"European Tour" And Liang Qichao's Ideological Shif

In the process of the modern transformation of Chinese society,the West has been the idealized mirror image in the minds of Chinese intellectuals due to its high level of modernization.As a member of the group of intellectuals learning from the West,Liang Qichao has been tirelessly exploring the way out,and his thoughts have undergone several innovations and transformations.After his "European tour",Liang Qichao entered the final stage of ideological finalization,so "European tour" is the key point of his ideological transformation.This paper adopts the method of textual interrelationship and historical and cultural contextual analysis,placing Liang Qichao in the context of the world situation before and after World War I and the social environment of China at that time,to find out the motives behind his political and cultural choices,so as to understand how he engaged in his cultural and educational career,that is,how he went from being a politician to a university teacher.Before his "European tour",Liang Qichao wanted China to become "a country of the world" and emphasized party politics.The operation of party politics depended on the "middle class",i.e.talents,to lead the people to realize their political ideals,and this idea showed his "elitist" ideology.In the course of his "European tour",Liang Qichao made a great breakthrough in his thinking.Firstly,he realized the problem of wealth disparity under the beautiful appearance of Europe and discovered the bias of Western material civilization;secondly,he was influenced by the "irrationalist thinking" and criticized the "theory of scientific omnipotence";finally,he realized that the Paris Peace Conference was a conference to share the spoils.Finally,he realized that the Paris Peace Conference was a meeting to share the spoils of war,and further realized the nature of the aggression of the imperialist powers.All these made him overturn the image of Europe in his mind,stop learning from the West with an inferiority complex,and turn to the embrace of traditional Chinese culture.It can be said that the "European tour" was actually a process of "study tour" for Liang Qichao.After his "European tour",Liang Qichao engaged in cultural education,advocated the establishment of the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies,and was finally employed by the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies,where he started the study of Chinese studies and was able to establish his identity as a scholar.Tsinghua University has a "cultural colonial" background,and Liang Qichao’s advocacy of the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies can be regarded as a manifestation of "anti-colonial cultural psychology" to some extent,which helps to wash away the humiliation of Tsinghua University.The two sides presented a "two-way construction" relationship.When he started the study of national studies,he advocated the "independent value" of learning and believed that the "independence" of learning was the basis for the "independence" of politics and society.The so-called "independent value" of learning means that it adds to the contribution of human beings.This idea shows that the idea of "the application of learning to the world" was always inherent in Liang Qichao’s thinking.Based on this,this paper argues that "European travel" played a significant role in stimulating Liang Qichao’s transition from his political career to his cultural and educational career.