two factions after his death. Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing a political philosophy known as the ''Three Principles of the People'' .
Sun Yat-sen was born on November 12, 1866, to a peasant family in the village of Cuiheng, county , Guangzhou prefecture, Guangdong province . When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, the name of Xiangshan was changed to Zhongshan, His Japanese name when he was living in Japan. As a child, Sun Yat-sen listened to many stories about the Taiping Rebellion from an old Taiping soldier named Lai han-ing . After receiving a few years of local school, at age thirteen, Sun went to live with his elder brother, Sun Mei, in Honolulu. Sun Mei, who was fifteen years Sun Yat-sen's senior, had emigrated to Hawaii as a laborer and had become a prosperous merchant. Though Sun Mei was not always supportive of Sun's later revolutionary activities, he supported his brother financially, allowing Sun to give up his professional career. Sun Yat-sen studied at the prestigious Iolani School where he learned English, mathematics and science. Originally unable to speak the English language, Sun Yat-sen picked up the language so quickly that he received a prize for outstanding achievement in English from King David Kalakaua. He became a citizen of the United States and was issued an American passport. It is unclear whether or not he maintained his original citizenship as a subject of the Qing empire. After graduation from Iolani School in 1882, Sun enrolled in Oahu College for further studies for one semester.. He was soon sent home to China as his brother was becoming afraid that Sun Yat-sen was about to embrace Christianity. While at Iolani, he befriended Tong Phong, who later founded the First Chinese-American Bank.
His American experience was to be of lasting influence. Sun attached particular importance to the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln. Sun often said that the formulation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, had been the inspiration for the ''Three Principles of the People''. He incorporated these ideas, later in life, in two highly influential books. One, ''The Vital Problem of China'' , analyzed some of the problems of colonialism: Sun warned that “…the treat nations as the silkworm farmer treats his worms; as long as they produce silk, he cares for them well; when they stop, he feeds them to the fish.” The second book, ''International Development of China'' , presented detailed proposals for the development of infrastructure in China, and attacked the ideology of laissez-faire, as well as that of adhering more to the ideas of Henry George's, particularly . His ideology remained flexible, however, reflecting his audience as much as his personal convictions. He presented himself as a strident nationalist to the nationalists, as a socialist to the socialists, and an to the anarchists, declaring at one point that “the goal of the Three Principles of the People is to create socialism and anarchism.” It is an open matter of debate whether this eclecticism reflected a sincere effort to incorporate ideas from the multiple competing schools of thought or was simply opportunistic posturing. In any case, his ideological flexibility allowed him to become a key figure in the Nationalist movement since he was one of very few people who had good relations with all of the movement's factions.
When he returned home in 1883, he became greatly troubled by what he saw as a backward China that demanded exorbitant taxes and levies from its people. The schools maintained their ancient methods, leaving no opportunity for expression of thought or opinion. Under the influence of Christian missionaries in Hawaii, Sun had developed a disdain for traditional Chinese religious beliefs. One day, Sun and his childhood friend Lu Hao-tung passed by Beijidian, a temple in Cuiheng Village, where they saw many villagers worshipping the Beiji Emperor-God in the temple. They broke off the hand of the statue, incurring the wrath of fellow villagers, and escaped to Hong Kong.
Sun studied English at the Anglican Diocesan Home and Orphanage in Hong Kong. In April 1884, Sun was transferred to the Central School of Hong Kong . Sun was later baptized in Hong Kong by an American missionary of the Congregational Church of the United States, to his brother's disdain. Sun pictured a revolution as similar to the salvation mission of the Christian church. His conversion to Christianity was related to his revolutionary ideals and push for advancement. As a result, his baptismal name, Rixin , literally means "daily renewal."
Sun studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the medical missionary . Ultimately, he earned the license of medical practice as a medical doctor from the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1892, of which he was one of the first two graduates. He subsequently practiced medicine in that city briefly in 1893. He had an arranged marriage with fellow villager Lu Muzhen at age twenty; she bore him a son Sun Fo, who would grow up to become a high ranking official in the Republican government, and two daughters, Sun Yan and Sun Wan.
During and after the Qing Dynasty rebellion, Sun was a leader within Tiandihui, a precursor to modern groups. Tiandihui provided much of Sun's funding. His protégé, Chiang Kai Shek, was also a member of Tiandihui .
Sun, who had grown increasingly troubled by the conservative Qing government and its refusal to adopt knowledge from the more technologically advanced Western nations, quit his medical practice in order to devote his time to transforming China. At first, Sun aligned himself with the reformists Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao who sought to transform China into a Western-style constitutional monarchy. In 1894, Sun wrote a long letter to Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili and a reformer in the court, with suggestions on how to strengthen China, but he was rebuffed. Since Sun had never been trained in the classics, the gentry did not accept Sun into their circles. From then on, Sun began to call for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.
Sun went to Hawaii in October 1894 and founded the Revive China Society to unveil the goal of a prospering China and as the platform for future revolutionary activities. Members were drawn mainly from fellow Cantonese expatriates and from the lower social classes.
In 1895 a coup he plotted failed, and for the next sixteen years Sun was an exile in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan, raising money for his revolutionary party and bankrolling uprisings in China. In Japan, where he was known as Nakayama Shō , he joined dissident Chinese groups and soon became their leader. He spent, on and off, about ten years in Japan while befriending and being financially aided by a democratic revolutionary in Japan, Miyazaki Toten . Nanjing Historical Remains Museum of Chinese Modern History exhibits a bronze statue of Sun and Miyazaki placed alongside. Miyazaki wrote a series of articles for newspapers including nationally-circulated Asahi about Sun and his revolutionary efforts under the title "33-year dream". His last name Nakayama came from the imperial family which occupied Sun's favorite estate mansion located in central Tokyo. He eventually left Japan due to fears of the excessively large level of support he had there and went to the States.
In Japan, He met and befriended Mariano Ponce, then a diplomat of the First Philippine Republic. Sun also supported the cause for Philippine Independence and even supplied the Philippine army with guns.
On October 10, 1911, a military in which Sun had no direct involvement , began a process that ended over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. When he learned of the successful rebellion against the emperor from press reports, Sun immediately returned to China from the United States. Later, on December 29, 1911 a meeting of representatives from provinces in elected Sun as the provisional President of the Republic of China and set January 1, 1912 as the of the First Year of the Republic. This republic calendar system is still used in Taiwan today.
The official history of the Kuomintang emphasizes Sun's role as the first provisional President, but many historians now question the importance of Sun's role in the 1911 revolution and point out that he had no direct role in the Wuchang uprising and was in fact out of the country at the time. In this interpretation, his naming as the first provisional President was precisely because he was a respected but rather unimportant figure and therefore served as an ideal compromise candidate between the revolutionaries and the conservative gentry.
However, Sun is credited for the funding of the revolutions and for keeping the spirit of revolution alive, even after a series of failed uprisings. Also, as mentioned, he successfully merged minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party, providing a better base for all those who shared the same ideals.
Sun is highly regarded as the National Father of modern China. His political philosophy, known as the ''Three Principles of the People'', was proclaimed in August 1905. In his ''Methods and Strategies of Establishing the Country'' completed in 1919, he suggested using his Principles to establish ultimate peace, , and in the country. He devoted all efforts throughout his whole lifetime until his death for a strong and prosperous China and the well being of its people.
After taking the oath of office, Sun Yat-sen sent telegrams to the leaders of all provinces, requesting them to elect and send new senators to establish the National Assembly of the Republic of China. The Assembly then declared the provisional government organizational guidelines and the provisional law of the Republic as the basic law of the nation.
The provisional government was in a very weak position. The southern provinces of China had declared independence from the Qing dynasty, but most of the northern provinces had not. Moreover, the provisional government did not have military forces of its own, and its control over elements of the New Army that had mutinied was limited, and there were still significant forces which had not declared against the Qing.
The major issue before the provisional government was gaining the support of Yuan Shikai, the man in charge of the Beiyang Army, the military of northern China. After Sun promised Yuan the presidency of the new Republic, Yuan sided with the revolution and forced the to abdicate. In 1913 Sun led an unsuccessful revolt against Yuan, and he was forced to seek asylum in Japan, where he reorganized the Kuomintang. He married Soong Ching-ling, one of the Soong sisters, in Japan on October 25, 1915, without divorcing his first wife Lu Muzhen due to opposition from the Chinese community. Lu pleaded with him to take Soong as a concubine but this was also unacceptable to Sun's Christian ethics.
In the late 1910s, China was greatly divided by different military leaders without a proper central government. Sun saw the danger of this and returned to China in 1917 to advocate unification. He started a self-proclaimed military government in Guangzhou , Guangdong Province, southern China, in 1921, and was elected as president and generalissimo.
In a February 1923 speech presented to the Students' Union in Hong Kong University, he declared that it was the corruption of China and the peace, order and good government of Hong Kong that turned him into a revolutionary. This same year, he delivered a speech in which he proclaimed his ''Three Principles of the People'' as the foundation of the country and the as the guideline for the political system and bureaucracy. Part of the speech was made into the National Anthem of the Republic of China.
To develop the military power needed for the against the militarists at Beijing, he established the Whampoa Military Academy near Guangzhou, with Chiang Kai-shek as its commandant and with such party leaders as Wang Ching-wei and Hu Han-min as political instructors. The Academy was the most eminent military school of the Republic of China and trained graduates who fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and on both sides of the Chinese Civil War.
However, as soon as he established his government in Guangzhou, Sun Yat-sen came into conflict with entrenched local power. Sun's militarist government was not based on the Provisional Constitution of 1912, which the anti-Beiyang forces vowed to defend in the Constitutional Protection War. In addition, Sun was elected president by a parliament that did not meet quorum following its move from Beijing. Thus, many politicians and warlords alike challenged the legitimacy of Sun's militarist government. Sun's use of heavy taxes to fund the to militarily unify China also came at odds with reformers such as Chen Jiongming, who advocated establishing Guangdong as a “model province” before launching a costly military campaign. In sum, Sun's military government was opposed by the internationally-recognized Beiyang government in the north, Chen's Guangdong provincial government in the south, and other provincial powers that shifted alliance according to their own benefit.
He again became premier of the Kuomintang from 10 October 1919 – 12 March 1925. In the early 1920s Sun received help from the Comintern for his reorganization of the Kuomintang as a Leninist Party and negotiated the . In 1924, in order to hasten the conquest of China, he began a policy of active cooperation with the .
By this time, Sun was convinced that the only hope for a unified China lay in a military conquest from his base in the south, followed by a period of political tutelage that would culminate in the transition to democracy. Sun then prepared for the later Northern Expedition with help from foreign powers until his death.
On November 10 1924, Sun traveled north and delivered another speech to suggest gathering a conference for the Chinese people and the abolition of all unequal treaties with the Western powers. Two days later, he yet again traveled to Beijing to discuss the future of the country, despite his deteriorating health and the ongoing civil war of the warlords. Although ill at the time, he was still head of the southern government. On November 28 1924 Sun traveled to Japan and gave a remarkable at Kobe, Japan. He left Guangzhou to hold peace talks with the northern regional leaders on the unification of China. Sun died of on March 12, 1925, at the age of 58 at the .
One of Sun's major legacies was his political philosophy, the Three Principles of the People . These Principles included the principle of nationalism , democracy and the People's Livelihood . The Principles retained a place in the rhetoric of both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party with completely different interpretations. This difference in interpretation is due partly to the fact that Sun seemed to hold an ambiguous attitude to both capitalist and communist methods of development, as well as due to his untimely death, in 1925, before he had finished his now-famous lecture series on the Three Principles of the People. In addition, Sun is also one of the primary saints of the Vietnamese religion Cao Dai.
After Sun's death, a power struggle between his young ''protégé'' Chiang Kai-shek and his old revolutionary comrade Wang Jingwei split the KMT. At stake in this struggle was the right to lay claim to Sun's ambiguous legacy. In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek married Soong May-ling, a sister of Sun's widow Soong Ching-ling, and subsequently he could claim to be a brother-in-law of Sun. When the in 1927, marking the start of the Chinese Civil War, each group claimed to be his true heirs, a conflict that continued through World War II.
The official veneration of Sun's memory, especially in the Kuomintang, was a virtual cult, which centered around his tomb in Nanking. His widow, Soong Ching-ling, sided with the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and served from 1949 to 1981 as Vice President of the People's Republic of China and as Honorary President shortly before her death in 1981.
Sun Yat-sen remains unique among twentieth-century Chinese leaders for having a high reputation both in mainland China and in Taiwan. In Taiwan, he is seen as the Father of the Republic of China, and is known by the posthumous name ''Father of the Nation, Mr. Sun Chungshan'' . His likeness is still almost always found in ceremonial locations such as in front of legislatures and classrooms of public schools, from elementary to senior high school, and he continues to appear in new coinage and currency.
On the , Sun is also seen as a Chinese nationalist and proto-socialist, and is highly regarded as the ''Forerunner of the Revolution'' . He is mentioned by name in the preamble to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In most major Chinese cities one of the main streets is named "Zhongshan" to memorialize him, a name even more commonly found than other popular choices such as "Renmin Lu" , or ''The People's Road'', and "Jiefang Lu" , or ''Liberation Road''. There are also numerous parks, schools, and geographical features named after him. The city of Zhongshan in Guangdong, where Sun was originally from, is named after Sun, and there is a hall dedicated to his memory at the Temple of Azure Clouds in Beijing.
In recent years, the leadership of the Communist Party of China has been increasingly invoking Sun, partly as a way of bolstering Chinese nationalism in light of Chinese economic reform and partly to increase connections with supporters of the Kuomintang on Taiwan which the PRC sees as allies against Taiwanese independence. Sun's tomb was one of the first stops made by the leaders of both the Kuomintang and the on their . A massive portrait of Sun continues to appear in Tiananmen Square for May Day and the .
Sun's notability and popularity extends beyond the Greater China region, particularly to where a large concentration of overseas Chinese reside in Singapore and Malaysia. Sun recognised the contributions that the large number of overseas Chinese could make, beyond the sending of remittances to their ancestral homeland. He therefore made multiple visits to spread his revolutionary message to these communities around the world.
Sun made a total of eight visits to Singapore between 1900 and 1911. His first visit made on September 7, 1900, was to rescue Miyazaki Toten, an ardent Japanese supporter and friend of Sun's, who was arrested there, an act which also resulted in his own arrest and a ban from visiting the island for five years. Upon his next visit in June 1905, he met local Chinese merchants Teo Eng Hock, Tan Chor Nam and Lim Nee Soon in a meeting which was to mark the commencement of direct support from the Nanyang Chinese. Upon hearing their reports on overseas Chinese revolutionists organising themselves in Europe and Japan, he urged them to establish the Singapore chapter of the Tongmenghui, which came officially into being on 6 April the following year upon his next visit.
The chapter was housed in a villa known as Wan Qing Yuan and donated for the use of revolutionalists by Teo. In 1906, the chapter grew in membership to 400, and in 1908, when Sun was in Singapore to escape the Qing government in the wake of the failed Zhennanguan Uprising, the chapter had become the regional headquarters for Tongmenghui branches in Southeast Asia. Sun and his followers travelled from Singapore to and Indonesia to spread their revolutionary message, by which time the alliance already had over twenty branches with over 3,000 members around the world.
Sun's foresight in tapping on the help and resources of the overseas Chinese population was to bear fruit on his subsequent revolutionary efforts. In one particular instance, his personal plea for financial aid at the Penang Conference held on November 13, 1910 in , helped launch a major drive for donations across the Malay Peninsula, an effort which helped finance the Second Guangzhou Uprising in 1911.
The role that overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia played during the 1911 Revolution was so significant that Sun himself recognized "Overseas Chinese as the Mother of the Revolution".
Today, Sun's legacy is remembered in Nanyang at Wan Qing Yuan, which has since been preserved and renamed as the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, and gazetted as a of Singapore on October 28, 1994.
In Penang, the Penang Philomatic Union which was founded by Sun in 1908, has embarked on a heritage project to turn its premises at 65 Macalister Road into The project is expected to complete in late 2006.
#
#Sun Yat-sen's vision for China / Martin, Bernard, 1966.
#Sun Yat-sen, Yang Chu-yun, and the early revolutionary movement in China / Hsueh, Chun-tu
#Sun Yat-sen / Bergere, Marie-Claire. c. 1998.
#Sun Yat-sen 1866-1925 / The Millennium Biographies / Hong Kong, 1999
#Sun Yat-sen and the origins of the Chinese revolution Schiffrin, Harold Z. /1968.
#Sun Yat-sen; his life and its meaning; a critical biography. Sharman, Lyon, / 1968, c. 1934
#
#
#
#
Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly-founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the s who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party bring about over the country. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Communists, split into two factions after his death. Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing a political philosophy known as the ''Three Principles of the People'' .
Early years
Sun Yat-sen was born on November 12, 1866, to a peasant family in the village of Cuiheng, county , Guangzhou prefecture, Guangdong province . When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, the name of Xiangshan was changed to Zhongshan, His Japanese name when he was living in Japan. As a child, Sun Yat-sen listened to many stories about the Taiping Rebellion from an old Taiping soldier named Lai han-ing . After receiving a few years of local school, at age thirteen, Sun went to live with his elder brother, Sun Mei, in Honolulu. Sun Mei, who was fifteen years Sun Yat-sen's senior, had emigrated to Hawaii as a laborer and had become a prosperous merchant. Though Sun Mei was not always supportive of Sun's later revolutionary activities, he supported his brother financially, allowing Sun to give up his professional career. Sun Yat-sen studied at the prestigious Iolani School where he learned English, mathematics and science. Originally unable to speak the English language, Sun Yat-sen picked up the language so quickly that he received a prize for outstanding achievement in English from King David Kalakaua. He became a citizen of the United States and was issued an American passport. It is unclear whether or not he maintained his original citizenship as a subject of the Qing empire. After graduation from Iolani School in 1882, Sun enrolled in Oahu College for further studies for one semester.. He was soon sent home to China as his brother was becoming afraid that Sun Yat-sen was about to embrace Christianity. While at Iolani, he befriended Tong Phong, who later founded the First Chinese-American Bank.
His American experience was to be of lasting influence. Sun attached particular importance to the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln. Sun often said that the formulation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, had been the inspiration for the ''Three Principles of the People''. He incorporated these ideas, later in life, in two highly influential books. One, ''The Vital Problem of China'' , analyzed some of the problems of colonialism: Sun warned that “…the treat nations as the silkworm farmer treats his worms; as long as they produce silk, he cares for them well; when they stop, he feeds them to the fish.” The second book, ''International Development of China'' , presented detailed proposals for the development of infrastructure in China, and attacked the ideology of laissez-faire, as well as that of adhering more to the ideas of Henry George's, particularly . His ideology remained flexible, however, reflecting his audience as much as his personal convictions. He presented himself as a strident nationalist to the nationalists, as a socialist to the socialists, and an to the anarchists, declaring at one point that “the goal of the Three Principles of the People is to create socialism and anarchism.” It is an open matter of debate whether this eclecticism reflected a sincere effort to incorporate ideas from the multiple competing schools of thought or was simply opportunistic posturing. In any case, his ideological flexibility allowed him to become a key figure in the Nationalist movement since he was one of very few people who had good relations with all of the movement's factions.
When he returned home in 1883, he became greatly troubled by what he saw as a backward China that demanded exorbitant taxes and levies from its people. The schools maintained their ancient methods, leaving no opportunity for expression of thought or opinion. Under the influence of Christian missionaries in Hawaii, Sun had developed a disdain for traditional Chinese religious beliefs. One day, Sun and his childhood friend Lu Hao-tung passed by Beijidian, a temple in Cuiheng Village, where they saw many villagers worshipping the Beiji Emperor-God in the temple. They broke off the hand of the statue, incurring the wrath of fellow villagers, and escaped to Hong Kong.
Sun studied English at the Anglican Diocesan Home and Orphanage in Hong Kong. In April 1884, Sun was transferred to the Central School of Hong Kong . Sun was later baptized in Hong Kong by an American missionary of the Congregational Church of the United States, to his brother's disdain. Sun pictured a revolution as similar to the salvation mission of the Christian church. His conversion to Christianity was related to his revolutionary ideals and push for advancement. As a result, his baptismal name, Rixin , literally means "daily renewal."
Sun studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the medical missionary . Ultimately, he earned the license of medical practice as a medical doctor from the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1892, of which he was one of the first two graduates. He subsequently practiced medicine in that city briefly in 1893. He had an arranged marriage with fellow villager Lu Muzhen at age twenty; she bore him a son Sun Fo, who would grow up to become a high ranking official in the Republican government, and two daughters, Sun Yan and Sun Wan.
During and after the Qing Dynasty rebellion, Sun was a leader within Tiandihui, a precursor to modern groups. Tiandihui provided much of Sun's funding. His protégé, Chiang Kai Shek, was also a member of Tiandihui .
Transformation into a revolutionary
Sun, who had grown increasingly troubled by the conservative Qing government and its refusal to adopt knowledge from the more technologically advanced Western nations, quit his medical practice in order to devote his time to transforming China. At first, Sun aligned himself with the reformists Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao who sought to transform China into a Western-style constitutional monarchy. In 1894, Sun wrote a long letter to Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili and a reformer in the court, with suggestions on how to strengthen China, but he was rebuffed. Since Sun had never been trained in the classics, the gentry did not accept Sun into their circles. From then on, Sun began to call for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.
Sun went to Hawaii in October 1894 and founded the Revive China Society to unveil the goal of a prospering China and as the platform for future revolutionary activities. Members were drawn mainly from fellow Cantonese expatriates and from the lower social classes.
From exile to Wuchang Uprising
In 1895 a coup he plotted failed, and for the next sixteen years Sun was an exile in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan, raising money for his revolutionary party and bankrolling uprisings in China. In Japan, where he was known as Nakayama Shō , he joined dissident Chinese groups and soon became their leader. He spent, on and off, about ten years in Japan while befriending and being financially aided by a democratic revolutionary in Japan, Miyazaki Toten . Nanjing Historical Remains Museum of Chinese Modern History exhibits a bronze statue of Sun and Miyazaki placed alongside. Miyazaki wrote a series of articles for newspapers including nationally-circulated Asahi about Sun and his revolutionary efforts under the title "33-year dream". His last name Nakayama came from the imperial family which occupied Sun's favorite estate mansion located in central Tokyo. He eventually left Japan due to fears of the excessively large level of support he had there and went to the States.
In Japan, He met and befriended Mariano Ponce, then a diplomat of the First Philippine Republic. Sun also supported the cause for Philippine Independence and even supplied the Philippine army with guns.
On October 10, 1911, a military in which Sun had no direct involvement , began a process that ended over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. When he learned of the successful rebellion against the emperor from press reports, Sun immediately returned to China from the United States. Later, on December 29, 1911 a meeting of representatives from provinces in elected Sun as the provisional President of the Republic of China and set January 1, 1912 as the of the First Year of the Republic. This republic calendar system is still used in Taiwan today.
The official history of the Kuomintang emphasizes Sun's role as the first provisional President, but many historians now question the importance of Sun's role in the 1911 revolution and point out that he had no direct role in the Wuchang uprising and was in fact out of the country at the time. In this interpretation, his naming as the first provisional President was precisely because he was a respected but rather unimportant figure and therefore served as an ideal compromise candidate between the revolutionaries and the conservative gentry.
However, Sun is credited for the funding of the revolutions and for keeping the spirit of revolution alive, even after a series of failed uprisings. Also, as mentioned, he successfully merged minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party, providing a better base for all those who shared the same ideals.
Sun is highly regarded as the National Father of modern China. His political philosophy, known as the ''Three Principles of the People'', was proclaimed in August 1905. In his ''Methods and Strategies of Establishing the Country'' completed in 1919, he suggested using his Principles to establish ultimate peace, , and in the country. He devoted all efforts throughout his whole lifetime until his death for a strong and prosperous China and the well being of its people.
Republic of China
After taking the oath of office, Sun Yat-sen sent telegrams to the leaders of all provinces, requesting them to elect and send new senators to establish the National Assembly of the Republic of China. The Assembly then declared the provisional government organizational guidelines and the provisional law of the Republic as the basic law of the nation.
The provisional government was in a very weak position. The southern provinces of China had declared independence from the Qing dynasty, but most of the northern provinces had not. Moreover, the provisional government did not have military forces of its own, and its control over elements of the New Army that had mutinied was limited, and there were still significant forces which had not declared against the Qing.
The major issue before the provisional government was gaining the support of Yuan Shikai, the man in charge of the Beiyang Army, the military of northern China. After Sun promised Yuan the presidency of the new Republic, Yuan sided with the revolution and forced the to abdicate. In 1913 Sun led an unsuccessful revolt against Yuan, and he was forced to seek asylum in Japan, where he reorganized the Kuomintang. He married Soong Ching-ling, one of the Soong sisters, in Japan on October 25, 1915, without divorcing his first wife Lu Muzhen due to opposition from the Chinese community. Lu pleaded with him to take Soong as a concubine but this was also unacceptable to Sun's Christian ethics.
Guangzhou militarist government
In the late 1910s, China was greatly divided by different military leaders without a proper central government. Sun saw the danger of this and returned to China in 1917 to advocate unification. He started a self-proclaimed military government in Guangzhou , Guangdong Province, southern China, in 1921, and was elected as president and generalissimo.
In a February 1923 speech presented to the Students' Union in Hong Kong University, he declared that it was the corruption of China and the peace, order and good government of Hong Kong that turned him into a revolutionary. This same year, he delivered a speech in which he proclaimed his ''Three Principles of the People'' as the foundation of the country and the as the guideline for the political system and bureaucracy. Part of the speech was made into the National Anthem of the Republic of China.
To develop the military power needed for the against the militarists at Beijing, he established the Whampoa Military Academy near Guangzhou, with Chiang Kai-shek as its commandant and with such party leaders as Wang Ching-wei and Hu Han-min as political instructors. The Academy was the most eminent military school of the Republic of China and trained graduates who fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and on both sides of the Chinese Civil War.
However, as soon as he established his government in Guangzhou, Sun Yat-sen came into conflict with entrenched local power. Sun's militarist government was not based on the Provisional Constitution of 1912, which the anti-Beiyang forces vowed to defend in the Constitutional Protection War. In addition, Sun was elected president by a parliament that did not meet quorum following its move from Beijing. Thus, many politicians and warlords alike challenged the legitimacy of Sun's militarist government. Sun's use of heavy taxes to fund the to militarily unify China also came at odds with reformers such as Chen Jiongming, who advocated establishing Guangdong as a “model province” before launching a costly military campaign. In sum, Sun's military government was opposed by the internationally-recognized Beiyang government in the north, Chen's Guangdong provincial government in the south, and other provincial powers that shifted alliance according to their own benefit.
Path to Northern Expedition and death
He again became premier of the Kuomintang from 10 October 1919 – 12 March 1925. In the early 1920s Sun received help from the Comintern for his reorganization of the Kuomintang as a Leninist Party and negotiated the . In 1924, in order to hasten the conquest of China, he began a policy of active cooperation with the .
By this time, Sun was convinced that the only hope for a unified China lay in a military conquest from his base in the south, followed by a period of political tutelage that would culminate in the transition to democracy. Sun then prepared for the later Northern Expedition with help from foreign powers until his death.
On November 10 1924, Sun traveled north and delivered another speech to suggest gathering a conference for the Chinese people and the abolition of all unequal treaties with the Western powers. Two days later, he yet again traveled to Beijing to discuss the future of the country, despite his deteriorating health and the ongoing civil war of the warlords. Although ill at the time, he was still head of the southern government. On November 28 1924 Sun traveled to Japan and gave a remarkable at Kobe, Japan. He left Guangzhou to hold peace talks with the northern regional leaders on the unification of China. Sun died of on March 12, 1925, at the age of 58 at the .
Legacy
One of Sun's major legacies was his political philosophy, the Three Principles of the People . These Principles included the principle of nationalism , democracy and the People's Livelihood . The Principles retained a place in the rhetoric of both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party with completely different interpretations. This difference in interpretation is due partly to the fact that Sun seemed to hold an ambiguous attitude to both capitalist and communist methods of development, as well as due to his untimely death, in 1925, before he had finished his now-famous lecture series on the Three Principles of the People. In addition, Sun is also one of the primary saints of the Vietnamese religion Cao Dai.
Power struggle
After Sun's death, a power struggle between his young ''protégé'' Chiang Kai-shek and his old revolutionary comrade Wang Jingwei split the KMT. At stake in this struggle was the right to lay claim to Sun's ambiguous legacy. In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek married Soong May-ling, a sister of Sun's widow Soong Ching-ling, and subsequently he could claim to be a brother-in-law of Sun. When the in 1927, marking the start of the Chinese Civil War, each group claimed to be his true heirs, a conflict that continued through World War II.
The official veneration of Sun's memory, especially in the Kuomintang, was a virtual cult, which centered around his tomb in Nanking. His widow, Soong Ching-ling, sided with the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and served from 1949 to 1981 as Vice President of the People's Republic of China and as Honorary President shortly before her death in 1981.
Father of the Nation
Sun Yat-sen remains unique among twentieth-century Chinese leaders for having a high reputation both in mainland China and in Taiwan. In Taiwan, he is seen as the Father of the Republic of China, and is known by the posthumous name ''Father of the Nation, Mr. Sun Chungshan'' . His likeness is still almost always found in ceremonial locations such as in front of legislatures and classrooms of public schools, from elementary to senior high school, and he continues to appear in new coinage and currency.
Forerunner of the Revolution
On the , Sun is also seen as a Chinese nationalist and proto-socialist, and is highly regarded as the ''Forerunner of the Revolution'' . He is mentioned by name in the preamble to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In most major Chinese cities one of the main streets is named "Zhongshan" to memorialize him, a name even more commonly found than other popular choices such as "Renmin Lu" , or ''The People's Road'', and "Jiefang Lu" , or ''Liberation Road''. There are also numerous parks, schools, and geographical features named after him. The city of Zhongshan in Guangdong, where Sun was originally from, is named after Sun, and there is a hall dedicated to his memory at the Temple of Azure Clouds in Beijing.
In recent years, the leadership of the Communist Party of China has been increasingly invoking Sun, partly as a way of bolstering Chinese nationalism in light of Chinese economic reform and partly to increase connections with supporters of the Kuomintang on Taiwan which the PRC sees as allies against Taiwanese independence. Sun's tomb was one of the first stops made by the leaders of both the Kuomintang and the on their . A massive portrait of Sun continues to appear in Tiananmen Square for May Day and the .
Sun and the overseas Chinese
Sun's notability and popularity extends beyond the Greater China region, particularly to where a large concentration of overseas Chinese reside in Singapore and Malaysia. Sun recognised the contributions that the large number of overseas Chinese could make, beyond the sending of remittances to their ancestral homeland. He therefore made multiple visits to spread his revolutionary message to these communities around the world.
Sun made a total of eight visits to Singapore between 1900 and 1911. His first visit made on September 7, 1900, was to rescue Miyazaki Toten, an ardent Japanese supporter and friend of Sun's, who was arrested there, an act which also resulted in his own arrest and a ban from visiting the island for five years. Upon his next visit in June 1905, he met local Chinese merchants Teo Eng Hock, Tan Chor Nam and Lim Nee Soon in a meeting which was to mark the commencement of direct support from the Nanyang Chinese. Upon hearing their reports on overseas Chinese revolutionists organising themselves in Europe and Japan, he urged them to establish the Singapore chapter of the Tongmenghui, which came officially into being on 6 April the following year upon his next visit.
The chapter was housed in a villa known as Wan Qing Yuan and donated for the use of revolutionalists by Teo. In 1906, the chapter grew in membership to 400, and in 1908, when Sun was in Singapore to escape the Qing government in the wake of the failed Zhennanguan Uprising, the chapter had become the regional headquarters for Tongmenghui branches in Southeast Asia. Sun and his followers travelled from Singapore to and Indonesia to spread their revolutionary message, by which time the alliance already had over twenty branches with over 3,000 members around the world.
Sun's foresight in tapping on the help and resources of the overseas Chinese population was to bear fruit on his subsequent revolutionary efforts. In one particular instance, his personal plea for financial aid at the Penang Conference held on November 13, 1910 in , helped launch a major drive for donations across the Malay Peninsula, an effort which helped finance the Second Guangzhou Uprising in 1911.
The role that overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia played during the 1911 Revolution was so significant that Sun himself recognized "Overseas Chinese as the Mother of the Revolution".
Today, Sun's legacy is remembered in Nanyang at Wan Qing Yuan, which has since been preserved and renamed as the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, and gazetted as a of Singapore on October 28, 1994.
In Penang, the Penang Philomatic Union which was founded by Sun in 1908, has embarked on a heritage project to turn its premises at 65 Macalister Road into The project is expected to complete in late 2006.
Names
Further reading
#
#Sun Yat-sen's vision for China / Martin, Bernard, 1966.
#Sun Yat-sen, Yang Chu-yun, and the early revolutionary movement in China / Hsueh, Chun-tu
#Sun Yat-sen / Bergere, Marie-Claire. c. 1998.
#Sun Yat-sen 1866-1925 / The Millennium Biographies / Hong Kong, 1999
#Sun Yat-sen and the origins of the Chinese revolution Schiffrin, Harold Z. /1968.
#Sun Yat-sen; his life and its meaning; a critical biography. Sharman, Lyon, / 1968, c. 1934
#
#
#
#
Su Song
Su Song was a renowned , , , , , , , , and , , antiquarian, and of the Song Dynasty .
Su Song was the engineer of a clock tower in medieval Kaifeng, which employed the use of an early escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism of Su's clock tower had previously been invented by Buddhist monk Yi Xing and government official Liang Lingzan in 725 AD to operate a water-powered armillary sphere, although Su's armillary sphere was the first to be provided with a mechanical clock drive. The clock tower had 133 different clock jacks to indicate and . Su Song's treatise about the clock tower, ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' , has survived since its written form in 1092 and official printed publication in 1094. The book has been analyzed by many historians, such as Joseph Needham. However, the clock itself was dismantled by the invading Jurchen army in AD 1127, and although attempts were made to reassemble the clock tower, it was never successfully reinstated. Although the ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' was his best known treatise, the polymath had other works compiled as well. He completed a large celestial atlas of several star maps, several maps, as well as a treatise on pharmacology. The latter discussed related subjects on mineralogy, zoology, botany, and metallurgy.
Although later European Jesuit travelers to China such as Matteo Ricci and Nicolas Trigault would briefly mention Chinese clocks with wheel drives in their writing, early European visitors to China mistakenly believed that the Chinese had never advanced beyond the stage of the clepsydra clock, incense clock, and sundial. Although not as prominent as in the Song period, contemporary Chinese texts of the Ming Dynasty describe a relatively unbroken history of designs of mechanical clocks in China from the 13th to the 16th centuries. that in Su's youth, he mastered the and rose to the top of the examination list for writing the best essay on general principles and structure of the Chinese calendar. He also was an antiquarian and . After serving in the Ministry of Personnel, he became a in 1086. Eventually, Su rose to the post of Vice President of the Secretariat. Among many honorable positions and titles conferred upon him, Su Song was also one of the 'Deputy Tutors of the Heir Apparent'. At court, he chose to distance himself from the political rivalries of the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Sima Guang , and the Reformists, led by Prime Minister Wang Anshi ; although many of his associates were of the Conservative faction. sharing ideas about calendrical science, as the Liao state had created its own calendar in 994 AD. In an embarrassing event, Su Song admitted to the emperor that the calendar of the Khitan people was in fact a bit more accurate than their own, resulting in the fining and punishment of officials in the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar. Su was supposed to travel north to Liao and arrive promptly for a birthday celebration and feast on a day which coincided with the winter solstice of the Song calendar, but was actually a day behind the Liao calendar. Historian Liu Heping states that Emperor Zhezong of Song sponsored Su Song's clocktower in 1086 in order to compete with the Liao for "scientific and national superiority." In 1081, the court instructed Su Song to compile into a book the diplomatic history of Song-Liao relations, an elaborate task that, once complete, filled 200 volumes. With his extensive knowledge of cartography, Su Song was able to settle a heated border dispute between the Song and Liao dynasties.
Su Song also created a celestial atlas as well , which had the hour circles between the xiu forming the , with stars marked in quasi-orthomorphic cylindrical projection on each side of the equator, and thus was in accordance to their north polar distances. This cylindrical projection was similar to Mercator projection, the latter innovated by Gerard Mercator in 1569. This is so because Su Song's fourth star map places the position of the pole star halfway between Tian shu and the current Polaris; this was the more accurate calculation that Shen Kuo had made when he observed the pole star over a period of three months with his width-improved sighting tube.
In the year 1070 Su Song and a team of scholars compiled and edited the ''Bencao Tujing'' , which was a groundbreaking treatise on pharmaceutical botany, zoology, and mineralogy. In compiling information for pharmaceutical knowledge, Su Song worked with such notable scholars as Zhang Yuxi, Lin Yi, Zhang Dong, and many others. This treatise documented a wide range of pharmaceutical practices, including the use of ephedrine as a drug. It includes valuable information on metallurgy and the steel and iron industries during 11th century China. He created a systematic approach to listing various different minerals and their use in medicinal concoctions, such as all the variously known forms of mica that could be used to cure ills through digestion. He wrote of the subconchoidal fracture of native cinnabar, signs of ore beds, and provided description on crystal form. Similar to the ore channels formed by circulation of ground water written of by the later scientist Georgius Agricola, Su Song made similar statements concerning copper carbonate, as did the earlier ''Rihua Bencao'' of 970 with copper sulphate. According to Edward H. Schafer, Su accurately described the translucent quality of fine realgar, its origin from pods found in rocky river gorges, it's matrix being pitted with holes and having a deep red, almost purple color, and that the mineral varied in sizes ranging from the size of a pea to a walnut. Citing evidence from an ancient work by Zheng Xuan , Su believed that physicians of the ancient Zhou Dynasty used realgar as a remedy for ulcers. As believed in Su's day, the "five poisons" used by Zhou era physicians for this purpose were thought to be cinnabar, realgar, chalcanthite, alum, and magnetite. For example, he noted that the freshwater crab species ''Eriocher sinensis'' could be found in the Huai River running through Anhui, in waterways near the capital city, as well as reservoirs and marshes of Hebei.
Su Song compiled one of the greatest Chinese horological treatises of the Middle Ages, surrounding himself with an entourage of notable engineers and astronomers to assist in various projects. ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' , written in 1092, was the final product of his life's achievements in horology and clockwork. Fortunately, this book of Su's that was handed down included 47 different illustrations of great detail of the mechanical workings for his clocktower.
Su Song's greatest project was the 40-foot-tall water-powered astronomical clocktower constructed in Kaifeng, the wooden pilot model completed in 1088, the bronze components cast by 1090, while the wholly finished work was completed by 1094 during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song. The emperor had previously commissioned Han Gonglian, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, to head the project, but the leadership position was instead handed down to Su Song. The emperor ordered in 1086 for Su to reconstruct the ''hun yi'', or "armillary clock", for a new clock-tower in the capital city. Su worked with the aid of Han Gong-lian, who applied his extensive knowledge of mathematics to the construction of the clock-tower. A small-scale wooden model was first crafted by Su Song, testing its intricate parts before applying it to an actual full-scale clock tower. In the end, the clock-tower had many impressive features, such as the water-powered, rotating armillary sphere crowning the top-level and weighing some 10 to 20 tons, a sophisticated use of oblique gears and an escapement mechanism, as well as an exterior facade of a fanciful Chinese pagoda. Upon its completion, the tower was called the ''Shui Yun Yi Xiang Tai'', or "Tower for the Water-Powered Sphere and Globe". Joseph Needham writes:
Years after Su's death, the capital city of Kaifeng was besieged and captured in 1127 by the Jurchens of the Manchurian-based . Yet the mechanical legacy of Su Song did not end with his work. In about 1150, the writer Xue Jixuan noted that there were four types of clocks in his day, the basic waterclock, the incense clock, the sundial, and the clock with 'revolving and snapping springs' . The rulers of the continuing Yuan Dynasty had a vested interest in the advancement of mechanical clockworks. The astronomer Guo Shoujing helped restore the Beijing Ancient Observatory beginning in 1276, where he crafted a water-powered armillary sphere and clock with clock jacks being fully implemented and sounding the hours. Complex gearing for uniquely Chinese clockworks were continued in the Ming Dynasty , with new designs driven by the power of falling sand instead of water to provide motive power to the wheel drive, and some Ming clocks perhaps featured reduction gearing rather than the earlier escapement of Su Song. The earliest such design of a sand-clock was made by Zhan Xiyuan around 1370, which featured not only the scoop wheel of Su Song' device, but also a new addition of a over which a pointer circulated, much like new European clocks of the same period.
Su Song's escapement is similar and reminiscent of the anchor escapement found in European clockworks of the 17th century. In Su Song's waterwheel linkwork device the action of the escapement's arrest and release are achieved by gravity exerted periodically as the continuous flow of liquid would fill containers of limited size.
In his writing, Su Song accredited the predecessor of his working clock to the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere of Zhang Heng , an earlier Chinese scientist. However, Su Song stated in his writing that after Zhang's death, no one was able to replicate his device, much like his own.
The mechanical clockworks for Su Song's astronomical tower featured a great driving-wheel that was 11 feet in diameter, carrying 36 scoops on its circumference, into each of which water would pour at uniform rate from the 'constant-level tank' . The main driving shaft of iron, with its cylindrical necks supported on iron crescent-shaped bearings, ended in a pinion which engages with a gear-wheel at the lower end of the main vertical transmission-shaft.
Joseph Needham gives a general description of the clock-tower itself:
That was figure Fig. 650, while Fig. 656 displays the upper and lower norias with their tanks and the manual wheel for operating them.
Fig. 657 displays a rather miniature and scaled-down pic for the basics of the escapement mechanism in an illustration , with Needham's caption here in this quote: "The 'celestial balance' or escapement mechanism of Su Sung's clockwork ,". The latter figure carefully labels:
*a right upper lock
*upper link
*left upper lock
*axle or pivot
*long chain
*upper counterweight
*sump
*checking fork of the lower balancing lever
*coupling tongue
*main counterweight.
The world's oldest illustrated depiction of an endless power-transmitting chain drive is from Su Song's horological treatise. as seen in Needham's Fig. 410 and Fig. 652. Although the ancient Philo of Byzantium featured a sort of endless belt for his magazine , which did not transmit continuous power, These gears having 600 teeth would thus ensure the division the day into basic unit measurements of 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Zhang's armillary sphere has often been compared to the 13th century monarch Alfonso X of Castile in Islamic-era Spain. The chief difference was that Alfonso's instrument featured an arrangement for making measurements of the azimuth and altitude, which was present in the Arabic tradition, while Su Song's armillary sphere was duly graduated. For the drawing of Su's armillary sphere, the listing of components are:
*The Outer Nest
**meridian circle
**horizon circle
**outer equator circle
*The Middle Nest This appealed to emperor, who featured artwork representing the clocktower on vehicles of major imperial processions, as illustrated in the ''Illustration of the Imperial Grand Carriage Procession'' of 1053.
The later Ming Dynasty/Qing Dynasty scholar Qian Zeng held an old volume of Su's work, which he faithfully reproduced in a newly-printed edition. He took special care in avoiding any rewording or inconsistencies with the original text as well.
In the realm of modern research, the deceased British biochemist and historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham has done extensive research and analysis of Su Song's texts and various achievements in his ''Science and Civilization in China'' book series. Joseph Needham had also related many detailed passages from Su's contemporary medieval Chinese sources on the life of Su and his achievements known in his day. In 1956, John Christiansen reconstructed a model of Su Song's clocktower in a famous drawing, which garnered attention in the West towards 11th century Chinese engineering. A miniature model of Su Song's clock was reconstructed by John Cambridge and is now on display at the at South Kensington, London.
Su Song was the engineer of a clock tower in medieval Kaifeng, which employed the use of an early escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism of Su's clock tower had previously been invented by Buddhist monk Yi Xing and government official Liang Lingzan in 725 AD to operate a water-powered armillary sphere, although Su's armillary sphere was the first to be provided with a mechanical clock drive. The clock tower had 133 different clock jacks to indicate and . Su Song's treatise about the clock tower, ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' , has survived since its written form in 1092 and official printed publication in 1094. The book has been analyzed by many historians, such as Joseph Needham. However, the clock itself was dismantled by the invading Jurchen army in AD 1127, and although attempts were made to reassemble the clock tower, it was never successfully reinstated. Although the ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' was his best known treatise, the polymath had other works compiled as well. He completed a large celestial atlas of several star maps, several maps, as well as a treatise on pharmacology. The latter discussed related subjects on mineralogy, zoology, botany, and metallurgy.
Although later European Jesuit travelers to China such as Matteo Ricci and Nicolas Trigault would briefly mention Chinese clocks with wheel drives in their writing, early European visitors to China mistakenly believed that the Chinese had never advanced beyond the stage of the clepsydra clock, incense clock, and sundial. Although not as prominent as in the Song period, contemporary Chinese texts of the Ming Dynasty describe a relatively unbroken history of designs of mechanical clocks in China from the 13th to the 16th centuries. that in Su's youth, he mastered the and rose to the top of the examination list for writing the best essay on general principles and structure of the Chinese calendar. He also was an antiquarian and . After serving in the Ministry of Personnel, he became a in 1086. Eventually, Su rose to the post of Vice President of the Secretariat. Among many honorable positions and titles conferred upon him, Su Song was also one of the 'Deputy Tutors of the Heir Apparent'. At court, he chose to distance himself from the political rivalries of the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Sima Guang , and the Reformists, led by Prime Minister Wang Anshi ; although many of his associates were of the Conservative faction. sharing ideas about calendrical science, as the Liao state had created its own calendar in 994 AD. In an embarrassing event, Su Song admitted to the emperor that the calendar of the Khitan people was in fact a bit more accurate than their own, resulting in the fining and punishment of officials in the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar. Su was supposed to travel north to Liao and arrive promptly for a birthday celebration and feast on a day which coincided with the winter solstice of the Song calendar, but was actually a day behind the Liao calendar. Historian Liu Heping states that Emperor Zhezong of Song sponsored Su Song's clocktower in 1086 in order to compete with the Liao for "scientific and national superiority." In 1081, the court instructed Su Song to compile into a book the diplomatic history of Song-Liao relations, an elaborate task that, once complete, filled 200 volumes. With his extensive knowledge of cartography, Su Song was able to settle a heated border dispute between the Song and Liao dynasties.
Astronomy
Su Song also created a celestial atlas as well , which had the hour circles between the xiu forming the , with stars marked in quasi-orthomorphic cylindrical projection on each side of the equator, and thus was in accordance to their north polar distances. This cylindrical projection was similar to Mercator projection, the latter innovated by Gerard Mercator in 1569. This is so because Su Song's fourth star map places the position of the pole star halfway between Tian shu and the current Polaris; this was the more accurate calculation that Shen Kuo had made when he observed the pole star over a period of three months with his width-improved sighting tube.
Pharmacology, botany, zoology, and mineralogy
In the year 1070 Su Song and a team of scholars compiled and edited the ''Bencao Tujing'' , which was a groundbreaking treatise on pharmaceutical botany, zoology, and mineralogy. In compiling information for pharmaceutical knowledge, Su Song worked with such notable scholars as Zhang Yuxi, Lin Yi, Zhang Dong, and many others. This treatise documented a wide range of pharmaceutical practices, including the use of ephedrine as a drug. It includes valuable information on metallurgy and the steel and iron industries during 11th century China. He created a systematic approach to listing various different minerals and their use in medicinal concoctions, such as all the variously known forms of mica that could be used to cure ills through digestion. He wrote of the subconchoidal fracture of native cinnabar, signs of ore beds, and provided description on crystal form. Similar to the ore channels formed by circulation of ground water written of by the later scientist Georgius Agricola, Su Song made similar statements concerning copper carbonate, as did the earlier ''Rihua Bencao'' of 970 with copper sulphate. According to Edward H. Schafer, Su accurately described the translucent quality of fine realgar, its origin from pods found in rocky river gorges, it's matrix being pitted with holes and having a deep red, almost purple color, and that the mineral varied in sizes ranging from the size of a pea to a walnut. Citing evidence from an ancient work by Zheng Xuan , Su believed that physicians of the ancient Zhou Dynasty used realgar as a remedy for ulcers. As believed in Su's day, the "five poisons" used by Zhou era physicians for this purpose were thought to be cinnabar, realgar, chalcanthite, alum, and magnetite. For example, he noted that the freshwater crab species ''Eriocher sinensis'' could be found in the Huai River running through Anhui, in waterways near the capital city, as well as reservoirs and marshes of Hebei.
Horology and mechanical engineering
Su Song compiled one of the greatest Chinese horological treatises of the Middle Ages, surrounding himself with an entourage of notable engineers and astronomers to assist in various projects. ''Xinyi Xiangfayao'' , written in 1092, was the final product of his life's achievements in horology and clockwork. Fortunately, this book of Su's that was handed down included 47 different illustrations of great detail of the mechanical workings for his clocktower.
Su Song's greatest project was the 40-foot-tall water-powered astronomical clocktower constructed in Kaifeng, the wooden pilot model completed in 1088, the bronze components cast by 1090, while the wholly finished work was completed by 1094 during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song. The emperor had previously commissioned Han Gonglian, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, to head the project, but the leadership position was instead handed down to Su Song. The emperor ordered in 1086 for Su to reconstruct the ''hun yi'', or "armillary clock", for a new clock-tower in the capital city. Su worked with the aid of Han Gong-lian, who applied his extensive knowledge of mathematics to the construction of the clock-tower. A small-scale wooden model was first crafted by Su Song, testing its intricate parts before applying it to an actual full-scale clock tower. In the end, the clock-tower had many impressive features, such as the water-powered, rotating armillary sphere crowning the top-level and weighing some 10 to 20 tons, a sophisticated use of oblique gears and an escapement mechanism, as well as an exterior facade of a fanciful Chinese pagoda. Upon its completion, the tower was called the ''Shui Yun Yi Xiang Tai'', or "Tower for the Water-Powered Sphere and Globe". Joseph Needham writes:
Years after Su's death, the capital city of Kaifeng was besieged and captured in 1127 by the Jurchens of the Manchurian-based . Yet the mechanical legacy of Su Song did not end with his work. In about 1150, the writer Xue Jixuan noted that there were four types of clocks in his day, the basic waterclock, the incense clock, the sundial, and the clock with 'revolving and snapping springs' . The rulers of the continuing Yuan Dynasty had a vested interest in the advancement of mechanical clockworks. The astronomer Guo Shoujing helped restore the Beijing Ancient Observatory beginning in 1276, where he crafted a water-powered armillary sphere and clock with clock jacks being fully implemented and sounding the hours. Complex gearing for uniquely Chinese clockworks were continued in the Ming Dynasty , with new designs driven by the power of falling sand instead of water to provide motive power to the wheel drive, and some Ming clocks perhaps featured reduction gearing rather than the earlier escapement of Su Song. The earliest such design of a sand-clock was made by Zhan Xiyuan around 1370, which featured not only the scoop wheel of Su Song' device, but also a new addition of a over which a pointer circulated, much like new European clocks of the same period.
Su Song's escapement mechanism
Su Song's escapement is similar and reminiscent of the anchor escapement found in European clockworks of the 17th century. In Su Song's waterwheel linkwork device the action of the escapement's arrest and release are achieved by gravity exerted periodically as the continuous flow of liquid would fill containers of limited size.
In his writing, Su Song accredited the predecessor of his working clock to the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere of Zhang Heng , an earlier Chinese scientist. However, Su Song stated in his writing that after Zhang's death, no one was able to replicate his device, much like his own.
The mechanical clockworks for Su Song's astronomical tower featured a great driving-wheel that was 11 feet in diameter, carrying 36 scoops on its circumference, into each of which water would pour at uniform rate from the 'constant-level tank' . The main driving shaft of iron, with its cylindrical necks supported on iron crescent-shaped bearings, ended in a pinion which engages with a gear-wheel at the lower end of the main vertical transmission-shaft.
Joseph Needham gives a general description of the clock-tower itself:
That was figure Fig. 650, while Fig. 656 displays the upper and lower norias with their tanks and the manual wheel for operating them.
Fig. 657 displays a rather miniature and scaled-down pic for the basics of the escapement mechanism in an illustration , with Needham's caption here in this quote: "The 'celestial balance' or escapement mechanism of Su Sung's clockwork ,". The latter figure carefully labels:
*a right upper lock
*upper link
*left upper lock
*axle or pivot
*long chain
*upper counterweight
*sump
*checking fork of the lower balancing lever
*coupling tongue
*main counterweight.
The endless chain drive
The world's oldest illustrated depiction of an endless power-transmitting chain drive is from Su Song's horological treatise. as seen in Needham's Fig. 410 and Fig. 652. Although the ancient Philo of Byzantium featured a sort of endless belt for his magazine , which did not transmit continuous power, These gears having 600 teeth would thus ensure the division the day into basic unit measurements of 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Zhang's armillary sphere has often been compared to the 13th century monarch Alfonso X of Castile in Islamic-era Spain. The chief difference was that Alfonso's instrument featured an arrangement for making measurements of the azimuth and altitude, which was present in the Arabic tradition, while Su Song's armillary sphere was duly graduated. For the drawing of Su's armillary sphere, the listing of components are:
*The Outer Nest
**meridian circle
**horizon circle
**outer equator circle
*The Middle Nest This appealed to emperor, who featured artwork representing the clocktower on vehicles of major imperial processions, as illustrated in the ''Illustration of the Imperial Grand Carriage Procession'' of 1053.
The later Ming Dynasty/Qing Dynasty scholar Qian Zeng held an old volume of Su's work, which he faithfully reproduced in a newly-printed edition. He took special care in avoiding any rewording or inconsistencies with the original text as well.
In the realm of modern research, the deceased British biochemist and historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham has done extensive research and analysis of Su Song's texts and various achievements in his ''Science and Civilization in China'' book series. Joseph Needham had also related many detailed passages from Su's contemporary medieval Chinese sources on the life of Su and his achievements known in his day. In 1956, John Christiansen reconstructed a model of Su Song's clocktower in a famous drawing, which garnered attention in the West towards 11th century Chinese engineering. A miniature model of Su Song's clock was reconstructed by John Cambridge and is now on display at the at South Kensington, London.
Shen Dao
Shen Dao was an itinerant Chinese philosopher from who also served at the Jixia academy in . His own original 42 essays have been lost, and only 7 are still extant, and he is known largely through short references and the writings of others, notably Han Fei and Zhuang Zi.
The most noteworthy aspect of Shen Dao's philosophy is the fact that it represented a synthesis of and thought. While these two schools may seem quite opposed to each other in some regards, they both share a view of nature as a fundamentally amoral force, and by extension, reality as an arena without set moral imperative – a stance that differentiates both schools from Confucianism.
In Confucianism, power is legitimized through superior moral character and wisdom. According to Shen Dao, authority arises and is sustained due to the nature of actual circumstances, rather than in accordance with an abstract set of moral values. Things simply flow based on the natural course of The Way , and do not arrange themselves so as to conform to an ethical system. Through this idea, it is possible to see a bridge between the mystical simplicity of Taoism and the cynical realism of Legalism.
The most noteworthy aspect of Shen Dao's philosophy is the fact that it represented a synthesis of and thought. While these two schools may seem quite opposed to each other in some regards, they both share a view of nature as a fundamentally amoral force, and by extension, reality as an arena without set moral imperative – a stance that differentiates both schools from Confucianism.
In Confucianism, power is legitimized through superior moral character and wisdom. According to Shen Dao, authority arises and is sustained due to the nature of actual circumstances, rather than in accordance with an abstract set of moral values. Things simply flow based on the natural course of The Way , and do not arrange themselves so as to conform to an ethical system. Through this idea, it is possible to see a bridge between the mystical simplicity of Taoism and the cynical realism of Legalism.
Shen Buhai
Shen Buhai was a bureaucrat who was the of under Marquis Zhao of Han from 351 BC to 337 BC. Shen was born in the State of ; he was likely to have been a minor official for the State of Zheng. After Han conquered Zheng in 375 BC, he rose up in the ranks of the Han officialdom. He was an innovator of administrative bureaucracy and was often linked with the . He is credited with writing the ''Shenzi''. Shen Buhai successfully reformed the bureaucracy in the State of Han; his reforms would later be copied by other states. He died of natural causes while in office.
Shen was chiefly concerned with government administration through the use of bureaucracy. His system required a strong ruler at the center. Shen Buhai believed that the ideal ruler should remain distant from his officials, keeping his innermost thoughts secret and maintaining an independence of thought. According to Shen, the ruler needed to be the loneliest person in the world.
To Shen Buhai, the greatest threat to a ruler's power came from within. He believed that threats from powerful, independent ministers to usurp power were more dangerous than threats from external forces. Shen championed the concept of ''Shu'' . Shen advocated for maintaining checks against the power of officials, and in equality among the officials.
He touted the primacy of finding the right person for the job . He evaluated officials based on skill, achievement and seniority. He also encouraged routine assessments of officials.
Shen Buhai promulgated his own concept of wu wei, which caused some scholars to link him with Taoism. In Shen's case, he believed that rulers maximized power by exercising power as little as possible. He also encouraged rulers to limit their scope, leaving the details of administration to capable ministers. Some modern scholars argued that Shen's legalism was more a blend of Taoism and than just purely the conceptual ''Shu'' school of Legalism.
Shen Buhai was criticized by both Confucians and Legalists. Unlike the Confucians, he never mentioned virtue; unlike the Shang Yang wing of the Legalists, he never mentioned Fa . The Confucian Xun Zi strongly criticized Shen Buhai's emphasis on secrecy and lack of trust in ministers. The legalist Han Fei criticized Shen for paying too much attention to methodology at the expense of laws.
Although Shen Buhai was later linked inseparably with the Legalists, it was Hanfei who merged the ideas of Shen Buhai with those of Shang Yang. In 141 BC, under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Shen Buhai's name was listed with other legalist thinkers whose ideas were officially banned from the government; from that point on, scholarship on the ideas of Shen Buhai went into a steep decline.
Shen Buhai was known for his cryptic writing style. He was credited with writing a now extinct two chapter text, the ''Shenzi'' . During the Han Dynasty, the compilation was organized into two outer chapters, and six inner chapters, but the admeasurement might be different as time goes by. The last mention of this work occurred in 1616, some scholars believe his work did not survived. During the Qing Dynasty, three major attempts were made to reconstruct the contents of this work. The only traces of this work remain in surviving texts which quote from the ''Shenzi'' in ''Qunshu Zhiyao'', compiled in 631, and ''Yilin'', compiled around 786.
Philosophy
Shen was chiefly concerned with government administration through the use of bureaucracy. His system required a strong ruler at the center. Shen Buhai believed that the ideal ruler should remain distant from his officials, keeping his innermost thoughts secret and maintaining an independence of thought. According to Shen, the ruler needed to be the loneliest person in the world.
To Shen Buhai, the greatest threat to a ruler's power came from within. He believed that threats from powerful, independent ministers to usurp power were more dangerous than threats from external forces. Shen championed the concept of ''Shu'' . Shen advocated for maintaining checks against the power of officials, and in equality among the officials.
He touted the primacy of finding the right person for the job . He evaluated officials based on skill, achievement and seniority. He also encouraged routine assessments of officials.
Shen Buhai promulgated his own concept of wu wei, which caused some scholars to link him with Taoism. In Shen's case, he believed that rulers maximized power by exercising power as little as possible. He also encouraged rulers to limit their scope, leaving the details of administration to capable ministers. Some modern scholars argued that Shen's legalism was more a blend of Taoism and than just purely the conceptual ''Shu'' school of Legalism.
Historiography
Shen Buhai was criticized by both Confucians and Legalists. Unlike the Confucians, he never mentioned virtue; unlike the Shang Yang wing of the Legalists, he never mentioned Fa . The Confucian Xun Zi strongly criticized Shen Buhai's emphasis on secrecy and lack of trust in ministers. The legalist Han Fei criticized Shen for paying too much attention to methodology at the expense of laws.
Although Shen Buhai was later linked inseparably with the Legalists, it was Hanfei who merged the ideas of Shen Buhai with those of Shang Yang. In 141 BC, under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Shen Buhai's name was listed with other legalist thinkers whose ideas were officially banned from the government; from that point on, scholarship on the ideas of Shen Buhai went into a steep decline.
Shenzi
Shen Buhai was known for his cryptic writing style. He was credited with writing a now extinct two chapter text, the ''Shenzi'' . During the Han Dynasty, the compilation was organized into two outer chapters, and six inner chapters, but the admeasurement might be different as time goes by. The last mention of this work occurred in 1616, some scholars believe his work did not survived. During the Qing Dynasty, three major attempts were made to reconstruct the contents of this work. The only traces of this work remain in surviving texts which quote from the ''Shenzi'' in ''Qunshu Zhiyao'', compiled in 631, and ''Yilin'', compiled around 786.
Shang Yang
Shang Yang was an important statesman of in the Warring States Period of ancient China. With the support of Duke Xiao of Qin, Shang enacted numerous reforms in the state of Qin that changed Qin from a peripheral, backwards state into a militarily powerful and strongly centralized state, changing the administration by emphasizing meritocracy and devolving power from the nobility.
Before Shang's arrival in 361 BC, Qin was a backwards state. The vast majority of his reforms were taken from policies instituted elsewhere, such as from Wu Qi of Chu; however, Shang's reforms were more thorough and extreme than those of other states. Under Shang's tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
After Duke Xiao of Qin, posthumously Qin Xiaogong, ascended to the Qin throne, Shang left his lowly position in to become the chief adviser in Qin, at Duke Xiao's behest. There his changes to the state's legal system propelled the Qin to prosperity. His policies built the foundation that enabled Qin to conquer all of China, uniting the country for the first time and ushering in the Qin dynasty.
He is credited by Han Feizi with the creation of two theories;
#''Ding Fa''
#''Yi Min''
Shang believed in the rule of law and considered loyalty to the state to be above that of the family.
Shang introduced two sets of changes to the Qin state. The first, in 356 BC, were as follows:
#Li Kui's ''Book of Law'' was implemented, with the important addition of a rule providing punishment equal to that of the perpetrator for those aware of a crime but failing to inform the government; codified reforms into enforceable laws.
#Stripped the nobility of land right and assigned land to soldiers based upon military success. The army was also separated into twenty military ranks, based upon battlefield success.
#As manpower was short in Qin, Shang encouraged the cultivation of unsettled lands and wastelands, and favoured agriculture over commerce
#Shang burnt books in an effort to curb the philosophy's influence.
Shang introduced his second set of changes in 350 BC, which included a new, standardised system of land allocation and reforms to taxation.
Shang introduced land reforms, privatized land, rewarded farmers who exceeded harvest quotas, enslaved farmers who failed to meet quotas, and used enslaved citizens as rewards for those who met government policies.
As manpower was short in Qin relative to the other states at the time, Shang enacted policies to increase its manpower. As Qin peasants were recruited into the military, he encouraged active immigration of peasants from other states into Qin as a replacement workforce; this policy simultaneously increased the manpower of Qin and weakened the manpower of Qin's rivals. Shang made laws forcing citizens to marry at a young age and passed tax laws to encourage raising multiple children. He also enacted policies to free convicts who worked in opening wastelands for agriculture.
Shang abolished primogeniture and created a double tax on households that had more than one son living in the household, to break up large clans into nuclear families.
Shang moved the capital to reduce the influence of nobles on the administration.
During Shang's tenure, the state of Wei was a highly powerful neighboring state. During a battle during the 340 BC invasion of Wei, Shang feigned interest in a peace treaty, met with the commander of the Wei army and captured him. Without their leader, the Wei army easily lost to the army of Qin and lost territory.
Deeply despised by the Qin nobility, Shang could not survive Qin Xiaogong's death. The next ruler, , ordered the execution of Shang and his family, on grounds of rebellion; Shang had previously humiliated the new Duke "by causing him to be punished for an offense as though he were an ordinary citizen." Shang went into hiding and tried to stay at a hotel. Ironically, the hotel owner refused because it was against Shang's laws to admit a guest without proper identification. Shang is said to have been executed by being fastened to four chariots and pulled apart. Despite his death, King Huiwen kept the reforms enacted by Shang.
Confucian scholars were highly opposed to Shang's legalist approach.
*Li Yu-ning, ''ShangYang's Reforms'' .
Reforms
Before Shang's arrival in 361 BC, Qin was a backwards state. The vast majority of his reforms were taken from policies instituted elsewhere, such as from Wu Qi of Chu; however, Shang's reforms were more thorough and extreme than those of other states. Under Shang's tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
After Duke Xiao of Qin, posthumously Qin Xiaogong, ascended to the Qin throne, Shang left his lowly position in to become the chief adviser in Qin, at Duke Xiao's behest. There his changes to the state's legal system propelled the Qin to prosperity. His policies built the foundation that enabled Qin to conquer all of China, uniting the country for the first time and ushering in the Qin dynasty.
He is credited by Han Feizi with the creation of two theories;
#''Ding Fa''
#''Yi Min''
Legalist approach
Shang believed in the rule of law and considered loyalty to the state to be above that of the family.
Shang introduced two sets of changes to the Qin state. The first, in 356 BC, were as follows:
#Li Kui's ''Book of Law'' was implemented, with the important addition of a rule providing punishment equal to that of the perpetrator for those aware of a crime but failing to inform the government; codified reforms into enforceable laws.
#Stripped the nobility of land right and assigned land to soldiers based upon military success. The army was also separated into twenty military ranks, based upon battlefield success.
#As manpower was short in Qin, Shang encouraged the cultivation of unsettled lands and wastelands, and favoured agriculture over commerce
#Shang burnt books in an effort to curb the philosophy's influence.
Shang introduced his second set of changes in 350 BC, which included a new, standardised system of land allocation and reforms to taxation.
Domestic policies
Shang introduced land reforms, privatized land, rewarded farmers who exceeded harvest quotas, enslaved farmers who failed to meet quotas, and used enslaved citizens as rewards for those who met government policies.
As manpower was short in Qin relative to the other states at the time, Shang enacted policies to increase its manpower. As Qin peasants were recruited into the military, he encouraged active immigration of peasants from other states into Qin as a replacement workforce; this policy simultaneously increased the manpower of Qin and weakened the manpower of Qin's rivals. Shang made laws forcing citizens to marry at a young age and passed tax laws to encourage raising multiple children. He also enacted policies to free convicts who worked in opening wastelands for agriculture.
Shang abolished primogeniture and created a double tax on households that had more than one son living in the household, to break up large clans into nuclear families.
Shang moved the capital to reduce the influence of nobles on the administration.
Diplomatic intrigue
During Shang's tenure, the state of Wei was a highly powerful neighboring state. During a battle during the 340 BC invasion of Wei, Shang feigned interest in a peace treaty, met with the commander of the Wei army and captured him. Without their leader, the Wei army easily lost to the army of Qin and lost territory.
Shang Yang's death
Deeply despised by the Qin nobility, Shang could not survive Qin Xiaogong's death. The next ruler, , ordered the execution of Shang and his family, on grounds of rebellion; Shang had previously humiliated the new Duke "by causing him to be punished for an offense as though he were an ordinary citizen." Shang went into hiding and tried to stay at a hotel. Ironically, the hotel owner refused because it was against Shang's laws to admit a guest without proper identification. Shang is said to have been executed by being fastened to four chariots and pulled apart. Despite his death, King Huiwen kept the reforms enacted by Shang.
Confucian scholars were highly opposed to Shang's legalist approach.
Further reading
*Li Yu-ning, ''ShangYang's Reforms'' .
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