| The 19 th century China was in a critical period of modernization transformation.Feng Guifen’s life experienced a series of major historical events during this period,and his reform ideas had a far-reaching impact on the history of modern Chinese political thought,which had a profound impact on the subsequent Westernization Movement,the Reform Movement during the Wuxu period and so on.Therefore,studying Feng Guifen and his ideas will help us to fully understand China’s modernization transformation and to understand several key issues in China’s modern history such as grassroots governance and economic reform.The core issue studied in this article is how Feng Guifen understood the national politics,economy,education and other aspects of the late Qing Dynasty and how he designed his reform plan.The analysis of the historical background of Feng Guifen’s era shows that China faced a series of serious internal and external challenges and difficulties during the late Qing Dynasty.As an enlightened person among feudal intellectuals,Feng Guifen clearly recognized the necessity of reform.The study of Feng Guifen’s surviving works shows that he believed that there were a series of problems in the late Qing Dynasty in politics,economy and cultural education,which seriously hindered the further development of the country and urgently needed reform.Based on pointing out these problems,Feng Guifen further elaborated on his specific ideas for reform,which involved all aspects of social life such as politics,economy and education.In the analysis of Feng Guifen’s reform ideas,this article studies it from the perspective of overseas Chinese studies,with the help of scholars such as John K.Fairbank,Philip A.Kuhn and Paul A.Cohen.The analysis shows that overseas Chinese studies’ understanding of Feng Guifen’s ideas has also undergone a transformation from simple "Western-centrism" analysis to focusing on China’s internal traditions.This shows that to correctly understand Feng Guifen and his reform ideas,it is necessary to investigate both internal and external factors at that time.As a reform idea under great changes,Feng Guifen’s thought cannot be understood without Western impact nor can it be discussed without China’s historical tradition.When examining Feng Guifen and his reform ideas,we need to pay attention to the spiritual factors beyond time in his thought.The "self-strengthening" in Feng Guifen’s thought reflects the inherent continuity of China’s modern history.To some extent,China’s current exploration for modernization can be regarded as an extension of the "selfstrengthening" spirit in the 19 th century.Through discussing Feng Guifen and his reform ideas,we can see the continuity of China’s national modernization agenda over the past century and a half.In terms of economy,politics and other aspects,those issues such as grassroots effective governance that were fiercely debated during Feng Guifen’s era are still important topics today.It is precisely this inherent continuity in history that determines China’s direction towards modernization.In summary,as an important thinker in modern China,studying Feng Guifen himself and his thoughts is one way to understand China’s modernization.The study of Feng Guifen and his reform ideas inspires us that understanding China’s modernization transformation must be based on China’s own position and comprehensively consider internal and external factors. |
