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Socialism, Marxism and Communism in the Thought of Hu Han-Min

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Socialism, Marxism and Communism in the Thought of Hu Han-Min SOCIALISM, MARXISM AND COMMUNISM IN THE THOUGHT OF HU HAN-MIN David Peter Barrett Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies May 1978 ProQuest Number: 10672909 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672909 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT In the history of republican China, Hu Han-min played an important role both in its political affairs and in its intellec­ tual life. This study concentrates on Hu’s political and social thought, with the emphasis on the period from 1919 to 1927. From the time he joined Sun Yat-sen’s nationalist movement in 1905, until his death in 1936, Hu devoted his intellectual energies to the study of the varieties of western socialism. In 1919 he wrote an important series of articles for the Shanghai periodical Chien-she on the materialist conception of history. This represented one of the first comprehensive discussions of this aspect of Marxism to be presented in China. Hu followed with articles interpreting Chinese cultural and social history through the application of historical materialism. During the 1920s, Hu was concerned primarily with political activities. This was the time of the United Front between Sun’s nationalist party, the Kuomintang, and the recently founded Chinese Communist Party. Hu initially supported this alliance for the Soviet support that it brought the Kuomintang. However, he altered this position because growing Soviet influence in China threatened the nationalist movement, and because the Chinese Communist Party threatened rural China with social revolution. As a result, Hu took a prominent part in bringing about the termination of the United Front. Hu ’s hostility to the Communist Party did not imply a simi­ lar attitude towards Marxist theory, Hu maintained an interest in it. His main work in the last years of his life lay in building Sun Yat-sen’s theories into a system which was capable of counteracting Marxism. The results of this venture were mixed, but Hu’s exposition of Sun Yat-senism reveals much about the strengths and weaknesses of Kuomintang doctrine. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE P A G E ...................... ............................... 1 ABSTRACT .......................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................. 6 I COMMITMENT TO THE NATIONAL REVOLUTION.........................7 The Intellectual Career of Hu Han-Min: An Introduction .......................................... 7 Early Years and Formative Influences..................... 11 Dedication to the T ’ung-meng Hui.......................... 21 The Frustrations of the Republic..........................29 II THE SOCIAL REFORMISM OF THE T ’UNG-MENG H U I ................. 41 Introduction: Hu Han-min and Min-pao. ............ 41 The Min-pao Programme: State Socialism and Land Equalization ................................... - 4 2 The Limits of Social Change ............... 55 Political Revolution, Social Reform .................... 65 III HISTORICAL MATERIALISM AND ITS INTERPRETATION...............68 The Context of the May Fourth Movement................... 68 The Introduction of Marxism into China. ................. 74 The Founding of Chien-she .......... 83 The Background to Hu’s Marxism............................ 86 Economic Determinism and Human Will . ................. 97 Class Struggle and the Mode of Production ...... 106 Historical Materialism and Ethics ...................... 114 The Historical Materialism of Hu Han-min................121 3 4 IV THE REASSESSMENT OF THE GHINESE PAST....................... 124 Preliminary Guidelines................................... 124 Historical Periodization and the Well-Field System ............................. 127 The Philosophical Response of the Late Chou: The Three Schools ....................................... 142 The ChTin-Han Divide: Politics Dominates Philosophy ........................ 154 The Tasks of the Present.................................162 Historical Materialism and the Chinese P a s t ............169 V THE LESSONS OF THE UNITED FRONT ............................174 Introduction: The Significance of the United Front Period .................................... 174 Background to the United Front: 1920-1923 ............. 176 The First Year of the United Front: Janury 1924-March 1925................................. 182 The Political Eclipse of Hu Han-min: Mar ch-Sept ember 1925............. 195 The Russian Experience: October 1925-March 1926 ............................... 206 Retirement from and Return to Political Life: April 1926-August 1927................................. 225 VI A NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY FOR C H I N A .................... 238 Introduction: The Legacy of Sun Yat-sen ....... 238 Sun Yat-sen, Maurice William and the Principle of Livelihood . ............................ 240 Hu Han-min on Marx, Lenin and the CC P .................. 251 The Kuomintang and the Masses .......................... 259 The Exposition of Sun Yat-senism........................ 264 Last Reflections on Marxism and Sun Yat-senism. 274 The Limitations of KMT Ideology ........................ 283 5 VII CONCLUSION: THE CAREER AND THOUGHT OF HU HAN-MIN. 290 Political Power and Political Exile: 1928-1936 ............................................ 290 An Assessment of the Political Thought of Hu Han-min ......................................... 297 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................ 305 FOOTNOTES . ...............................................306 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................ 346 Chinese Language Sources.............................. 346 Western Language Sources.............................. 353 GLOSSARY........■ ...........................................362 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of researching and writing a thesis, one finds that there are so many people who enter into it through the friendship and encouragement they give. Their support is deeply appreciated. Here it is possible, though, to single out only those whose contribution has been of a more immediate nature in the writing and production of this work. I would like to thank Lolan Grady, Ray Wylie and Christine Smith for encouragement and assistance they have given. At this point, I should also express my appreciation to the Canada Council for the grants which under­ wrote my research. In the production of the manuscript Linda 0 !Grady typed the first half. The Chinese characters are in the hand of William Zao (Ts’ao Wei-yuan) of McMaster University. There are three other people I must single out for special attention for the roles they have played in this work. First, Professor Jack Gerson of the University of Toronto has been a friend and mentor over the past several years. He has also offered many valuable comments on the manuscript. Secondly, Virginia Robeson has been instrumental in bringing the manuscript to completion. The second half of it has been typed by her. Much more important than this, however, have been the always excellent editorial suggestions she has provided. •Finally, I must express my gratitude to Professor Stuart Schram for his supervision of this thesis. His suggestions for the interpretive possibilities in Hu Han-min’s thought have been essential to the development of this work. As important as this, however, have been the patience and encouragement he has displayed while this thesis has been in the writing. I must express my greatest appreciation to him. 6 CHAPTER X COMMITMENT TO THE NATIONAL REVOLUTION The Intellectual Career of Hu Han-min: An Introduction The lifetime of the Chinese political activist and thinker Hu Han-min fell during one of the most critical periods in the history of China. Born in 1879 Hu came of age in the last years of the nineteenth century, a time when China was experiencing attacks on its traditional culture of an intensity and nature never before experienced. In those years the last illusions held by the imperial government that it could ignore the West were dispelled. Then, in 1911, came the disintegration of that political system. This was followed within a few years by the virtual fragmentation of the nation itself. At the same time the age-old Confucian social system which had been the underpinning of the imperial order finally fell victim to the repeated critical assaults directed at it, perishing ultimately because it was basically irrelevant to the modern age. The question which faced the men of Hu’s generation was what should replace the former Confucian social and political structure. Until his death in 1936 Hu grappled with this fundamental problem of how to construct a strong, unified and socially just nation. It was evident to Hu, and to many of his contemporaries, that there was no way in which the old culture could be revitalized 7 8 to contend with the pressures of the industrialized
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