Selected Writings of Kang Youwei - (Annotated Edition)

Author: Jiang Yihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Kang Youwei, renowned for initiating the Hundred Days' Reform, was not only a reformist statesman and leader of the constitutionalist faction but also an outstanding enlightenment thinker. He devoted his life to anxiously contemplating the fate and future of the nation, advocating the study of advanced Western social thought and science and technology, reforming politics, and seeking national strength through reform. At the same time, by acknowledging and affirming utilitarianism, natural human nature theory, and natural rights, he vigorously promoted human liberation and courageously engaged in social practice. He spent his entire life exploring and practicing—some of his explorations were correct, so they were repeated by the nation half a century later; others were wrong to the point of bafflement, yet they were shockingly similarly implemented half a century later. However, this spirit of exploration and reform was extremely rare and valuable. This book selects 22 representative works of Kang Youwei from different periods, each accompanied by annotations and explanations, and provides an in-depth and insightful analysis and evaluation of his thought and historical role. The turbulent century forged not only one generation of national giants but also others, and Kang Youwei undoubtedly occupied an important place among them. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, from within the country to overseas, Kang Youwei never ceased to write, "voicing lofty theories and opening vast and extraordinary words," leaving behind over ten million words of writings in his lifetime. The abundance and breadth of his works demonstrate Kang Youwei's grand ambition to connect the past and the future, transcending eras. His lifetime of writings hold significant value for studying himself, as well as the history of political, intellectual, and academic development and evolution in modern China.