China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-5) was a shock to many Chinese scholars. They were disappointed with the result, since before entering to the war China has completed her Self-Strengthening Movement (1864-95), which aimed at making China powerful again. With such humiliate defeat, some Chinese intellectuals realized that it was not only useful to learn about Western guns and boats, but discovered the importance of other elements, such as commerce, political institutions like parliament and diplomatic representation. Yan Fu, an outstanding intellectual in China then, went one step further by promoting western thought, especially the theory of Social Darwinism. In the process of introducing Social Darwinism, the theory did exerted influence on many aspects of thought, especially on ideas of history study and the way to save China from Imperialistic invasion. This essay is going to discuss what is meant by Social Darwinism and its introduction by Yan Fu, and the significance and impact of the theory on China among the 19th Century intellectuals.
Social Darwinism was a societal analysis of Charles Darwin's idea of evolution.
Charles Darwin was a famous scientist who introduced the idea of "evolution"
in explaining the biological progress of species. After he published such new
idea, many social scientists then tried to apply such theory into the human
world, which became known as Social Darwinism. It has often been understood
in this sense:
"As a philosophy exalting competition, power and
violence over convention, ethics and religion. It became a portmanteau of Nationalism,
Imperialism, Militarism and dictatorship; hero, superman and the master race¡Kso
the nation must make its way in the world by war and conquest"
Under such theory, "struggle for survival" no longer only apply to the animal kingdom. It also shaped the human world. It also helps to explain why some nations are stronger than another, which lies in the process of competing races. Among the process some nations have advantages (due to early civilization and the progress of all civilizations) and so became superior then the others.
The idea of Social Darwinism was introduced to China by Yan Fu's effort. In fact he was the first one in China to point out that social institutions were evolutionary and transient. Yan Fu belongs to a tiny literate elite within a vast illiterate society, and within that elite he belongs to the tiny segment, which responds creatively to the situation of the time. His writings did exercise a considerable influence on his younger contemporaries and on the generation of Chinese intelligentsia and political elite such as Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei. Yan Fu is not fundamentally interested in Darwin's contributions to biology; he is overwhelmingly concerned with the implications of Darwinism principles for the sphere of human action. According to Yan Fu's book On Evolution, Social Darwinism is a conglomerate of many ideas, such as the concepts of the struggle for existence, linear progress, the universal and fundamental nature of change and the orgasmic pattern of evolution. However, from the very outset, Yan Fu makes no attempt at literal translation of Evolution and Ethics. Almost all his translations are paraphrastic, and are like an abridged summation of the original. In Yan Fu's On Evolution it always use the situation of China then to apply to the theory of Social Darwinism, and which did created a sensation among the Chinese Intellectuals. Though he did not agree with Huxley's idea that human evolution equates to cosmic evolution, he did convinced by Herbert Spencer's analysis that only the strong should be survived in human society. Yan emphasized the importance of "change" in China in order to survive, otherwise the "nation would be eliminate and the race would be eliminated." Such idea did make the Chinese intellectual began to realize how worse was China's situation then, and have a significant impact on the development of China afterwards. And yet Yan Fu is acutely ware that this ethic implies nothing less than a revolution of values in China.
The significance of the introduction of Social Darwinism was unprecedented
in China. The most important point is that it did led to the re-orientation
of Chinese thought. It was the first time that Western idea is being used in
explaining the weakness of China. China was left behind, according to the analysis
Social Darwinism was because she did not follow the universal pattern of evolution.
That means China did not change her from an ancient empire into a modernized
nation. The failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement had proved that learning
about western guns and boats was not enough to "evolute" China into
a modern country. Instead, a total reform including political, social and economical
aspects should be introduced. It paved the way of the Hundred Days' Reform (1898)
later on. The introduction of two new concepts, "struggle" and "change"
was a big challenge to the traditional Confucius ideas of "peace"
and the worldview. It was the largest scale of challenge of Confucianism after
the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64). The theory of Social Darwinism was seemed contradictory
to the Confucius teachings, but was more suitable in explaining China's situation
then. It gave the intellectuals an alternative in looking at current issues.
The theory also enabled some intellectuals such as Xia Shihuen to have a broader
world perspective in which China was no longer the centre of the World since
she was not superior to the rest of the world then. In order to catch up, China
should find the way of change and struggle for survives, which was quite different
from the Confucius ideas of peace and remains unchanged.
Besides, Social Darwinism was significant since it did arouse the sense of looking for the way to survive or to be eliminated among the intellectuals. As Yan Fu stressed the collective aspect of the theory, it implies that no single Chinese could be survived if the country is being eliminated by an imperialistic power. With the foreign intrusion in China, it became the critical time to China's future: if nothing were to be done, China would face the problem of being eliminated. Xia has cried out the struggle for existence, which a number of intellectuals follows and paved the way to a more radical reform programme, the Hundred Days' Reform. The introduction of Social Darwinism also laid the groundwork for the later reception of other social theories and ideologies, which shared the common premises, among them most importantly, is the Marxism.
The Social Darwinism theory also has many huge impacts on Chinese history afterwards. The universal pattern of evolution was a significant new element of Chinese thought. The concept of linear progression and evolution presents a new way to explain China's history. In China, history has always occupied a special position, and the way history was written would affect the development of a nation. Chinese history, to most intellectuals was a major frame of reference for ethics, politics and the whole cultural orientation. Any change in ideas of the past could modify the basic assumptions and values of the Chinese intelligentsia. By the impact of Social Darwinism, Yan Fu held up the linear concept of history as a challenge to traditional beliefs in historical cycles and a fixed universal order. Thus Kang Youwei, who was convinced by Yan Fu, was able to redefine Confucianism by the destruction of China's past and reconstruction of China's history in Kongzi Gaizhi Kao (a Study of Confucius as a Reformer). It is, according to Liang Qichao, a turning point of historical writing in China.
By attacking all the current schools of Confucianism as intellectual waste by the introduction of Social Darwinism, the Chinese intellectuals resulted in a great demand for new patterns of conceptualization to encompass and make comprehensible the profound and unprecedented situations China faced. It did reflects the psychological need to find something that can equate with their traditional beliefs, and also paved the way to the intrusion of western ideas in the later period.
The most significant impact of Social Darwinism was the debate over two different approaches to save China. After realizing the fact that China was in the critical time to survive, two schools of thought affected the Chinese intellectuals then. One is to have a complete reform under the Qing Government in order to save China. The representatives are Kang and Liang. After the failure of the Hundred Day's Reform, Liang proposed another way, which was to change the political system of China form, an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. Their will was to preserve the emperor-ruling condition in China. The other school of thought, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen was more radical. They proposed that the only way to save China was through revolution. By overthrowing the monarchy system of rule, China then would become a republic, which is a more American liked system of ruling. The two ideas dominated the Chinese thought since the introduction of Social Darwinism in 1895, and did has an influential effect to the Chinese history afterwards.
In conclude, Social Darwinism did have a great and significant impact on China. It shaped the thought of Chinese intellectuals, by introducing the concepts of universal evolution and struggle for survive. It stimulated the thinking of Chinese intellectuals, and altered the concept of Utopia from the past to future. Futuristic Utopianism was a new concept to the intellectuals and was proposed by Kang Youwei, since in traditional Confucius ideas they believed that Utopia was in the ancient past. The futuristic Utopianism was transformed into one of the most powerful ideological perspectives in modern China: millenarianism. It gave the hope to all Chinese that they are able to have a bright and pleasure future if they can work together to achieve such a Utopia.
David Wong Wing Chung
May 1998
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