The evolution of the meaning of the word revolution
In the west, the word revolution comes from the late Latin, which means rotation and recovery. Before and after the Renaissance, the revolution was endowed with the significance of fundamental change, and the great event that really made the revolution modern was the British bourgeois revolution in the17th century. Revolution in the modern sense is usually regarded as a sudden, drastic and comprehensive change, which is often accompanied by violent activities.
The traditional word "revolution" in China originally meant the periodic change of the sky, and it has been used to refer to regime change since the Han Dynasty. Before the Reform Movement of 1898, it was either regarded as changing the surname of the dynasty or used to refer to the great turmoil, which had negative value. The loss of the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty made it possible for the regime change mechanism to appear. 1900 After the Gengzi Incident, revolutionary ideas rose, and the combination of regime change and western revolution became the legitimate basis for overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing a new society. By 19 15, the word revolution has got rid of the traditional meanings such as changing surnames and changing dynasties, and gained various modern meanings such as progress, radical change and violent overthrow of the old system in the western revolutionary concept.
Generally speaking, revolution means the disintegration of the old system and the establishment of a new system. There are two kinds of revolution, one is to establish a mature new system in the old society through revolution; First, completely break with the old tradition and create a new system with revolutionary theory.