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Darwinism's Applications in Modern Chinese Writings

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Darwinism’s Applications in Modern Chinese Writings Submitted by Hsiu-Feng Chou to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English In January 2014 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 Abstract The core aim of this interdisciplinary research is to provide a critical analysis of the influence of Darwinism and Social Darwinism on a sample of modern Chinese writings. To achieve these aims, the researcher uses a range of both Chinese and English sources to explore their close affinities with Darwinism and Social Darwinism. Following this course, the research examines how Darwinian thought was introduced to the Chinese reading public in the late nineteenth century through a translation of Thomas Henry Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics by Yen Fu, and the subsequent impact of this work and Darwinian thought in general on seven literary and political figures: K'ang Yu-wei, Liang Qichao, Lu Xun, Hu Shih, Chen Duxiu, Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong. From an historical perspective, the Opium Wars and imperial invasions of China in the nineteenth century severely weakened the country’s political, economic, diplomatic, military, educational and cultural power. For these reasons and others, from 1840 to 1949, China experienced a tumultuous period of social and political transformation, which has eventually led to her revival in the twenty-first century. It will be seen that each of the literary figures examined here used evolutionary thought to justify revolution at various points on China’s long march to modernity. Progressive Darwinian ideas sharply contrasted with the old Confucian values upheld within Chinese communities. Nevertheless, the faults and weaknesses of Qing China awakened many pioneering revolutionaries who sought to reverse the status quo by initiating a series of radical reforms and revolutionary movements. Many within the Chinese intellectual elite looked to the tide of change and progress coming from the West, which they hoped might replace the recent historical stagnation and Confucian dogma embedded in Chinese culture and society. In this vein, many of these pioneering revolutionaries set about driving the historical transformation of China by selecting, translating and interpreting Darwinian ideas in their own writings. From Yen Fu in the nineteenth century to Mao Zedong in the twentieth century, evolutionary thought went hand in hand with China’s modernization. 2 Acknowledgements This research was begun during the international celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth in 2009. I would first like to thank Professor Regenia Gagnier whose invaluable expertise and strict supervision, as well as great patience have led me to my own constructive development during the period of my doctoral training at the University of Exeter. In addition, I would like to thank Dr Song Hwee Lim whose dialectical thought and critical opinions have contributed greatly to this study. Special thanks are also due to a number of scholars and teachers. I am thankful to Professor John Plunkett, Professor Angelique Richardson, Dr Paul Young and Dr Jane Poyner of the Department of English at Exeter, all of whom most kindly allowed me to observe their lectures; hence I am deeply gratified for their teaching, guidance and for their sharing of their scholarly manners and specialist knowledge with me. Furthermore, I am grateful to two examiners, Professor David Amigoni and Dr Ting Guo, for their comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank those staff at INTO University of Exeter who provided me with English language tuition and guidance on academic writing: Dr John Straker, Dr Edward Mullins and Mr Michael Hind. I myself, having been influenced by Yen Fu’s studying overseas in order to accomplish his historic mission in Qing China and Great Britain, have endeavoured to learn the main currents of Anglophone thought such that have interacted with Chinese thought in cross-cultural and historical contexts. I am obliged to thank the efficient librarians at Exeter whose systematic service and provision of resources in the Forum Library have made it possible for me to carry out my research on a variety of comfortable reading desks. Lastly, I deeply appreciate my mother Tsai-Hsing Chou for her love, will and encouragement from Taiwan, and also my twin brothers Ching-Yao Chou and Sung-Shun Chou for the logistical and financial assistance they have given me, as well as their benevolence towards my needs in England. 3 Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Contents 4 List of Illustrations 7 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Research Objectives 8 1.2 Dissertation Outline 11 1.3 Literature Review 16 1.4 Turning Points in the Eight Leaders’ Historic Reflections 25 1.5 Western Evolutionary Thought in China 46 1.6 Conclusion 67 Chapter 2 Initial Interaction between Darwinism and Chinese Intellectuals 2.1 Introduction 69 2.2 K’ang Yu-wei’s One World in Ta T’ung Shu 74 2.3 Liang Qichao and Darwinian Philosophy 83 2.4 The New Culture Movement 88 2.5 The May Fourth Movement 95 2.6 The Evolution of Modern Chinese Literature 99 2.7 Conclusion 110 Chapter 3 Yen Fu’s Tripartite Roles in Tien-yen Lun 3.1 Introduction 112 4 3.2 Huxley’s Ethical Arguments on Evolution 113 3.3 The Translator as Social Engineer 126 3.4 The Translator as Commentator 132 3.5 The Translator as Philosopher 139 3.6 Conclusion 146 Chapter 4 Lu Xun as Storyteller: The Evolution of Life and Cultural Selection for Social Metamorphoses 4.1 Introduction 148 4.2 Between Evolution and the Liberation of Thought 153 4.3 The Story of Evolution and Its Philosophers 161 4.4 Lu Xun’s Cultural Selection and Chinese Characteristics 174 4.5 Conclusion 190 Chapter 5 Hu Shih and Chen Duxiu: Evolution and the Chinese Literary Revolution 5.1 Introduction 192 5.2 Evolutionary Thought in Ancient China 194 5.3 Hu Shih on the Literary Revolution 201 5.4 Chen Duxiu on the Literary Revolution 212 5.5 Conclusion 221 Chapter 6 Sun Yat-sen’s Thoughts on Evolution and Mutual Aid 6.1 Introduction 223 6.2 Sun Yat-sen and Darwinism 226 6.3 Nationalism and Natural Selection 232 5 6.4 Sun Yat-sen’s Evolutionary Concept and Kropotkin’s Theory of Mutual Aid 235 6.5 Sun Yat-sen’s View on Cosmic Evolution 239 6.6 The Great Harmony in the Utopian World 241 6.7 Conclusion 246 Chapter 7 Mao Zedong’s Thoughts on Social Evolution and Dialectics 7.1 Introduction 248 7.2 Mao Zedong’s Poems: War and the Struggle for Existence 250 7.3 Mao Zedong and Social Darwinism 264 7.4 Dialectics in Evolution and Beyond 269 7.5 Conclusion 284 Chapter 8 Conclusions: the Wheel Diagram 286 Glossary 292 Bibliography 303 6 List of Illustrations Fig. 1 A set of six British Charles Darwin stamps Fig. 2 An Italian Charles Darwin stamp Fig. 3 Yen Fu’s preface to Tien-yen Lun Fig. 4 A stamp of Kiaochow Fig. 5 The Youth Magazine Fig. 6 New Youth Magazine Fig. 7 On the afternoon of 4 May 1919, thousands of students rallied in Tiananmen Square to protest against the Shandong issue. Fig. 8 Characteristic features of the Four Ways of Evolution in Huxley’s debates Fig. 9 Characteristic features of various philosophical perspectives or religious beliefs in the ethical process Fig. 10 A commemorative postage stamps bearing the couplet which was released on the fifteenth anniversary of Lu Xun’s death. Fig. 11 A quartet of US postage stamps commemorating Sun Yat-sen and Abraham Lincoln: the legend reads, ‘of the People, by the People and for the People’. Fig. 12 A sample of Sun Yat-sen’s handwriting concerning human evolution and the World of Datong Fig. 13 Mao Zedong’s Gold Statue and his poem in the background Fig. 14 Evolution, reform and revolution 7 Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Research Objectives This dissertation examines the dissemination of Western evolutionary thought in modern China. The key focal point is the far-reaching consequences of interdisciplinarity and cross-cultural exchange in initial interactions between Darwinism, or Social Darwinism, and Chinese intellectuals during both the late Qing Dynasty1 and the early years of the Republican era. In other words, the impact of Darwinism in modern China will be studied here not only in terms of its theory and translation; it will also be discussed in relation to biology, politics, culture, history, religion, aesthetics, philosophy, language, war, human nature and sociology among other things. With that in mind, it should be noted that Darwin himself was a model researcher whose quest for truth throughout his life greatly influenced the development of many academic fields from the nineteenth century up to the present day. Accordingly, this study will embark on an indisciplinary programme of research with the goal of responding to the research objectives and questions outlined below. 1 The late Qing period, it could be claimed, stretched between 1840 and 1911. Many Chinese academic works have focused on this period, which approximately encompasses the seventy years prior to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. The so-called ‘late Qing’ period seems to be marked, from one side to the other, by China’s fragility following the First Opium War (1839- 42) and Sun Yat-sen’s Nationalist Revolution of 1911 (The Xinhai Revolution).
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