Autobiographical Introduction

Contemporary Chinese Thought 34 (2):11-18 (2002)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

At that time [around 1916-17—Ed.], Cai Jiemin [Cai Yuanpei—Ed.] took office as president of Beijing University, and directed his efforts at breaking away from the school's stale and decayed atmosphere. The Xin qingnian zazhi operated by Chen Duxiu had ideological revolution as its main objective, and gradually drew the attention of the general public. And there was also the article entitled "Guoren zhi gongdu", published by Huang Yuanyong in Dongfang zazhi, which very bitterly castigated the roots of the maladies in China's ideological and academic circles. I was very much emboldened by the many unexpected views I encountered—views similar to my own haughty views that I had always kept well hidden. Although I had ventured to offer a few criticisms in the past, I was daunted by the oppressive force of traditional ideology, and I thought that the words of the ancients were perhaps not as simple as they appeared to me, or that there indeed were fallacies or errors in my observations. For instance, when I was taking exams at the Cun gu xuetang, and received a comment by the examinations official that "It is wrong to reproach Zheng [Xuan]"; I was constantly taking note of Zheng Xuan's fallacies, but I always felt a sort of respect for him … or [thought that] there were aspects about him that deserved respect but that these aspects had somehow escaped my attention. By this time, however, everyone was advocating ideological innovation. I myself began to acquire a perception of the need to get rid of old ways of thinking. I realized that it was precisely because scholars of the Qing dynasty had been bound by the old ideology of believing the ancients and venerating tradition that they had never dared to smash the idol that was Zheng Xuan, although their learning was a thousand time superior to his, and the encumbrances created by that idol had hindered their work of seeking the truth. And so I began to voice criticisms with greater courage and boldness.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 102,217

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

My Views on "Chinese Traditional Studies".Wang Xiaobo - 1999 - Contemporary Chinese Thought 30 (3):23-28.
Preface.Feng Yu-Lan - 1978 - Contemporary Chinese Thought 9 (3):3-11.
My Views on the "Old Three Classes".Wang Xiaobo - 1999 - Contemporary Chinese Thought 30 (3):78-82.
When Doctors Get It Wrong.Konrad Blair - 2015 - Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 5 (2):89-92.
Game Change.Maximo Cortez - 2015 - Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 5 (2):5-7.
The Wish.Nadia Khan - 2024 - Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 14 (2):91-93.
Finding My Compass.Laura Inter - 2015 - Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 5 (2):95-98.
The Third Period.Feng Youlan - 1982 - Contemporary Chinese Thought 13 (2-3):39-65.

Analytics

Added to PP
2010-12-11

Downloads
32 (#727,873)

6 months
6 (#737,793)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references