Selected Works 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 spent his life anxiously contemplating the fate and future of his country and nation, advocating for the study of advanced social thought and science and technology from the West, 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 dedicated his life to exploration and practice—some of which proved correct, so that decades later, the Chinese people would once again embark on similar explorations; others were wrong in ways that defied understanding, yet they were astonishingly and mistakenly practiced again half a century later. However, this spirit of exploration and reform was truly invaluable. This book selects 22 representative works from different periods of Kang Youwei's life, each accompanied by postscripts, annotations, and in-depth, insightful analyses and evaluations of his thought and historical role. A century of turbulent events shaped not one but generations of national giants, and Kang Youwei undoubtedly occupied an important place among them. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, both domestically and abroad, Kang Youwei never ceased to write, "voicing towering arguments 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, embracing the world. His life's writings hold significant value for researching not only himself but also the history of modern China's politics, thought, and academic development.