Japan's Impact On China's Early Socialist Thought

Socialism as a doctrine has been experiencing a comprehensiveprocess of development ranging from utopian to scientific, fromtheory to practice, from country to country, from traditional tomodern. Socialism with Chinese characteristics as a pulse ofscientific socialism, the guiding ideology of the Chinese Communistsand a guide to action with unlimited vigor and vitality, highlights theobjectivity of truth and of the times, the guidance of the ChineseCommunists leading the broad masses of people to obtain the greatachievements of the revolution, construction and reform. Theseachievements opened up the process of the history of Marxism inChina due to Japan’s early socialist ideology introduced to China andthe Chinese Communists, as well as its impacts on the state and theParty.Socialism is the option of the history and the people. Setting in asemi-feudal society, advanced Chinese intellectuals looked forward tosalvaging the road and then exposed to a socialist with theirbackground of studying in Japan. All classes concerning with theirinterests and needs received socialist ideology, and thus the formationof national salvation proved that only socialism can save China. Thedeparture from Japan’s early socialist ideology and its influence onChina and the analysis of Japan’s early socialist ideology into thehistory of China reveal the source of the idea of Marxism in China and highlight the early socialist ideology in Japan on the Chinesebourgeoisie and the proletariat, which has played an important role inthe development of modern democratic politics in China.The paper consists of two parts:The first part of this paper is the introduction. It replies to thequestion why only socialism can save China and reveals the socialistdemocratic ideas to promote the democratization of China with theconsideration of the importance of early Chinese Marxism in China.It also includes the review of existing researches on Japan’s earlysocialist ideology and its impact on China.The second part of this paper includes three chaptersrespectively referring to the formation of early socialist thought inJapan, the spread of Japan’s early socialist in China and Japan’s earlysocialist thinking of its important role played in the development ofChinese Marxism, as well as the reason why China has chosen to takeits socialist road in pursuit of a better future.