Liberalism in China
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Liberalism in China |
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Chinese liberalism | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | zhōngguó zìyóupài |
Bopomofo | ㄓㄨㄥ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄆㄞˋ |
Liberalism (
History
Republic of China
During the Republican period, translations of John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many other works were produced in China. These writers had a cumulative effect, as did the ascendancy of liberalism in world powers like Britain, France and the United States. The establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 signaled the acceptance (at least in principle) of these models and the liberal values with which they identified, such as constitutionalism and the separation of powers.
The writings of
Liberalism was to suffer in the wake of the immense challenges China faced from Japanese militarism and the impact of the Chinese Communist Revolution. By the 1930s, many of the younger generation felt that only radical, authoritarian doctrines could save the country. Liberalism increasingly seemed to serve as a forlorn "third force", able only to admonish authoritarian regimes of the Left (Maoism) and Right (Chiangism).
Writers such as
Later under its newly adopted 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 National Assembly election, 1948 Legislative Yuan election, and 1948 presidential election took place in China.
Maoist era
Movements in contemporary |
Chinese political thought |
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The ascendancy of Mao Zedong and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought the liberal impulse to its lowest level. Ideological witch-hunts were organized against the followers of Hu Shih,[4] and their values were ceaselessly derided as bourgeois delusions which could only weaken the nation.
1980s
With the collapse of Mao's ideology on his death, seeds of regeneration which had lain dormant gradually came to life. Liberal ideals like
Since the 1990s
In the 1990s the liberal wing of the remnant of the pro-democracy movement re-emerged following the Tiananmen crackdown, including figures like Qin Hui,[8] Li Shenzhi,[9] Wang Yuanhua,[10] Zhu Xueqin, Xu Youyu, Liu Junning and many others. The writings of Gu Zhun (1915–1974) were rediscovered, providing evidence of a stubborn core of liberal values that the communist movement had failed to extinguish. Ranged against the liberals are the Chinese New Left and populist nationalism.[2]
Chinese liberalism itself tends to divide into
A 2010s study shows the Chinese people with higher level of education tend to favor liberalism. Chinese citizens have a range of opinions about individual rights and political freedoms that do not always match existing policies or state propaganda. There are plenty of nationalists, but there is also a silent majority in favor of economic reform and political liberalism.[13]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-139-48823-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-674-01890-7.
- ^ "China's Great Liberal of the 20th Century — Hu Shih Founder of Modern Chinese Language". Asia Society. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ Zhou, Zhiping (2012). 光焰不熄:胡适思想与现代中国. Beijing: Jiuzhou Press. p. 202.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- JSTOR j.ctvxrpxhh.
- ^ "Qin Hui 秦晖 b.1953 | Centre for Chinese Research". ccr.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Selected Writings of Li Shenzhi". Kettering Foundation. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Enlightenment and Chinese Civil Society: The Cases of Wang Yuanhua and Li Shenzhi | US-China Institute". china.usc.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ "Keqiang ker-ching: How China's next prime minister keeps tabs on its economy". The Economist. 2010-12-09.
- ^ Jacobs, Andrew (5 November 2012). "As China Awaits New Leadership, Liberals Look to a Provincial Party Chief". New York Times.
- ^ Pan, Jennifer, and Yiqing Xu. "China’s ideological spectrum." The Journal of Politics 80, no. 1 (2018): 254-273.
Further reading
- Chang, C. (1952). The Third Force in China. New York: Bookman Associates.
- deBary, W. T. (1983). The Liberal Tradition in China. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Metzger, T. (2005). A Cloud Across the Pacific: Essays on the Clash between Chinese and Western Political Theories Today. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.