Chinese liberalism
Encyclopedia
Liberalism in China or 'Chinese liberalism' resulted from the introduction of classical liberalism
into China
during the period of Western domination towards the end of the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). Translations of John Stuart Mill
, Herbert Spencer
, Immanuel Kant
, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
and many other writers had a cumulative effect, as did the ascendancy of liberalism in world powers like Britain, France and the United States. The establishment of the Republic of China
in 1911-12 signaled the acceptance (at least in principle) of these models and the liberal values with which they identified, such as constitutionalism
and the separation of powers
.
The writings of Liang Qichao
(1873-1929) played a major role, despite his turn to a conservative outlook in latter years. The New Culture Movement
(1915-) and its immediate successor the May Fourth Movement
(1919) initially were strongly liberal in character, with key figures like Chen Duxiu
(1879-1942) and Li Dazhao
(1888-1927) espousing the ideas of Mill and Spencer. They were both to make spectacular defections to Marxist socialism however, leaving Hu Shi (1891-1962) as the preeminent exponent of liberal values. Other important liberals were Zhang Dongsun
(1886-1976) and Zhang Junmai (1887-1969).
Liberalism was to suffer in the wake of the immense challenges China faced from Japanese militarism and the impact of the Communist movement. By the 1930s many of the younger generation felt that only radical, authoritarian doctrines could save the country. The Guomindang or Nationalist party absorbed a good deal of Fascist doctrine and practice. Liberalism increasingly seemed to serve as a forlorn "third force", able only to admonish authoritarian regimes of the Left and Right.
The ascendancy of Mao Zedong
and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought the liberal impulse to its lowest level. Ideological witchhunts were organized against the (real or imaginary) followers of Hu Shi, and their values were ceaselessly derided as bourgeois delusions which could only weaken the nation.
With the collapse of Mao's ideology on his death, seeds of regeneration which had lain dormant gradually came to life. Liberal ideals like intellectual freedom
, the separation of powers
, civil society
and the rule of law
were reexamined in the light of the destruction wrought by the Communist party which had been so vociferous in denigrating them. Starting in the Cultural Revolution
, many younger people experienced virtual conversions to liberalism. This process was given further impetus by the Tiananmen Square protests leading up to the massacre of June 4, 1989. The democracy movement espoused (however imperfectly) many liberal doctrines. Among the key figures were Wang Ruoshui
(1926-2002), who while remaining a Marxist humanist reconfigured this doctrine along liberal lines, and Liu Xiaobo (b. 1955), initially a literary critic, who broke with Marxism to combine existentialist themes with liberalism.
In the 1990s the liberal wing of the remnant of the pro-democracy movement re-emerged following the Tiananmen crackdown, including figures like Qin Hui
, Li Shenzhi
, Zhu Xueqin
, Xu Youyu
, Liu Junning
and many others. The writings of Gu Zhun
(1915-1974) were rediscovered, providing evidence of a stubborn core of liberal values that the communist movement had failed to extinguish. Ranged against the liberals are the Chinese New Left and populist nationalism.
Chinese liberalism itself tends to divide into market liberalism, impressed by the US as a political model and adhering to the doctrines of Hayek and other neoliberals, and left-liberalism, more aligned with European social democracy
and the welfare state
. These tendencies continue to evolve in an uneasy state of tension. Nonetheless Chinese liberalism has clearly emerged in its social democratic form is even influencing the doctrinal evolution of the Chinese Communist Party.
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
into China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the period of Western domination towards the end of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644-1911). Translations of John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
, Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
, Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and many other writers had a cumulative effect, as did the ascendancy of liberalism in world powers like Britain, France and the United States. The establishment of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in 1911-12 signaled the acceptance (at least in principle) of these models and the liberal values with which they identified, such as constitutionalism
Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law"....
and the separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
.
The writings of Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao |Styled]] Zhuoru, ; Pseudonym: Rengong) was a Chinese scholar, journalist, philosopher and reformist during the Qing Dynasty , who inspired Chinese scholars with his writings and reform movements...
(1873-1929) played a major role, despite his turn to a conservative outlook in latter years. The New Culture Movement
New Culture Movement
The New Culture Movement of the mid 1910s and 1920s sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture following the failure of the Chinese Republic, founded in 1912 to address China’s problems. Scholars like Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Hu Shi, had...
(1915-) and its immediate successor the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
(1919) initially were strongly liberal in character, with key figures like Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu played many different roles in Chinese history. He was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first General Secretary....
(1879-1942) and Li Dazhao
Li Dazhao
Li Dazhao was a Chinese intellectual who co-founded the Communist Party of China with Chen Duxiu in 1921.-Early life:...
(1888-1927) espousing the ideas of Mill and Spencer. They were both to make spectacular defections to Marxist socialism however, leaving Hu Shi (1891-1962) as the preeminent exponent of liberal values. Other important liberals were Zhang Dongsun
Zhang Dongsun
Zhang Dongsun , was a Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and political figure.-Biography:...
(1886-1976) and Zhang Junmai (1887-1969).
Liberalism was to suffer in the wake of the immense challenges China faced from Japanese militarism and the impact of the Communist movement. By the 1930s many of the younger generation felt that only radical, authoritarian doctrines could save the country. The Guomindang or Nationalist party absorbed a good deal of Fascist doctrine and practice. Liberalism increasingly seemed to serve as a forlorn "third force", able only to admonish authoritarian regimes of the Left and Right.
The ascendancy of Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought the liberal impulse to its lowest level. Ideological witchhunts were organized against the (real or imaginary) followers of Hu Shi, and their values were ceaselessly derided as bourgeois delusions which could only weaken the nation.
With the collapse of Mao's ideology on his death, seeds of regeneration which had lain dormant gradually came to life. Liberal ideals like intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom is the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. As defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is a human right. Article 19 states:...
, the separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
, civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
and the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
were reexamined in the light of the destruction wrought by the Communist party which had been so vociferous in denigrating them. Starting in the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, many younger people experienced virtual conversions to liberalism. This process was given further impetus by the Tiananmen Square protests leading up to the massacre of June 4, 1989. The democracy movement espoused (however imperfectly) many liberal doctrines. Among the key figures were Wang Ruoshui
Wang Ruoshui
Wang Ruoshui , was a Chinese journalist and philosopher, major exponent of Marxist humanism in China and of Chinese liberalism.Wang studied philosophy in the late 1940s, converting to Marxism and joining the Communist Party prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949...
(1926-2002), who while remaining a Marxist humanist reconfigured this doctrine along liberal lines, and Liu Xiaobo (b. 1955), initially a literary critic, who broke with Marxism to combine existentialist themes with liberalism.
In the 1990s the liberal wing of the remnant of the pro-democracy movement re-emerged following the Tiananmen crackdown, including figures like Qin Hui
Qin Hui (historian)
Qin Hui is a Chinese historian and public intellectual. He holds the position of Professor of History, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing.-Biography:...
, Li Shenzhi
Li Shenzhi
Li Zhenzhi was a prominent Chinese social scientist and public intellectual. For long a trusted spokesperson of the Chinese Communist Party, he rose to become Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences....
, Zhu Xueqin
Zhu Xueqin
Zhu Xueqin is a Shanghai-based Chinese historian and public intellectual. He is a major exponent of contemporary Chinese liberalism.- Background :...
, Xu Youyu
Xu Youyu
Xu Youyu , is a Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and proponent of Chinese liberalism.Xu was a teenage Red Guard at the time of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and also was a witness to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 He is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Philosophy of the...
, Liu Junning
Liu Junning
Liu Junning is a Chinese political scientist and one of the most prominent liberal voices inside Chinese academia. He was known for his studies on modern European classical liberalism as well as conservatism...
and many others. The writings of Gu Zhun
Gu Zhun
Gu Zhun 顾准 （1915-1974) was an intellectual, economist and pioneer of post-Marxist Chinese liberalism. A victim of "anti-Rightist" purges he spent his later life in prisons and reeducation centres....
(1915-1974) were rediscovered, providing evidence of a stubborn core of liberal values that the communist movement had failed to extinguish. Ranged against the liberals are the Chinese New Left and populist nationalism.
Chinese liberalism itself tends to divide into market liberalism, impressed by the US as a political model and adhering to the doctrines of Hayek and other neoliberals, and left-liberalism, more aligned with European social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. These tendencies continue to evolve in an uneasy state of tension. Nonetheless Chinese liberalism has clearly emerged in its social democratic form is even influencing the doctrinal evolution of the Chinese Communist Party.