Thought: The Qing Dynasty, the unification of Confucianism and Taoism, and the harmony of horses.
Economic base: national capitalism has developed.
The reform movement, realizing that science and technology can't change anything, began to learn the western system. The New Culture Movement is an ideological emancipation movement, sweeping away old ideas and propagating new ones.
Constitutional reform and modernization
1840 the sino-British opium war changed the historical process of China; China, which lingered at the end of feudal society, began to transform into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. From then on, the modern history of China began. The modern history of China 100 years is a history of foreign powers invading China, a revolutionary history of China people resisting aggression and feudalism, and a history of China's gradual opening, progress and integration into the world. In other words, the modern history of China is the history of China society from tradition to modernity and from conservatism to reform. The reform movement at the turn of the century is the logical starting point of China's social modernization.
Many factors, such as the breaking of the "closed door" state, the invasion of foreign economic forces, the disintegration of the traditional small-scale peasant economy, and the induction of westernized enterprises, have contributed to the emergence and development of Chinese national capitalism. No matter how difficult this process is, national capitalism has brought many changes to China society. When the Westernization Movement was in full swing, Wang Tao, Feng Guifen, Zheng and other people of insight put forward their early reform ideas on the basis of criticizing the Westernization School. They advocate revitalizing industry and commerce economically, and establishing schools and learning western natural science knowledge culturally. Some of them also advocate constitutional monarchy politically. The early reformists only put forward some reform ideas for specific problems, without forming a complete theory or putting them into action, but these ideas provided materials for the formation of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's reform ideas. With the initial development of national capitalism, the national bourgeoisie began to step onto the historical stage of China, and played its role in politics, trying to produce a brand-new social type through the self-adjustment of the internal structure of China society, transforming feudal autocratic China into a constitutional monarchy, and making the country step into the track of world development and onto the road of modernization. The fuse that triggered this reform movement was the Sino-Japanese War. When beiyang fleet bought ships and guns from Britain and Germany, they all went up in smoke in the Japanese attack. When "40,000 people burst into tears" because of the shameful treaty of shimonoseki, a generation of literati represented by Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Yan Fu, Zhang Taiyan and Wang Guowei felt that "the world is in urgent need of change, causing great pain". They had to "discuss their studies and emphasize bureaucracy" as Japan's Meiji Restoration did in the west. Although the reform failed later, it stipulated the future development direction of China society and constituted the logical starting point of China's modernization. China goes to the world, the world goes to us, and China goes to modernization, which is an irreversible and inevitable process. The failure of garrison reform is only the failure of top-down modernization improvement, not the failure of its goal.
The essence of reform and change is a profound social reform movement and, in a sense, a social revolution. After the defeat of the Opium War, China's wise men, such as Gong Zizhen, Wei Yuan, Zheng, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, realized that China was facing unprecedented changes in the past 3,000 years and an invincible enemy. In order to survive, China must change and learn from the West. But how to change it? Change what? Whether to fundamentally transform the old system or adjust its branches and leaves is a sign that the reformists represented by Kang Youwei are different from all previous politicians. Kang Youwei clearly pointed out: "if you strive for change, you will be all, and if you don't change, you will die;" All changes are powerful, and small changes are still dead. " From this, he thinks that the so-called "New Deal" of the Westernization School is only a superficial change of branches and leaves, and at most it is "change", not "change". This practice of not fundamentally seeking to solve social problems is "a huge sum of money, which cannot be saved." "(the fourth book of Qing Emperor) Only by reforming the old customs and fundamentally transforming the social structure of China can China be saved. The so-called fundamental transformation of China's society is to comprehensively improve China's political system, economic system, education system and military system by taking the Japanese as an example, that is, for the first time in the history of China, a systematic plan of "renegotiating all political systems" was put forward.
Reform and change is another profound enlightenment thought. There are four main grounds for making this judgment. First, the main force of the movement is intellectuals. Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Yan Fu, Tan Sitong, etc., the main figures in the reform and reform, are mostly from juren backgrounds. Compared with the Westernization Movement, which was mainly operated by bureaucratic warlords, the characteristics of the reform and reform with intellectuals as the main promoters were clear at a glance. It can be said that the Reform and Political Reform was the first time that China intellectuals carried out it as a social and political force, which made this movement enlightening. Second, the class foundation of the movement is the ideological movement of the emerging bourgeoisie against the feudal system and promoting its own development. The class roles of Kang, Liang, Yan and Tan, the main figures of the Reform and Reform, are actually the representatives of the upper class forces of the national bourgeoisie that began to develop. They put forward a series of reform ideas, which ultimately served the interests of the national bourgeoisie to break through the feudal shackles and open the road to development. So this is a new bourgeois enlightenment thought. Third, although the purpose and nature of the movement have direct economic purposes, its political and ideological colors are more intense and prominent. In other words, compared with the Westernization Movement with the content of "self-improvement" and "seeking wealth", the Reform and Reform focused more on political improvement and anti-feudal ideological criticism. For example, the political nature of the "strong society" organized by Kang and Liang, as well as the bold attacks on feudal system and feudal morality by new newspapers such as Current Affairs, are all improvements and criticisms of this nature. Obviously, judging from the general trend of world history, such a movement marks the Enlightenment in the early stage of capitalist development. Fourth, the theoretical resources of the movement are mainly western enlightenment thoughts. For example, the theoretical basis of "reform" and "reform" is "evolution theory"; Oppose the thought of "civil rights" and "democracy" of autocratic system; In order to oppose the traditional "rule of law" of "rule by man"; The new educational thought of opposing stereotyped writing to take scholars by imperial examination, and the consciousness of freedom, equality and fraternity contained in Kang Youwei's theory of "great harmony" and Tan Sitong's system of "benevolence" all originated from the western bourgeois enlightenment thought. This especially clearly shows the modern enlightenment nature of the Reform Movement. These ideas have not lost their influence because of the failure of political reform, but have become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. From the Wuyi Reform Movement to the Revolution of 1911 and then to the May 4th Movement, political movements and social ideological movements are getting higher and higher. Although there are many differences before and after, their pursuit of democracy, science and freedom is not fundamentally different.
This reform movement is a fundamental change in ideology and scholarship. In addition to Kang Youwei's six consecutive letters after the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, he directly promoted Emperor Guangxu's political reform with the Meiji Restoration model. In the academic field, Yan Fu took the lead in translating the theory of evolution under the deep stimulation of the Sino-Japanese War, expounding that the western theory of evolution was a warning of "natural selection, survival of the fittest", which surprised all China and greatly changed people's feelings. At the world outlook level, the cage of the famous religion of "the sky remains unchanged and the Tao remains unchanged" has been blasted for thousands of years. Yan Fu then translated the works of scholars in politics, economics, sociology and logic in Britain and France, such as Adam Smith's Primitive Wealth, Mill's The Limit of Power and Montesquieu's The Meaning of Law. Liang Qichao went into exile in Japan after Wu Shu, and even "read Japanese books", "thinking and speaking are different from before". In particular, because it is imperative to learn from Japan and absorb western learning at the ideological and academic levels, Japanese intellectuals set off a large-scale upsurge of studying in China at the beginning of the 20th century. The number of Du Dong scholars has increased year by year, and books introducing western philosophy, politics, economics, sociology and other social science ideas have flooded into China through Japan, pushing China to "learn from the West" and quickly break through the previous "tools".
To sum up, a huge game of fundamental changes in China's academic history for thousands of years is not only the logical starting point of China's modernization process, but also the growing point of China's modern culture.
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The background of the rise of the new culture movement
In the early days of the Northern Warlords' rule, in the cloudy days of China, spring thunder broke out, and a cultural enlightenment movement, the New Culture Movement, which advocated science, opposed feudal superstitions and lashed out at feudal ideas for thousands of years.
During this period, politically, after the failure of the Revolution of 1911, the powers supported Yuan Shikai to claim the title of emperor and stepped up their aggression against China. Domestic advanced elements sought a new way to change this situation. Economically, capitalism in China further developed during World War I, and the bourgeoisie strongly demanded the implementation of democratic politics in China in order to better develop capitalism. In terms of ideology and culture, with the establishment of new schools and the rising tide of studying abroad, the western enlightenment was further introduced to China, and the revolution of 1911 made the idea of democracy and harmony deeply rooted in people's hearts. Yuan Shikai's countercurrent of respecting Confucius and restoring the ancients was not tolerated by democratic intellectuals (direct reason). Therefore, the emergence of the New Culture Movement was not only the product of the comprehensive effects of economic, political, ideological and cultural factors at that time, but also the inevitable result of long-term material and ideological preparation in modern China.
Yuan Shikai's Proclamation of the Great President's Sacrifice
The president bowed to the heavy responsibility. Although the political system is innovative, customs should be conservative for all countries in the world, each featuring the spirit of founding a country, grasping ancestors and steaming. China's obedience to the Holy Way, self-discipline, governing the country and leveling the world all originated from self-cultivation.
-"Selected Materials of Modern History of China"
The rise of the new culture movement
Chen Duxiu studied in Japan in his early years, joined the Allied League led by Sun Yat-sen, and took part in the Revolution of 1911 and the struggle against Yuan Shikai's restoration of monarchy. 19 15, Chen Duxiu founded Youth magazine and published an article attacking Zun Kong's retro style. In the inaugural issue, he published a warning to the youth, put forward the slogan of democracy and science, and attacked feudalism and its ideology. Human rights are democracy. Chen Duxiu put forward the ideas of political democracy, belief democracy, economic democracy, social democracy and ethical democracy, and called on people to take up the weapon of democracy and fight against the old ideology. Regarding science, Chen Duxiu believes that anything judged by science and reason as unsuitable for today's society, even if it is left by ancestors, loved by sages and advocated by the government, is worthless. Call on people to adhere to the scientific spirit and become the ruler and master of nature. Chen Duxiu also put forward six hopes for young people, namely, "autonomy rather than slavery", "progress rather than conservatism", "enterprising rather than retirement", "the world rather than locking up the country", "practicality rather than imagination" and "science rather than imagination". He expects to cultivate a generation of new citizens who are "stubborn, unyielding, physically strong, resistant to nature, trusting instinct, working independently from others, obedient and frank, and not hypocritical". "Chen Duxiu raised the banner of a new culture and opened the curtain of an unprecedented new culture movement.
"New Youth" and Peking University became the main positions to publicize the new culture movement. Cai Yuanpei is a famous democratic revolutionist and educator. He practiced the policy of "all-inclusive, a hundred schools of thought contend" academically. During his tenure as president of Peking University, he carried out a series of reforms, such as advocating academic research, letting a hundred schools of thought contend, selecting talents in an eclectic way, and treating Chinese and foreign teachers equally. He hired Chen Duxiu, a new cultural advocate, as a liberal arts senior and Li Dazhao as a librarian. Hu Shi, Liu Bannong, Qian, Zhou Zuoren, Lu Xun and other natural scientists who returned from studying abroad all taught at Peking University. But at the same time, Peking University also has a group of so-called old-school professors represented by Liu and Gu Hongming. Through reform, Peking University became the highest institution with active thoughts and academic prosperity in China at that time, and trained a group of young people with new ideas.
Hu Shi worked as a professor in Peking University after returning from studying in the United States, and later served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He actively participated in the new culture movement and the literary revolution movement, and was an important representative of the literary revolution and the initial new culture movement.
Lu Xun studied in Japan in his early years and took part in the editing of New Youth at the beginning of 19 18. Mao Zedong praised him as a great revolutionary, thinker and writer.
"Mr. De and Mr. Sai"
"Mr. De" means "democracy" and "Mr. Sai" means "science".
The establishment of the two banners of democracy and science in the New Culture Movement has brought about earth-shaking changes in many aspects of China, and created great opportunities for the wide spread of new ideas and theories. The textbook's exposition of the basic contents of the new culture movement-four propositions and four oppositions-truly reflects the "newness" of the new culture movement.
Slogans of democracy and science
"Democracy" refers to democratic thoughts and democratic politics; "Science" mainly refers to the laws and spirit of modern natural science. The bourgeoisie preached democracy and opposed feudal autocracy, pointing the finger at Confucianism, the theoretical pillar of feudal autocracy; Advocate science and oppose feudal superstition and ignorance. This slogan reflects the requirements of China's social development and the urgent needs of the people, and has effectively promoted the development of the New Culture Movement. However, this slogan still belongs to the nature of bourgeois old democracy and has the limitations of its class and times. It can't be combined with mass movements, and it can't treat China culture and western culture from the viewpoint of historical materialism, so it can't fundamentally overthrow feudal thought.
The main contents of the new culture movement
The New Culture Movement is carried out along two fronts, one is the ideological front, and the other is the literary front. The two fronts are intertwined, so it is both an ideological revolution and a literary revolution. As an ideological revolution, it advocates democracy and science, opposes autocracy, ignorance and superstition, advocates new morality and opposes old morality. As a literary revolution, it advocates new literature and opposes old literature. The essence of the early New Culture Movement was the struggle between the bourgeois new culture and the feudal old culture. Vigorously promote Marxism in the later period.
The progressiveness of the new culture movement
The development of democracy and scientific thought has shaken the dominant position of feudal thought, promoted the development of natural science in China and liberated people's thoughts, especially those of young people. Marxism spread in the later period was accepted by advanced intellectuals in China and became an ideological weapon to save the nation and transform society. It played a propaganda and mobilization role in the outbreak of the May 4th Movement, and was also conducive to the popularization and prosperity of culture.
Limitations of the New Culture Movement
The New Culture Movement was initiated by the bourgeois radical democrats. It has great contributions and serious shortcomings. The advocates of the movement ignored the masses, did not combine the new culture movement with the masses, and confined the cultural movement to the circle of intellectuals. They also avoided the actual struggle against the warlord government at that time and did not directly put forward the anti-imperialist task. As far as the literary revolution at that time was concerned, although the construction of "national literature" was put forward, the literary activities at that time were limited to some intellectuals and could not be popularized among workers and peasants. The blind criticism of China's classical literature is one-sided.
The influence of the new culture movement
(1) shook the dominant position of feudal thought. Before the New Culture Movement, the bourgeois reformists and revolutionaries did not thoroughly criticize feudal thoughts when they publicized their political opinions. After the New Culture Movement, feudal thoughts were criticized and people's thoughts were liberated unprecedentedly.
(2) Promoting democracy and scientific thinking. China intellectuals were baptized by western democratic and scientific thoughts in the New Culture Movement. This paved the way for the spread of new ideas and promoted the development of natural science in China.
(3) Prepare for the May 4th Movement. The New Culture Movement inspired people's democratic consciousness and played a role in propaganda and mobilization in the May 4th patriotic movement.
(4) The later spread of socialist ideology inspired the advanced intellectuals in China to choose and accept Marxism as an ideological weapon to save the country, transform society and promote revolution. This is the most important achievement of the New Culture Movement.
(5) Conducive to the popularization and prosperity of culture. The new culture movement advocates vernacular Chinese, which can unify language and writing more closely and be accepted by the general public, thus contributing to the popularization and prosperity of culture.
However, most of the advanced elements in the new culture movement have some extreme emotions, and their views on eastern and western cultures are absolutely positive or negative, which has always influenced the future.