뉴스레터

Liang Qichao (梁啓超, 1873-1929) was born to a family of xiangshen (鄕紳) (a class in Chinese society that consists of those who, though qualified as government officials, choose to live in country, or retired officials or influential figures in country) in Xinhui (會新), Guangdong Province, the forefront of China's resistance against the Western powers' aggression, in 1873 (or Year 12 of Emperor Tongzhi's reign), 33 years after the First Opium War broke out and 10 years after the Taiping Rebellion was suppressed, a time when China was being shattered by the waves of Western influence sweeping into the country.

Facing a total crisis caused by the extremely shaken state system and the impact of Western influence in the beginning of the 19th century, Chinese intellectuals actively sought a change that would ensure their survival and save their country. The most sensitive to change were progressive intellectuals in the late 19th century, who established the political and ideological foundations of logic for coping with change, and also created a new ethos in culture as a whole. The most important progressive political forces and intellectuals during the 1880s and 1890s were none other than the Enlightenment intellectuals and reformists including Kang Youwei (康有爲) and Liang Qichao. They recognized the limitations of the anachronic conservatives and the concept of zhongti xiyong (中體西用: the case for adopting Western culture for practical purposes while using Chinese learning as the basic principle to follow) advocated by the pro-Western reformists, and realized that a more fundamental reform would be needed. This recognition was strengthened further when China lost the war with Japan (Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)), and it led to the formation of a kind of reformist/Enlightenment trend in society.

Seeks to Build a Strong Nation-State by Embracing Western Thought

Liang Qichao was a key figure of this trend who advocated reforms of the legislative system and society of the feudal society by embracing modern Western thoughts including social evolutionism, nationalism, and the Enlightenment as important principles of reform movement and building them on the academic and ideological foundations of the enlightening and future-oriented New Text Confuciansim with focus on Gongyang Zhuan (a commentary on Chunqiu) (今文公羊學). Specifically, he insisted on a total reform to build a rich and powerful nation-state modelled on the Western empire. But the reform initiated by Liang Qichao eventually failed, and he fled to Japan when the Hundred Days' Reform had ended in the Coup of 1898. But based on the lesson he learned from failure, he launched enlightenment campaigns for national reform across the board from academics to thought and culture. These campaigns were well received at that time, and their influence is still being felt today.

The superhuman ability with which Liang Qichao took the initiative in addressing and coping with modern China's needs of the times comes from the foundation of his studies focusing on literature, history, and philosophy. He was active in many fields of study, including political science, economics, social science, and pedagogy, and his extensive writings about his research results have been compiled into such titles as Collected Works from the Ice-Drinker's Studio (飮冰室專集) and Collected Essays from the Ice-Drinker's Studio (飮冰室文集). Since politics was important to his life, a large portion of his writings were critical essays on politics, and their influence on the public opinion was also considerable. Representative examples include: "Principle of Reform (變法通義)"; "On New People (新民說)"; "On Tracing the Source of China's Weakness (中國積弱溯源論)"; "On the New Rule That Destroys Other Countries (滅國新法論)"; and "On the Period of Transition (過渡時代論)." These essays mostly use the theory of evolution adopted from Western civilization and numerous Eastern and Western examples to make persuasive arguments as to why China needed reforms.

Discussion on Korean Affairs from the Perspectives of Sinocentrism and Nationalism

Introduced to the Korean press for the first time in early 1897, Liang Qichao's Enlightenment thought and endeavor for reform had a profound impact on Korean intellectuals as well. Many of his writings subsequently introduced to Korea resonated with Korean intellectuals as they empathized greatly with him about facing the impending devastation of his country by the imperialist powers but still calling for adopting Western culture and inspiring patriotism and the Enlightenment though his writings.

Liang Qichao also had extensive knowledge about, and showed keen interest in, Korea. Up to ten of his writings are focused on Korea (or Joseon). Most of them were published between 1904 and 1911, a period during which imperial Japan's occupation of Korea was being completed. It is especially worth noting that the 'fall of Korea' was the focus of his perception of Korea described in such writings as A Brief History of the Fall of Joseon (朝鮮亡國史略) (1904), The Reason for the Fall of Joseon (朝鮮滅亡之原因) (1910) and An Account of Japan's Annexation of Korea (日本倂呑朝鮮記) (1910). Liang Qichao criticized the China that was losing its so-called "vassal state" for lacking diplomatic strategy, and discussed Korean affairs from the perspectives of Sinocentrism and national imperialism out of concern for the future.

Liang Qichao also used poetry to that same end. For example, in his poem titled "Song of the Wisteria Falling Down in the Autumn Wind (秋風斷藤曲)" (1909), he sang about the historic event, where the Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun assassinated the Japanese Resident-General of Korea Ito Hirobumi, from the perspective of a third party, i.e. a protector of Korea and rival of Japan. Liang Qichao wrote this poem out of his respect for Ahn Jung-geun's resoluteness and bravery and his sympathy for Korea, mixed, at the same time, with his admiration and worship for the (Meiji) Restoration accomplished by Ito Hirobumi, as reflected in the poem's metaphorical and ambiguous title singing about the "wisteria (藤)" (being also one of the characters in Ito Hirobumi's surname) falling down in the autumn wind."

Liang Qichao's perception of Korea as described above was expressed in his feelings of loss and sadness because Korea was becoming no longer a "vassal state" of China, his rebuking of rival Japan for its strong-arm tactics despite his desire to learn about the Restoration, and his criticism of the disposition of the Korean ruling class and the character of the Korean People as the root causes of the fall of the country. Since his ultimate goal was to learn lessons needed to enlighten the Chinese people, he was not reluctant to use hyperbole or biased descriptions in criticizing the character of the Korean people. This seems likely to be due to the influence from some Japanese people's distorted views of Korea to which he was exposed during his exile in Japan. On the other hand, however, Liang Qichao made it clear, although in the context of describing how Korea had been subjected to China from ancient times, that Korea used to be divided into the three kingdoms of Koguryo, Baekje, and Silla before they were united into Goryeo, the dynasty that came before Joseon. At least he didn't make gar-fetched claims like the likes of the Northeast Project that Koguryo was not part of Korean history.