Reform And Revolution:the Controversy About The Means Of Social Reconstruction

The Opium War in1840is the starting point of China’s modernization history of humiliation. From then on, Chinese intellectuals have been exploring the way to reconstruct Chinese society and achieve national prosperity. The Socialist Debate, occurred in the beginning of the1920s when modern China sank into big changes, was another controversy on how to reconstruct modern China between the May Fourth intellectuals who concerned about the country’s future and destiny of the nation.This article uses some research methods such as literature research, historical analysis and comparative analysis. The article neatens the existing research results, and summarizes the different views on this debate in the academic field. Then, the article makes a comparative analysis about the contents and viewpoints of both sides on the basis of restoring the polemic background and describing the process of debate. Unlike previous studies, this article’s study about the debate on how to treat capitalism mainly from the perspective of political science, and also would be combination with the reform and revolution theory. And on this basis to explore the essence of the debate, the intellectuals’viewpoints agreement with times status and theirs’political ideal.This article argues that the debate which occurred between social reformists represented by Zhang Dongsun and Liang Qichao and early Marxist represented by Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and Li Da, is a controversy about two means of social reconstruction in essence. And the center of this controversy is how to deal with the problem of Chinese capitalism. Therefore, Studying this Socialist Debate, we not only have an opportunity to accept the May Fourth intellectuals’ patriotic edification, but also get a more comprehensive understanding of capitalism,firm the ideal values of socialism. At the same time, it not only helps us better understand the context of Marxism in China, but also helps us to deepen awareness of the road of socialist modernization at this stage.