In Search Of Wealth: Chinese Intellectuals In The Late 19th Century And Early 20th Century Exploration Of The Modern Road

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was a period of transition of China.which is from traditional times to modern times.But the dynamics of transition didn't obtain from China.which obtained from the Western countries to a great extent.Facing this historical circumstances, Chinese intellectuals were compelled to explore ways of Chinese modernization.They be firmly convinced that the route Chinese modernization must take the Wealth and Power. However, the prints of the period of transition profoundly affected their theoretical exploration.which trained their tragic thought. Actually.we will find that it is their tragic thought that makes their exploration achieve the eternal coordinate in the theoretical map of Chinese modemization.So we can say that they were the earliest pioneers of modernization with Chinese characteristics.Of course, Chinese intellectuals with patriotic feelings almost explored the rout of Chinese modernization in the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.But we mainly select only K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu from them to make our comparative analyse.We hope that we can acquaintance the ideological state of Chinese intellectuals at that time through this analyse.We find that K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu regarded the Wealth and Power as a kernel proposition of Chinese modemization,and proved it with evolutionism. In fact,there were many differences between their evolution theories,so they made their different options to accomplish the Wealth and Power institutional change and thinking change.We deem that these two routs both have the radical risk,but the former is dominant radical,and the latter is recessive radical. And then,we are credibly informed that they had recognized the risk ,because they queried the validity of evolutionism that was treated as an axiom.So K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu had perceived the deviations of the western Wealth and Power,which made the Wealth and Power have the feasibility to move towards anti- axiom. Worrying this feasibility,they rethought profoundly the western Wealth and Power,They clearly realized that the Chinese Wealth and Power is civilized ,not uncivilized.Next,we research K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu' designs of the civilized Wealth and Power,which were reflected in economic field and political-and-social field,In the economic field,we find that they both challenged the traditional taboo that we shouldn't talk about interests to release the psychological shackles for economy.But they had distinct differences in mercantilism: K'ang Yu-wei supported it; Yen Fu opposed it,In political-and-social field,we find they had some issues of common interest, for example, liberty, democracy, group and individual and so on. Without doubt,there were still many differences:Firstly, in the respect of the relation bwtween liberty and the Wealth and Power, K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu regarded liberty as positive liberty and negative liberty,in other words ,they admitted that liberty was not only an aim but also a tool,and they both asserted the Wealth and Power could contain liberty , but they put particular emphasis on different points: K'ang Yu-wei put particular emphasis on positive liberty; Yen Fu put particular emphasis on negative liberty,Secondly, in the respect of the relation bwtween democracy and the Wealth and Power,they both realized the importance of democracy to the Wealth and Power, and emphasized the practicability of autonomy ,but K'ang Yu-wei was limited by the thought of Min Ben ,which made him hold that democracy didn't reach the Wealth and Power in China at that time ,but the Wealth and Power could guarantee the work of democracy. Comparatively speaking, Yen Fu was more enlightened than K'ang Yu-wei,because he insisted on the feasibility of democracy in search of the Chinese Wealth and Power. Meanwhile,he got bogged down in a dilemma:if we wanted to improve the intelligence-moral-power of people,we must make people self-govem;if we wanted to make people self-govern, we must improve the intelligence- moral- power of people,The dilemma led to the authenticism as a hint foreshadowing later developments in Yen Fu'thought,which told us that Yen Fu didn't have enough confidence to the feasibility.Thirdly, in the respect of the relation bwtween group and individual and the Wealth and Power,the special being of monarch made K'ang Yu-wei not regard group and individual as the subject of Wealth and Power,but Yen Fu pointed out emphatically that group and individual both were the subjects of Wealth and Power,and their unimportance-or-importance was just early-or-late.We analyse to recognize that the Wealth and Power can have material attribute and metaphysical attribute.So we can say K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu' Wealth and Power not only pursued modernity,but also surpassed modernity. As a matter offact,it is a civilized Wealth and Power.Finaly,we comprehend overally K'ang Yu-wei and Yen Fu'exploration of the Wealth and Power , and analyse their exploration from the history/ value logic angle.Then,we rethink profoundly the relationships between tradition and modernization,and lay stress on the two-way criticism between tradition and modernization.At the same time.we put forward some things that need to take great pains to strengthen and pay attention to in the modernization of the later-development countries.