루소 정치 사상의 전파 과정을 통해 본 중국 전통 사상과 서구 정치 사상의 교류와 소통

Abstract

Rousseau’s political thought represents characteristics that are distinct from the British Liberalism. Distinct from the British Liberalism based on the philosophical tradition of Empiricism, Rousseau focuses on the “forced to be free” environment that enables each individual to be free and to pursue the ideal. Rousseau’s political thinking had a profound influence on the French Revolution. And when introduced into China, his thought played an important role in late Qing thinkers’ search for revolutionary ideas. If so, in what ways did Liang Qichao, the most significant figure in importing Rousseau’s thought into China, adopt Rousseau’s thought and introduce it to the Chinese people? This study examines the ways in which Rousseau’s political thought was introduced into China and what the relationships were between his thinking and traditional Chinese thought. Focusing on the relationship between Rousseau’s thought and traditional Chinese thought, I also examine how contemporary Chinese thinkers understood Rousseau and on what grounds they either adopted or criticized his thought. By doing this, we can understand the entire process of importation, acceptance and transformation of Western thought, as the process of selective acceptance and creative transformation. First, I pay special attention to Liang Qichao insofar as he played a significant role in the spread of Rousseau’s thought in China. In order to understand the background of Liang Qichao’s thinking, I explore what his understanding of late Qing thought was, in what ways he received Rousseau’s political thought, and what were the aspects of ideological exchange in his introduction of Rousseau into China. Next, I compare Rousseau’s ethics with traditional Chinese ethics in the Yangming philosophy that was adopted by Liang Qichao and played an important role in the spread of Rousseau’s thought in China. By comparing the similarities and differences between the Chinese and Western ethics, I examine what the influence of traditional Chinese thought was upon Chinese intellectuals’ reception and transformation of Western political thoughts. Hence, this study explores the interplay and communication between the tradition and the modern.