A Collection of Works by Yu Ying-shih. Volume 6. Democratic Institutions and Modern Civilization

Author: Yu Ying-shih
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: This book is the sixth volume of the collected works of the renowned scholar Yu Ying-shih. It covers knowledge in fields such as political science and history, including topics such as the development of democratic systems, new trends in modern civilization, theories of democratic revolution, and the relationship between freedom and equality. The first to fourth volumes of The Collected Works of Yu Ying-shih were published in 2004. Dr. Shen Zhijia then continued to collect other writings of mine, selecting those suitable for readers in mainland China, and compiled the fifth to tenth volumes. The Guangxi Normal University Press undertook the difficult task of continuing to publish these six new volumes within the limits of available conditions, and their dedication is truly moving. Let me once again express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Shen and the publisher. My field of study is historical research, so the essays in these six volumes still reflect a historical perspective. However, in terms of scope, these six volumes are much broader than the first four. Overall, one of the key focuses of my thinking and research has been how Chinese cultural traditions can re-establish their modern identity (modern identity) in the face of the challenges from Western modern culture. This has been a common issue for Chinese intellectuals since the late Qing Dynasty, especially since the May Fourth Movement, yet it has never been answered clearly. I am merely one of countless seekers of answers, and these six new volumes preserve some traces of my search. The last six volumes, like the first four, include writings from early to recent periods. The most recent includes an unpublished new manuscript (discussing Qian Qianyi's concept of "poetic history," published in Volume 9), while the earliest are my "early works" from my time studying at the Shangrae College in Hong Kong (published in Volumes 6 and 7). Here, I will briefly mention these "early works." Influenced by the May Fourth Movement, although I had decided to specialize in Chinese history, I maintained a strong interest in Western modern cultural and intellectual history. At that time, I could not accept any abstract historical formulas, nor did I recognize the Western stages of historical development as a typical model for Chinese historical research. However, I firmly believed that Western history and thought remained an important reference system, making it easier for me to explore the characteristics of Chinese culture and history from a comparative perspective. At the same time, I held a positive attitude toward some of the fundamental values in the mainstream of Western modern culture during the May Fourth era, such as tolerance, reason, freedom, equality, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. These values were also widely recognized as universal at the time, as evidenced by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Based on this understanding, between 1950 and 1955, I made a concerted effort to read Western works on these topics. The "early works" in Volumes 6 and 7 of the Collected Works were written in this mindset. These "early works" were merely records of my early studies and had long been placed aside. However, in 1983, encouraged by friends in Taipei, I felt compelled to agree and had them reprinted by the Hanxin Publishing House. When Dr. Shen Zhijia proposed to include them in the Collected Works, I was initially hesitant. However, she believed that these "early works" still represented a stage in my writing career, and from an editorial perspective, they remained an indispensable part. Ultimately, I accepted her judgment. For this reprinting, I did not have the time to make any revisions myself. However, the publisher made some necessary adjustments according to established editorial principles, largely preserving the original works while slightly reducing some sentences without additions. I am deeply grateful for the publisher's effort and kindness. To this day, I still firmly believe in the reference function of Western history and the modern values originating from the West but now universal. This is the sole reason I decided to republish these "early works."