General Introduction to Academic Studies in the Qing Dynasty

Author: Liang Qichao (authored), Zhu Weizheng (introduction)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Since the first edition of A General Survey of Qing Dynasty Scholarship, three-quarters of a century has passed, and it has not only continued to attract generation after generation of young scholars, becoming a must-read introductory book for understanding the academic and cultural history of the Qing Dynasty, but its value among scholars has also continuously risen, eventually becoming a classic in the study of Qing academic history. A General Survey of Qing Dynasty Scholarship is not merely a specialized historical work discussing the "transformation of the intellectual world" during the Qing Dynasty; it is also an academic memoir of Liang Qichao personally. —Zhu Weizheng, A General Survey of Qing Dynasty Scholarship The reason why A General Survey of Qing Dynasty Scholarship has achieved a far-reaching effect enjoyed by both scholars and the general public lies in its content. Liang Qichao was not an intellectual, but he was deeply interested in the thoughts, doctrines, and theories of both China and the world throughout history. He was not a pure scholar, but perhaps due to his rigorous training under Kang Youwei, he was particularly fond of examining the "origins and development of scholarship." He was a reformer at the end of the Qing Dynasty and, in the early years of the Republic of China, directly entered the national political arena. Until the night before his death, he not only witnessed all the changes in China's political situation during the thirty years from the Wuxu Reform to the Northern Expedition but also found himself at the center of these changes multiple times. He was a political commentator and also engaged in practical political activities, so his political inclinations inevitably had a profound impact on his historical understanding. Conversely, this is also a case of "using history to comment on politics," or in other words, he always used his own political experience as a criterion when observing history. He was actually quite open about this point. For example, in the preface to A General Survey of Qing Dynasty Scholarship, the author frankly states the motivation for writing the book: "The reason I wrote this work is primarily because I accepted Hu Shi's advice to record the late Qing Jindao Movement, which I personally participated in."