Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application facts for kids
The idea of "Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application" (simplified Chinese: 中体西用; traditional Chinese: 中體西用; pinyin: zhōngtǐ xīyòng) was first suggested by Feng Guifen in 1861. This happened after the Second Opium War. At that time, important Chinese thinkers were trying to figure out how to deal with the threat from Western countries.
Feng Guifen believed China should become stronger and build more industries. To do this, he thought China should use Western technology and military ideas. However, he also felt it was important to keep China's main Neo-Confucian principles. Later, Zhang Zhidong further developed these ideas in 1898. He called it "Traditional (Chinese) learning as substance, New (Western) learning as application." The phrase “Zhongti xiyong” became a popular saying during the late Qing Dynasty reforms, like the Self-Strengthening Movement and the Hundred Days' Reform. This idea was very common among thinkers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is still important today when people study the cultural relationship between China and the West.
Contents
Why This Idea Came About
After the First Opium War (1839-1842) between Britain and China, a scholar named Wei Yuan said that China should learn how to build ships and make weapons from the West. He believed this would help China stop foreign invaders. He wrote about this in his book Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms in 1843.
In the late 1800s, there was a big discussion in China. People wondered how the country could survive threats from foreign powers and become modern. As the Qing Dynasty government grew weaker, two main groups of thinkers appeared:
- Conservatives: These thinkers did not believe modern military methods were useful.
- Progressionists: These thinkers wanted to adopt not only Western technology but also Western political systems, like parliaments.
Zhang Zhidong's Idea
Zhang Zhidong (1837-1909) proposed "Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application" in his 1898 book Quanxue Pian ("Exhortation to Learning"). His idea was seen as a way to bring together the conservative and progressionist views.
Zhang said that China needed to keep its traditional Confucian values as the foundation of society. If Western ideas were accepted, he believed they should only be used to make society stronger, especially the military. This was important because European countries were becoming more powerful in China after the First Opium War.
Some scholars thought Zhang's "Chinese substance" idea was too traditional and only supported old Chinese ways. Others saw it as a positive step. They believed it opened the door for China to learn from the West and become more modern.
Debates on This Idea
The Reformers' View
After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, a group called the Reformers suggested a new idea: "the Integration of China and the West." This was different from the original "Chinese Substance, Western Application" idea.
Scholar Yan Fu said that Chinese learning and Western learning each have their own core and uses. He believed that if you keep them separate, they both make sense. But if you try to mix them completely, they both lose their meaning.
Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and other members of the Hundred Days' Reform also wanted to go beyond the limits of "Chinese substance." They tried to adopt Western political systems, industrial ways, and capitalism.
Liang Shuming's Thoughts
The Chinese philosopher Liang Shuming (1893-1988) did not agree with "Chinese Substance, Western Application." He believed that culture was a complete expression of one basic human attitude. So, he thought it was hard to simply mix Chinese and Western cultures.
Liang was a strong supporter of Chinese culture. He felt that Chinese and Western cultures were not truly compatible. Chinese culture focused on understanding moral principles and human nature. Western culture, with its focus on freedom and rights, came from different ideas.
However, Liang eventually said that China should "completely accept" Western culture. He believed that only Western science and technology could solve China's problems. In his book Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies, he argued that if China wanted to use Western science and government, it also had to adopt Western culture. He concluded that China should "completely accept Western culture while fixing its mistakes."
Western Substance, Chinese Application
In 1986, Chinese scholar Li Zehou wrote an article called “Random Thoughts on ‘Western Learning as Substance, Chinese Learning for Application’”. He turned the original idea around.
Li Zehou argued that the real lives of people, how things are made, and the economy should be considered the "substance" or foundation. He said that "substance" includes both making physical goods and creating ideas. Science and technology, which are key to society's growth, are part of this "substance." He believed that Chinese "application" should include using Western "substance" as well as Chinese traditional culture.
Unlike Zhang Zhidong, who saw "substance" and "application" as two separate things, Li Zehou believed they were two parts of the same issue. This meant that for him, modernization was also about becoming more Chinese.
Criticisms
Fang Keli criticized Li's idea, saying it was "an old idea in a new disguise." Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo also disagreed with Li Zehou. Liu believed that beauty came from conflicts, not harmony. He argued that to rebuild Chinese character, China needed to reject old traditional ideas completely. Liu felt that Li Zehou was trying to bring back old Chinese traditions that he saw as controlling.
Related Social Events
The Taiping Rebellion
In the 1800s, The Taiping Rebellion was seen by some as a negative example of mixing Western ideas with Chinese ones. The Taiping Rebellion was a group that had some Christian beliefs but also acted like a peasant army with ideas of equality from the West.
Hundred Days' Reform of 1898
Reformers like Kang Youwei tried to change China's government and education system using Western models. They connected these reforms to Confucian traditions, even saying that Confucius himself would have supported such changes.
May Fourth Movement
Important figures like Cai Yuanpei wanted to bring in new ideas, like Marxism. They tried to find a balance between Chinese culture and new "Western Learning." However, some radical thinkers in the May Fourth Movement rejected both old (Confucianism) and new (Marxism) traditions. They called for "complete Westernization" in a new way.
See also
- Essence-Function (體用)
- 东学西渐
- 西学东渐
