Biographical Review of the Academic Thought of Gu Jiegang

Author: Liu Lina
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-09-01
Features: Reviewing the development of Chinese academia in the 20th century, it can be said that it was a century of abundance, innovation, and glory. Over a hundred years, renowned scholars emerged, stars shone brightly, achievements were abundant, and new ideas were constantly introduced. Traditional Chinese academia underwent transformation as a large amount of Western academia was introduced into China. Through the exchange, collision, and integration of Chinese and Western academia, 20th-century Chinese academic culture was born and rapidly grew. Within a hundred years, new breakthroughs and significant progress were made in various academic fields, establishing a complete system of modern Chinese academic culture. Reviewing and summarizing the academic development of the 20th century, discerning its right and wrongs, is a meaningful endeavor, an essential step to advance 21st-century academia and further construct socialist academic culture in China.
Traditional Chinese academic culture has a long history, profound roots, and has produced brilliant achievements and substantial accumulations. It has long nurtured the Chinese people, shaping the character and spirit of the Chinese nation, and holds an important position in the history of world academic culture. However, since the mid-19th century, with the imperialist invasion of China, Western academic culture was also introduced. The spread of Western learning in China went through several stages: first, the dissemination of material civilization, followed by the spread of institutional and spiritual civilization, until Marxism entered China. Western academic culture is vast and deeply influential. After entering China, it took root, blossomed, and bore fruit. It changed the direction and pace of development of Chinese academic thought and even the entire society, enabling China to transition from a traditional feudal society to a modern one. During this period, there was intense struggle and gradual integration between Chinese and Western studies, between old and new studies, and between traditional and modern academia. The 20th-century academic culture of China was born through this struggle and integration.
The modernization of Chinese academia began with Yan Fu's translation of Western academic classics. In the late 19th century, he translated "Evolution and Ethics" by Thomas Huxley, introducing the theory of evolution to the Chinese people and bringing about a revolutionary change in academic thought. Later, he successively translated Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty," John Stuart Mill's "A System of Logic," Herbert Spencer's "Social Evolution," Montesquieu's "The Spirit of the Laws," John Stuart Mill's "A System of Logic," and George Johnstone Stoney's "Elements of Logic." These were fields rarely studied or written about in traditional Chinese academia, allowing modern Chinese economics, political science, law, sociology, and logic to draw inspiration and develop. In 1901, Liang Qichao published "On the Historiography of China," distinguishing between modern and traditional historiography: "As world academia advances, the role of modern historians differs from that of their predecessors. Earlier historians merely recorded facts, while modern historians must explain the relationships, causes, and effects of these facts. Earlier historians focused only on the rise and fall of powerful individuals or families, though called history, it was merely a genealogy of a person or family. Modern historians must explore the overall movement and progress of human society, the experiences of the entire nation, and their interrelationships." He passionately called for the revolution of historiography, believing it was a matter of national survival: "If the revolution in historiography does not occur, our country will be irredeemable. Among all things, this is the most important." At that time, Xia Zengyou wrote "A New Middle School Textbook of Chinese History," the first modern-style comprehensive history of China written in chapters. Other disciplines also entered the modern era at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, Shen Jiaben founded the Law Society and "The Journal of the Law Society," marking the beginning of modern jurisprudence; Wang Guowei and Luo Zhenyu's study of oracle bones unearthed from the Yin Ruins can be considered the origin of modern archaeology; Zhang Taiyan's study of Indian philosophy and Wang Guowei's exploration of Schopenhauer pioneered the study of foreign philosophy by modern Chinese scholars. During the May Fourth Movement, Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi advocated literary revolution, giving birth to modern Chinese literature. Hu Shi wrote "Outlines of the History of Chinese Philosophy," the first systematic analysis of ancient Chinese thought from a Western perspective. As for natural sciences, in the late 19th century, scholars like Li Shanlan, Xu Shu, and Hua Hengfang translated numerous works and laid extensive groundwork. In 1915, Chinese students studying in the United States founded the Chinese Scientific Society and launched "The Scientific Monthly," marking the gradual development of modern Chinese natural science research.
The 20th-century Chinese academia was a product of advanced intellectuals seeking salvation for the nation by looking to the West for truth. Western doctrines and numerous works surged into China like a flood released from a dam. Chinese scholars, rooted in their own culture, chose, distinguished, and absorbed, creating academic culture suited to their time. As Chinese scholars, born and raised in China, educated within its culture, were inevitably deeply influenced by traditional Chinese culture. The scholars of the 20th century, coming from the old era, were generally proficient in traditional Chinese culture. The fierce anti-traditionalists of the May Fourth Movement, such as Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Hu Shi, Qian Xuantong, and Wu Yu, strove to oppose and break away from old traditions to fulfill their historical mission of discarding the old and embracing the new. Yet, old traditions had already permeated their blood, making it impossible for them to completely sever ties with the past. As they themselves said, they had broken out of the old camp and turned against it. Even "total Westernization" advocates like Chen Xujing could not escape the influence of traditional culture. As long as one is Chinese and has been educated in Chinese culture, it is impossible to completely break free from its influence. "Today's me" cannot entirely reject "yesterday's me." Similarly, no 20th-century Chinese scholar, no matter how conservative or stubborn, could completely oppose Western academic culture. The superiority and advancement of Western academic culture became increasingly evident, and people could not help but accept it to some extent. There were no one who entirely opposed or discarded Western academic culture. Modern life, in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, was heavily influenced by the West—western suits, western-style meals, Western-style houses, cars, and airplanes. Western civilization was everywhere. Whose life could be separated from these things? Mao Dun portrayed Wu Laoye in "The Midnight Sun" as a stubborn and ignorant old man, yet upon arriving in Shanghai from the countryside, he recited "The Great Response to" but lived in a Western-style house and had no choice but to travel by car. The (pigtails) -wearing, retro-advocate Su Hongming was, in fact, a university scholar with a comprehensive Western education.
A major characteristic of the 20th century was the transition from conflict to integration between Chinese and Western cultures. People grew up in an atmosphere that was both Chinese and Western, neither purely Chinese nor purely Western, but a harmonious blend. The struggle and integration of these two heterogeneous cultures would not end in a short time. Historically, when Buddhist culture entered China, it took root over the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, and Song dynasties, with Confucianism and Buddhism engaging in fierce struggles and mutual rejection before gradually integrating. This gave rise to Confucianized Buddhism—Zen Buddhism—and Buddhistized Confucianism—Neo-Confucianism. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jesuit missionaries introduced Western culture to China. Despite support from figures like Xu Guangqi, Li Zhiyu, even the emperors Shunzhi and Kangxi, they faced strong resistance from Confucianism. Over one or two hundred years, it faded away without taking root or bearing fruit. This shows that the integration of heterogeneous cultures, especially the birth of new academic culture from this integration, is a long, slow, and arduous process.
After the Opium War, the spread of Western culture in China marked the third time it entered the country in history, with greater momentum and deeper influence than the previous two instances. Due to the superiority of Western academic culture, traditional Chinese culture seemed inferior. By the end of the 20th century, in the clash between Chinese and Western studies, Chinese studies had been disorganized and defeated. It was necessary to learn from the strengths of Western studies, "taking the West as the teacher," and to recreate Chinese academic culture on its own foundation to rebuild it. Against this historical backdrop, through the unremitting efforts of Chinese scholars, 20th-century Chinese academia was nurtured, emerged, and displayed a new face and vigorous vitality.
Generally speaking, 20th-century Chinese academic culture had the following characteristics:
1. Guided by the theory of evolution and materialist history. Traditional Chinese academia praised the institutions and figures of ancient times, revered the sages and belittled the later emperors, considering Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius as the bearers of the Way. Believing that the loss of the ancient Way led to strife and societal decline, 20th-century academic culture abandoned traditional concepts and established modern ones. Around the May Fourth Movement, Marxism entered China, and advanced intellectuals grasped the scientific materialist history, further understanding productivity and production relations, the economic base and superstructure, the objective laws and subjective initiative of social development, placing academic culture under the guidance of materialist history and scientific methods. 20th-century Chinese academic culture made significant progress. All 20th-century Chinese scholars believed in the theory of evolution. After 1949, materialist history dominated, nurturing and shaping a large number of scholars.
2. A new system of knowledge classification was formed. Traditional Chinese academia was divided into Confucian classics, historical records, philosophical works, and literary collections, not strictly based on disciplinary classification. Confucian classics were particularly important, dominating and encompassing everything. The "Book of Changes" included mathematics, philosophy, and natural sciences; the "Book of Documents" included political science, history, and geography; the "Book of Songs" included literature, art, and natural sciences; the "Book of Rites" included political science, ethics, and pedagogy; the "Spring and Autumn Annals" included history and political science. Many disciplines were still in their infancy, yet to fully separate from the broad Confucian classics, with blurry boundaries between them. By the 20th century, Chinese academic culture had flourished and expanded, forming a new system of knowledge classification. Natural sciences adopted the academic achievements accumulated over centuries in the West, becoming an independent major. Within it, various branches were established, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, engineering, and medicine, with numerous categories and rich content, reaching a high level and benefiting national well-being. In the humanities and social sciences, literature, history, and philosophy were separated, forming distinct disciplines. New disciplines such as economics, law, pedagogy, sociology, journalism, political science, and psychology emerged and became independent. Due to the rapid progress of human society in the 20th century, people's understanding of nature, society, and themselves deepened, with knowledge and information quantities growing immensely, enriching and expanding academic culture beyond the old framework of Confucian classics, historical records, philosophical works, and literary collections, forming a new system of modern social and natural sciences.
3. The application of rational methods. Traditional academic research methods were not precise enough, logic was not rigorous, and reasoning and judgment had a certain subjective element. Academic pursuits involved intuitive insights, deep contemplation, self-reflection, and self-cultivation. Certain non-rational methods, such as imaginative, intuitive, faith-based, speculative, and emotional approaches, could still form academic knowledge as long as they expressed the real or illusory state of the research object. Examples from ancient times include the theory of the mythical land of Yingshai and the nine states, the theory of (heaven-mankind interaction), and the theory of (clear mind and self-nature). In the 20th century, Chinese academia introduced Western research methods, emphasizing induction and deduction, valuing evidence ("without evidence, no belief" and "a single piece of evidence is not sufficient"), discarding subjective biases, and adopting a calm, objective attitude to conduct precise and accurate cognitive activities on specific objects. In natural sciences, microscopes, telescopes, and other scientific instruments and experimental methods were used. In social sciences, research methods focused on investigation and collection of first-hand material. 20th-century academic culture pursued precise and specific understanding of the rich diversity of the real world, thereby recognizing its essence and laws. Modern academia values rationality rather than intuition, faith, or authority.
4. The spirit of patriotism was (highly raised). When China entered the 20th century, imperialist aggression became fiercer, and the oppression of feudal warlords and the Nationalist government more brutal. Amidst internal and external crises, people lived in suffering. 20th-century Chinese scholars witnessed the fragmentation of the nation and the suffering of the people, filled with deep compassion and a sense of responsibility, calling on themselves to save the nation. They diligently explored and dedicated themselves to research in various academic fields, all with the goal of saving the country. 20th-century Chinese academic culture was born and developed in the turbulent and suffering years. Scholars' common and strong desire was to oppose imperialist aggression and feudal oppression, to make the country prosperous and the people happy. Those in natural sciences hoped for salvation through science; economists through industry; pedagogues through education; political scientists through national prosperity; philosophers through reviving the national spirit; historians through educating and mobilizing the people with historical experience; and literary scholars through shaping the heroic images of the nation's unyielding heroes. 20th-century Chinese academic culture emerged alongside the nation's suffering, driving the nation forward, calling for national awakening, and inspiring the struggles of the masses. Therefore, patriotism permeated it, becoming its main spiritual support. 20th-century Chinese academic culture proudly waved the banner of patriotism.