HU SHI: A CHINESE PRAGMATIST AND REFORMIST KOK CHUNG HOU THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON JANUARY 1998 ProQuest Number: 10672735 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely ev e n t that the author did not send a co m p le te 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 10672735 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 o d e Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346 Abstract The name Hu Shi (1891-1962) would inevitable arise in the minds of scholars and students of Chinese intellectual history who wish to trace the development of Chinese modern thinking which encompasses such ideas as scientific attitude, democracy, cultural criticism and freedom of speech. Although studies on Hu are quite abundant, it is obvious that more profound research has yet to be done, especially since a prodigious amount of primary sources has appeared in recent years. This dissertation has three objectives: (1) to show that Hu’s thought was more complicated than had been reviewed; (2) to analyse the contribution and limitation of his Pragmatic approach to Chinese scholarship and politics; (3) to explore the dilemmas and mental tensions of Hu both as a intellectual and a scholar. My study will first provide a brief account of Hu’s education in China and in America with emphasis on Hu’s adoption of Pragmatism. Then I shall recount how Hu spearheaded the New Cultural Movement by his application of Pragmatic and scientific approaches to the Literary Revolution and the reform of Chinese scholarship. The “scientism” in Hu’s thought is illustrated in Chapter III, which will be followed by a discussion on Hu’s predicament in his effort to integrate the concept of “use” (yong) of Chinese classical philosophy into his Pragmatism and how he used “scientific method” as an excuse to justify his textual research. I shall also argue that although Hu was apparently a leading advocator of Westernisation, he was indeed profoundly imbued in Chinese philosophical legacy. The last two chapters will focus on Hu’s dilemmas as a political critic and the ideological conflicts between his political stand and that of Chinese Communists and explain why the conflict could be said to be part of the definition of Pragmatism. Nevertheless, my study will attempt to prove that, ultimately, Hu’s career as scholar and thinker was determined by the course of modern Chinese history that was beyond his capability to alter. 3 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 5 A Note on Romanisation and Translation 7 Abbreviation 8 Introduction 9 Chapter I The Education of Hu Shi 21 Chapter II The Reconstruction of Literature and Philosophy: Hu Shi as a Paradigmatic Thinker 53 Chapter III From Pragmatism to Scientism 90 Chapter IV Scientific Method and the “Usefulness” of Classical Studies 129 Chapter V A Frustrated Pragmatist: Hu Shi and Chinese Cultural Traditions 170 Chapter VI A Beleaguered Reformist: Hu Shi’s Experience in Politics 207 Chapter VTI Problems vs Isms: Hu Shi and Chinese Communism 260 Conclusion 298 Appendix A Chronological List of the Principal Events in Hu Shi’s Life 309 Appendix B Glossary 313 Bibliography 319 4 Acknowledgements This project would not have reached its completion without the generous assistance of many people whom I would like to thank. First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor Dr. Henry. Y. H. Zhao for his unfailing guidance, patience and encouragement. I would also like to express my appreciation to Professor Hugh Baker for giving me valuable suggestion amidst his burden of administrative duties. I would also like to thank Dr. Andrew Lo for his careful reading of my manuscript and for his critical and constructive comments. Many friends and teachers have commented on all or part of the project. My friend Dr. Ho Khai Leong at National University of Singapore and my former supervisor at University of Malaya Dr. Lim Chang Mee have patiently gone over the first draft of the manuscript and provided precious suggestions. I would also like to express my appreciation to Professor Liu Tsun-yan, Professor Cheng Ming-li and Dr. James Chin for their valuable suggestions for improving certain aspects of the draft. I am also deeply grateful to Professors Yu Ying-shih, Liu Mengxi, Liu Zaifu, Zhou Weiming, Tang Lingling, Wong Yun Wah, Tay Lian Soo and Ang Tian Se for their helpful invaluable advice. I must thank my employer, University of Malaya, for offering me scholarship for my study programme in the United Kingdom. The project would not have been possible without the support and assistance of my colleagues at University of Malaya especially Professor Cheng Gek Nai, Dr. Lim Chooi Kwa, Miss Seng Yan Chuan in the Department of Chinese Studies and Miss Agnes Yeow in the Department of 5 English Studies. Last, but not least, thanks are also due to my wife Mooi Lang, to whom my gratitude is more than words can describe. 6 A Note on Romanisation and Translation Except those which are well-known in the West by different systems of romanisation, all personal or place names are romanised according to the pinyin system. However, when other systems is used for a Chinese word in a quotation from an English text, the original romanisation is kept. As for the quotation from Hu Shi’s works, if the title in the footnote first appears in English, the quotation is taken from Hu’s own English writing. Otherwise the quotation is taken from his text in Chinese, and the English quotation is my translation. The same principle applies to quotation from others unless the translator is indicated. 7 Abbreviations Used in the Footnotes and Bibliography DLPL: Z)w// Pinghm (Independent Critics) HSSXJ: 77// 5/?/ Shuxin Ji (Letters of Hu Shi). Beijing: Beijing Daxue Chubanshe, 1996. HSZPJ: 77// 67?/' Zuopin Ji (Collected Works of Hu Shi), 37 vols. Taipei: Yuanliu Chuban Gongsi, 19S6. KSZZ: Hu Shi Koushu Zizhuan (The Oral Autobiography of Hu Shi), translated with notes by Tang Degang. Taipei: Zhuanji Wenxue Chubanshe, 1983. LWSXX: Hu Shi Laiwang Shuxin Xuan (Selected Correspondences of Hu Shi), 3 vols. Hong Kong: Zhonghua Shuju, 1983. LXRJ: Hu Shi Liuxue Riii (Hu Shi’s Diary while Studying Abroad), 4 vols. HSZPJ, vol. 34-37* NPCB: Hu Shizhi Xiamheng Nictnpu Changbian Chugao (First Draft of an Extended Chronology of the Life of Hu Shi), 10 vols. Taipei: Lianjing Chuban Shiye Gongsi, 1984. RJSGB: Hu Shi de Riji Shougaoben (The Diary of Hu Shi, photographic reproduction of the original manuscript and unpaginated), 18 vol. Taipei: Yuanliu Chuban Gongsi, 1990. SSZS: Sishi Zishu (Autobiography at Forty). HSZPJ, vol. 1. YGJMCSX: Hu Shi Yigaoji Micang Shuxin (Collected Writings and Letters of Hu Shi, photographic reproduction of the original manuscript), 42 vols. Hefei: Huangshan Shushe, 1994. Z7ZG Ziyou Zhongguo (Free China) Introduction i Hu Shi was one of the most generally recognised leader of the May Fourth Movement.1 Any student of modern Chinese intellectual history would have no choice but to deal with his thoughts. Even before his return from his Ph.D study in the United States in 1917, Hu had already been a national figure. From the time of the May Fourth Movement until the take-over of Mainland China by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP hereafter) in 1949, he exerted a steady influence on Chinese thought. Even in semi-retirement in Taiwan or after his death, he cast a long shadow over the cultural life on both sides of the Taiwan straits. :On 4 May 1919, a student demonstration broke out in Beijing as a consequence of the unequal treatment of the China by the world powers during the Paris Conference. The nation-wide protests and demonstrations that followed soon brought together the intellectual, social, cultural, and political activities that existed prior to the student demonstrations under the loosely-defined term, the “May Fourth Movement.” According to Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement period “may be reasonably defined as 1917-1921 inclusive, which period may be divided into two phases separated by the May Fourth Incident proper. During the first phase, some new intellectuals concentrated on instilling their ideas in the students and youth of China. During the second phase an all-out attack on tradition and conservatism was launched principally by students, and the movement was carried beyond purely intellectual circles.” Chow Tse-tsung: The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960), p. 6. The May Fourth Movement also has been referred to by several other names, such as the “New Culture Movement,” the “Renaissance,” and the “Chinese Enlightenment.” Each name implies a particular historical interpretation regarding the nature and significance of the movement. For a brief discussion on these names, see Ying-shih Yu: “The Radicalisation of China in the Twentieth Century,” Daedalus 122. 2 (Spring 1993): 130-131. 9 Hu was appointed professor at Beijing University in 1917 and was one of the main contributors to the most important magazine of the May Fourth Movement New Youth (Xin Oingnian). In 1922, he established Endeavour (Nidi) which marked the beginning of his role as an important political critic.