Liang Ch'i-Ch'ao (now: Liang Qichao): "A People Made New"

From: W.T. DeBary, Sources of Chinese Tradition.

DeBary's introductory comments:

Liang Qichao, disciple of K'ang Yu-wei and his co-worker in the Reform Movement, escaped to Japan after the failure of K'ang's brief regime and there became perhaps the most influential advocate of reform in the years before the Revolution of 1911.  His writings, in a lucid and forceful style, dealt with a wide range of political, social, and cultural issues.  to thousands of young Chinese, studying abroad (most of them in Japan) or reading his books and pamphlets on the mainland, he became an inspiration and an idol--a patriotic hero, whose command of Chinese classical learning together with a remarkable sensitivity to ideas and trends in the West, gave him the appearance of an intellectual giant joining Occident and Orient, almost a universal man.

The fortnightly journal, A People Made New or A New People (Hsin-min tsung-pao), which Liang published in Yokohama from 1902 to 1905, showed a great change in his thinking.  He was now exposed far more to Western influences, and enormously impressed by Japan's progress in contrast to China's repeated failures.  Sensing the power of nationalism as the force which galvanized the Western peoples and the Japanese into action, realizing too the apathy and indifference of China's millions toward the abortive palace revolution of 1898 (as, indeed, toward all public affairs), Liang became fully convinced that popular education and the instillment of nationalism were China's greatest needs.  Everything in her past culture which seemed an obstacle to national progress was to be case aside.

Instead of reinterpreting Confucianism to find a sanction for progress, as he and K'ang had done earlier, Liang now put forward a new view of world history strongly colored by Social Darwinism: a struggle for survival among nations and races.  Evolution of this fierce, competitive sort, rather than an optimistic view of inevitable progress to the Grand Unity, became the spur to drastic reform; now he argued that institutional change itself could only be effected through a transformation of the whole Chinese way of life and particularly its morals, always considered the very essence of Confucianism.  Morality was now to serve "the interest of the group," national survival.

But if so much were to be surrendered to the West, what would remain as distinctively Chinese in the new nationalism? Liang's equivocations on this point are evident in the selections which follow.  There must be wholesale change, but what is good in China's past should still be preserved (there must, he insists, have been something of value in Chinese civilization which accounts for its survival, even if he cannot specify it here).  Clearly, however, Liang's nationalism is now bound up very little with pride in the past and far more with a compulsive hope in China's future progress.

The frustration of Liang's, and China's hopes is the story of the Republican era.  Liang's distaste for violence and his refusal to turn Chinese nationalism against the Manchus made him less suited than Sun Yat-sen to become a great revolutionary leader, and his almost unfailing gift for misjudged compromises stood him in poor stead, after his return from exile, in the rough and tumble Republican politics and warlordism.  In the 1920s, while the revolutionary tide of Sun and the Nationalists rose, Liang withdrew to semi-retirement as a patriarch still revered but little heeded.  Disillusioned with his own hopes, and viewing the West after the First World War as the victim of its own aggressiveness and acquisitiveness, he took what consolation he could from the superiority of Chinese civilization as an expression of "Eastern spirituality" in contrast to the materialism of the West--an idea which he was neither the first to expound in the new Asia nor the last.

A People Made New [From Hsin-min shuo, in Yin-ping shih wen-chi, t'se 12:36b, 40a, 40b, 41a, 47a-b; 12:32b-33b]

Since the appearance of mankind on earth, thousands of countries have existed on the earth.  Of these, however, only about a hundred still occupy a place on the map of the five continents.  And among these hundred-odd countries there are only four or five great powers that are strong enough to dominate the world and to conquer nature.  All countries have the same sun and moon, all have mountains and rivers, and all consist of people with feet and skulls; but some countries rise while others fall, and some become strong while others are weak.  Why? Some attribute it to geographical advantages.  But geographically, America today is the same as America in ancient times; why then do only the Anglo-Saxons enjoy the glory? Similarly, ancient Rome was the same as Rome today; why then have the Latin people declined in fame? Some attribute it to certain heroes.  But Macedonia once had Alexander, and yet today it is no longer seen; Mongolia once had Chingis Khan, and yet today it can hardly maintain its existence. Ah! I know the reason.  A state is formed by the assembling of people.  The relationship of a nation to its people resembles that of the body to its four limbs, five viscera, muscles, veins, and corpuscles.  It has never happened that the four limbs could be cut off, the five viscera wasted away, the muscles and veins injured, the corpuscles dried up, and yet the body still live.  Similarly, it has never happened that a people could be foolish, timid, disorganized, and confused and yet the nation still stand.  Therefore, if we wish the body to live for a long time, we must understand the methods of hygiene.  If we wish the nation to be secure, rich, and honored, we must discuss the way for the people's being "made new." [13:36b]

The Meaning of "A People Made New." The term "people made new" does not mean that our people must give up entirely what is old in order to follow others.  There are two meanings of "made new." One is to improve what is original in the people and so renew it; the other is to adopt what is originally lacking in the people and so make a new people.  Without one of the two, there will be no success...

A nation which can maintain itself in the world must have some peculiar characteristics on the part of its nationals.  From morals and laws down to customs, habits, literature, and fine arts, all share an independent spirit which has been handed down from the forefathers to their descendants.  Thus the group is formed and the nation develops.  This is really the fundamental basis of nationalism.  Our people have been established as a nation on the Asian continent for several thousand years, and we must have some special characteristics which are grand, noble, and perfect, and distinctly different from those of other races.  We should preserve these characteristics and not let them be lost.  What is called preserving, however, is not simply to let them exist and grow by themselves and then blithely say: "I am preserving them, I am preserving them." It is like a tree: unless some new buds come out every year, its withering away may soon be expected.  Or like a well: unless there is always some new spring bubbling, its exhaustion is not far away. [12:40a]

If we wish to make our nation strong, we must investigate extensively the methods followed by other nations in become independent.  We should select their superior points and appropriate them to make up our own shortcomings.  Now with regard to politics, academic learning, and techniques, our critics know how to take the superior points of others to make up for our own weakness; but they do not know that the people's virtue, the people's wisdom, and the people's vitality are the great basis of politics, academic learning, and techniques.  If they do not take the former but adopt the latter, neglect the roots but tend to the branches, it will be no different from seeing the luxuriant growth of another tree and wishing to graft its branches onto our withered trunk, or seeing the bubbling flow of another well and wishing to draw its water to fill our dry well.  Thus, how to adopt and make up for what we originally lacked so that our people may be made new, should be deeply and carefully considered. [12:40b]

All phenomena in the world are governed by no more than two principles: the conservative and the progressive.  Those who are applying these two principles are inclined either to the one or to the other.  Sometimes the two arise simultaneously and conflict with each other; sometimes the two exist simultaneously and compromise with each other.  No one can exist if he is inclined only to one. Where there is conflict, there must be compromise.  Conflict is the forerunner of compromise.

Those who excel at making compromises become a great people, such as the Anglo-Saxons, who, in a manner of speaking, make their way with one foot on the ground and one foot going forward, or who hold fast to things with one hand and pick up things with another.  Thus, what I mean by "a people made new" is not those who are infatuated with Western ways and, in order to keep company with others, throw away our morals, learning, and customs of several thousand years' standing.  Nor are they those who stick to old paper and say that merely embracing the morals, learning and customs of these thousands of years will be sufficient to enable us to stand upon the great earth. [12:41a]

On Public Morals.  Among our people there is not one who looks on national affairs as if they were his own affairs.  The significance of public morality has not dawned on us.  Examining into it, however, we realize that the original basis for morality lies in its serving the interests of the group.  As groups differ in their degree of barbarism or civilization, so do their appropriate morals vary.  All of them, however, aim at consolidating, improving, and developing the group...In ancient times some barbarians considered it moral to practice community of women, or to treat slaves as if they were not human beings.  And modern philosophers do not call it immoral because under the particular situation at the time that was the proper thing to do in the interests of the group.  Thus morality is founded on the interests of the group.  If it is against this principle, even the perfect good can become an accursed evil.  Public morality therefore the basis of all morals.  What is beneficial to the group is good; what is detrimental to the interests of the group is bad.  This principle applies to all places and to all ages.

As to the external features of morality, they vary according to the degree of progress in each group.  As groups differ in barbarism or civilization, so do their public interests and their morals.  Morality cannot remain absolutely unchanged.  It is not something that could be put into a fixed formula by the ancients several thousand years ago, to be followed by all generations to come.  Hence, we who live in the present group should observe the main trends of the world, study what will suit our nation, and create a new morality in order to solidify, benefit, and develop our group.  We should not impose upon ourselves a limit and refrain from going into what our sages had not prescribed.  Search for public morality and there will appear a new morality, there will appear "a people made new." [12:47a-b]

On Progress.  Generally, those who talk about a "renovation" may be divided into two groups.  The lower group consists of those who pick up others' trite expressions and assume a bold look in order to climb up the official hierarchy.  Their Western learning is stale stuff, their diplomacy relies on bribes, and their travels are moving in the dark.  These people, of course, are not worth mentioning.  The higher group consists of those who are worried about the situation and try hard to develop the nation and to promote well-being.  But when asked about their methods, they would begin with diplomacy, training of troops, purchase of arms and manufacture of instruments; then they would proceed to commerce, mining and railways; and finally they would come, as they did recently, to officers' training, police, and education.  Are these not the most important and necessary things for modern civilized nations? Yes.  But can we attain the level of modern civilization and place our nation in an invincible position by adopting a little of this and that, or taking a small step now and then? I know we cannot. [13:32b]

Let me illustrate this by commerce.  Economic competition is one of the big problems of the world today.  It is the method whereby the powers attempt to conquer us.  It is also the method whereby we should fight for our existence.  The importance of improving our foreign trade has been recognized by all.  But in order to promote foreign trade, it is necessary to protect the rights of our domestic trade and industry; and in order to protect these rights, it is necessary to issue a set of commercial laws.  Commercial laws, however, cannot stand by themselves, and so it is necessary to complement them with other laws.  A law which is not carried out is tantamount to no law; it is therefore necessary to define the powers of the judiciary.  Bad legislation is worse than no legislation, and so it is necessary to decide where the legislative power should belong.  If those who violate the law are not punished, laws will become void as soon as they are proclaimed; therefore, the duties of the judiciary must be defined.  When all these are carried to the logical conclusion, it will be seen that foreign trade cannot be promoted without a constitution, a parliament, and a responsible government.  Those who talk about foreign trade today blithely say, "O am promoting it, I am promoting it," and nothing more. I do not know how they are going to promote it.  The above is one illustration, but it is true with all other cases.  Thus I know why the so-called new methods nowadays are ineffectual.  Why? Because without destruction there can be no construction...What, then, is the way to effect our salvation and to achieve progress? The answer is that we must shatter at a blow the despotic and conduced governmental system of some thousands of years; we must sweep away the corrupt and sycophantic learning of these thousands of years. [12:33a-b]