Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
As influential Chinese Constitutionalists, Liang Qichao and Yanfu were the earliest to introduce and interpret Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the late Qing dynasty. They offered most of the...Show moreAs influential Chinese Constitutionalists, Liang Qichao and Yanfu were the earliest to introduce and interpret Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the late Qing dynasty. They offered most of the interpretations of Rousseau’s thought among intellectuals during the late Qing period mainly by writing articles in the late Qing newspapers. This determined Rousseau’s image and interpretations of some modern Western concepts during this time. This thesis will analyze their interpretations of Rousseau and understandings of some modern political concepts in their articles related to Rousseau in the late Qing newspapers. This will be done as a means to decode how Rousseau and some modern political concepts were interpreted by constitutionalists at the beginning of his introduction. On the whole, Liang Qichao experienced two stages in introducing and interpreting Rousseau's thought. In the first stage from the period of 1899 to 1903, Liang Qichao applauded Rousseau’s thought. However, from the 1904 to 1910 period of the second stage, he started to question and even oppose Rousseau’s thought (this was especially after his visit to America in 1904). Differing from Liang Qichao’s perspective, Yanfu criticized Rousseau during the beginning of his contact with The Social Contract. Yanfu denied Rousseau’s thought as "studies without roots" (无根之学). Meanwhile, he further argued that Rousseau's thought was just dangerous fantasies. Under the political crisis of the late Qing government and missions of saving the state, race, and Confucianism of Chinese intellectuals, Yanfu and Liang Qichao, as Constitutionalists, treated the thought of Western thinkers as tools for saving China from the crisis. Although they held different attitudes towards Rousseau in the beginning, they both eventually criticized Rousseau’s thought as both dangerous and unrealistic. In chapter one, research motivations will be proposed. Next, the literature review of the thesis will be discussed, including the literature review on the research of modern Chinese thought, as well as Rousseau’s role in modern Chinese thought. Then, research methods and sources will be addressed. Chapter two proposes two features of Nakae Chōmin’s translation, namely, Nakae Chōmin’s translation in the Chinese historical context and the tendency toward revolution; from fighting against the tyrant to fighting against the monarchy. In chapter three, Liang Qichao’s interpretations of his approval of Rousseau from 1899 to 1903 will be discussed. Later, chapter four argues Liang Qichao and Yanfu’s critiques of Rousseau from the 1904 to 1910 period. Finally, a conclusion of the thesis will be provided.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This paper proposes a new perspective to understand the local self-government movement during the late Qing New Policies era. On the one hand, this new perspective moves beyond the common practice...Show moreThis paper proposes a new perspective to understand the local self-government movement during the late Qing New Policies era. On the one hand, this new perspective moves beyond the common practice of interpreting the local self-government movement as failed state efforts to bridle the local elite by enlisting them into bureaucracy, and instead looks at it from the perspective of local society. On the other hand, it emphasizes the relations between local self-government institutions and other contemporaneous professional associations, like the chamber of commerce, education association, agriculture association, and the anti-opium bureau. To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the local self-government movement, this paper examines the case in Jiaxing from 1905 to 1914. This period witnessed the whole process of the first wave of the local self-government movement from its start and preparation in the last years of the Qing to its abolition by Yuan Shikai in the Republic. A clear understanding of local power structure is indispensable for researching local self-government. Previous scholars generally draw a line between upper-degree elites and lower elites, urban elites and countryside-based elites, suggesting that there were serious conflicts between upper urban elites and lower elites during the local self-government movement. My research on Jiaxing shows provides corrective to this interpretation. Traditional degrees and lineage were still important, but they were no longer major factors for elite to form establishments, seek support, and construct identity. By participating in various professional associations, Jiaxing elites gradually began to organize themselves along with associations and take action in the name of these associations. The emergence of professional associations was a significant political development in modern Chinese history. They performed many local works independently and often advocated for public benefits, local self-government and a constitutional government, either alone or together with other associations. There were numerous examples of the close cooperation between different professional associations and local self-government institutions. It were the members of professional associations who first promoted and dominated the self-government institutions. For the Jiaxing elites, local self-government was merely one among the many organizations for them to participate in local affairs and exert influence. All these linkages and cooperation between different institutions and associations contributed to a power balance in Jiaxing society in the last years of the Qing dynasty. Public management functions were clearly delineated among various associations whose members were mainly New Policies activists who wished to make the country better and stronger by building local society. There were some peasant uprisings, but during this period the urban-rural conflict may not have been essential in Jiaxing. The 1911 Revolution changed this kind of balanced local power structure among local officials, self-government institutions, and professional associations. Magistrates gradually lost their control of local society, while local assemblies and executive boards became the major decision-making institutions in the first years of the Republic. The clearly delineated functions among self-government institutions, professional associations and local governments were disrupted. Eventually in 1914, Yuan Shikai abolished all of the local self-government institutions.Show less
