Think about the French Revolution

Author: Fran?ois Furet
Translator: Meng Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In the nearly two hundred years of human history, the French Revolution is undoubtedly the most significant event. Its influence is vast and enduring, and its divisions are sharp and intense, unmatched by anything else. Whether in daily life or in academia, it continues to shape our lives, stir our thoughts, and touch our souls. Even in a country like the United States, which is fundamentally shaped by Protestantism, as Maugham said, "The French are dead, their souls in heaven; the Americans are dead, their souls in Paris." Today, as you sit on the waterfront of Manhattan in New York, gazing at the distant Statue of Liberty, you can still feel the wind of freedom blowing from across the Atlantic.
In universities, articles, monographs, and doctoral dissertations on the French Revolution abound. In broader fields such as economics, society, and politics, it is impossible to discuss modern issues without reference to the French Revolution—it has become an essential backdrop, whether or not you are directly studying it. Even scholars like Rawls had to grapple with the fundamental questions raised by the French Revolution.
Even in traditional Confucian China, due to the changes and revolutions of the past century, the French Revolution has begun to become a fashionable topic of discussion. Some intellectual spirits, fluttering on the wings of imagination, have flown from China to France, attempting to link the French Revolution and the Cultural Revolution with a loose and artistic set of feathers, creating a comic book about revolution. It can be said that for a considerable period to come, the French Revolution will remain a crucial topic in the context of modernity and modern politics. The problem awareness and intellectual space it contains will continue to reveal new meanings and new issues as history progresses. This is particularly important for China, as a latecomer to modernity but with a rich cultural heritage. How to build a value system for modernity? How to understand the true meaning of modernity? How to create effective mechanisms to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of modernity? In all these aspects, the French Revolution offers invaluable lessons that cannot be overlooked as an important reference—a precious spiritual wealth.
In this sense, the publication of Furet's Thinking About the French Revolution in Chinese can help us better understand these questions. I have noticed that in the past decade or so, political thought from Britain and the United States has dominated Chinese political academia. Whether left or right, scholars' academic resources primarily come from the English-speaking world—whether the Scottish Enlightenment, American utilitarian political practice, communitarianism, or culturalist political thought. These schools of thought have shaped the discourse on modernity in contemporary China. French academic thought, with the exception of what is improperly introduced into literary criticism as postmodernism, has rarely been discussed in political studies.
This subjective preference, of course, has its reasons, but it is unhealthy. Furet's book can provide an academic thread from the French-speaking world, enriching our academic genealogy and adding a necessary reference dimension when thinking about modernity. When I was researching the French Revolution, Furet's perspectives deeply influenced me, especially when considering Chinese issues in light of the French Revolution's model. His insights were quite important to me. Therefore, sharing my thoughts may be the best way to promote this book.