The background of Liang Qichao writing "Young China".

The Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, and the national crisis became unprecedentedly serious. "Young China" was written in 1900, when the author Liang Qichao was in exile in Japan after the Reform Movement of 1898. That year was the Year of Gengzi. At that time, due to imperialist aggression, the Boxer Rebellion patriotic movement broke out in China. The imperialists united to form the Eight-Power Allied Forces, colluded with the Qing government, suppressed the Boxer Rebellion, and captured Tianjin, Beijing and other places.

At that time, the Eight-Power Allied Forces created public opinion and slandered China as the "old empire", the "sick man of East Asia", and "a piece of loose sand" that could not stand on its own and could only be managed or divided by the great powers. Among the Chinese, some ignorant and foolish people also shouted that "it is unnatural for China not to perish" and "any great power can destroy China within three days", spreading pessimism and making the national crisis unprecedentedly serious.

The failure of the Reform Movement of 1898 forced Liang Qichao to flee to Japan, but he did not give up his efforts to reform and strengthen himself. In order to refute the shameless nonsense of the imperialists, correct the slavish mentality of some people in China who give up on themselves and worship foreigners, arouse the people's patriotic enthusiasm, and stimulate the nation's self-esteem and self-confidence, Liang Qichao timely wrote this "Young China" .

Extended information:

Liang Qichao, the author of "Young China", has unique insights into library science. He believes that "Chinese library science" should be built and modern Western library science theories should be used to transform traditional Chinese bibliography, which is the scientificization of bibliography. He actively advocated library services. In the 11th year of the Republic of China, he initiated the establishment of "Songpa Library" and served as its director.

In the 14th year of the Republic of China, the Chinese Library Association was established, and he served as director of the board of directors. He also delivered the "Speech at the Founding Meeting of the Chinese Library Association" and put forward his opinions on the development direction of China's library industry.

Later served as the director of the Capital Library and the director of the Beijing Library. He wanted to compile the "Dictionary of Chinese Books", which is equivalent to the General Chronicle of Chinese Books of Ancient and Modern Times, "to make a comprehensive collection of ancient and modern books", but unfortunately he died before completing it.

Its collection of books is quite rich. There are more than 44,470 volumes of more than 2,830 books in "Begonia Bookstore" and "Bingbing Room", as well as unpublished manuscripts, personal letters, notes, etc. Liang Tingcan and others compiled the "Preliminary Bibliography of the Yinbingshi Collection", which recorded more than 13,000 kinds of ancient books. In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), they were all transferred to the Beijing Library. The Beijing Library has specially opened a "Liang Qichao Memorial Room" to commemorate him.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Young China

Baidu Encyclopedia - Liang Qichao