Fu Political Thought

Yan Fu was not only a great thinker of enlightenment in the Chinese modern history, but also a famous figure of political thoughts. Thus far, many Chinese scholars have already carried out a great deal of research on Yan Fu' political thoughts, which has expanded the research fields of Yan Fu's ideas and greatly advanced the level of research on Yan Fu's ideas. Based on the existing research outcomes, this dissertation expatiates on Yan Fu's political thoughts, analyzes the essential features of Yan Fu's political thoughts, and views Yan Fu as a conservative liberalist.This dissertation is made up of three parts, including a total of eight chapters. Part one (chapter 1) discusses the basic qualities of the era in which Yan Fu lived and the general characteristics about the development of Yan Fu's thoughts. It provides the historical basis for the research on Yan Fu's political thoughts. Yan Fu was an outstanding representative of Chinese intellectuals during the period as China went through societal transformation in the late 19^th century. The development of Yan Fu's political thoughts is divided into three periods in this dissertation: the period before Jia Wu war (1895) was Yan Fu's growing up period, when his political thoughts were initially developed; between 1895 and 1905 was a period that Yan Fu's political thoughts were perfected; between 1905 and 1920 was a period that Yan Fu insisted on his faith while the Chinese society was in turmoil. This dissertation thinks that the contradiction and dilemma in Yan Fu's thoughts spread throughout his life, due to the common effect of the background of that particular era, the propensity of his thoughts and his personality. However, Yan Fu was insistent in the pursuit of his career and faith till the end of his life, and he was a conservative liberalist.Part two (chapter 2～5) discusses the meanings and characteristics of Yan Fu's political thoughts. This dissertation exhibits the multiple sides of Yan Fu's political thoughts from the perspectives of political empiricism, liberalism, nationalism and comparative political culture. The author thinks that Yan Fu's political philosophy based on evolution is a feature of empiricism. Yan Fu attached a great importance to the reconstruction of citizen's qualities. He put forward a comprehensive way for societal evolution, which refers to abolishing political abuse, developing economy and education all together, and then carrying out the objectives of changing a society.