On The Religious Influence Upon Tan Sitong's Benevolence

Tan Sitong, one of the most important ideologists and the excellence of the reform movement representative in modern times, criticizes essentially the feudal monarchical system in which the three cardinal guides and the five constant virtues were its core. Equality is the mainline of his Benevolence in which he absorbed the Chinese traditional Confucian, Buddhist and Christian thoughts to explain the concept of equality, in the hope of rebuilding an equal, free, and democratic society in China. With the demonstration of equality through the elaboration and evaluation of Tan Sitong's thought, this thesis attempts to achieve two purposes:One is to use religious theories to analyze Tan Sitong's thought, and thus to enrich the related research fields in domestic academia. The other is to find useful theories from which we can learn in modern society.This thesis is divided into five parts. The first chapter is an introduction of Tan Sitong's profile and social and cultural background in his era. The second chapter is mainly about his argument under the influence of Chinese traditional Confucian thought. The third chapter is an interpretation of his Benevolence from the perspective of Buddhism. The fourth chapter is talking about his Benevolence using Christianity theories. And the last chapter is explaining the relationship of the three religions and what parts they take in his Benevolence.