서세동점과 위원·엄복의 대응

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to examine the philosophy of Wei Yuan and Yan Fu who initially responded to the so-called 'the eastern penetration of western powers', which meant the invasion of Western imperialist powers to the East Asia containing China in the mid-19th century. I think there are the following problems in studying modern Chinese philosophy caused by 'the eastern penetration of western powers'. First, the historical trigger for modern Chinese philosophy is the 'Opium War', but it has not been clearly presented as to from whom it was originated. Second, it has been overlooked that Yan Fu carried out Wei Yuan's argument faithfully for the first time and Wei Yuan’s argument had a great influence on the origin of the subsequent development of Chinese philosophy and new Confucianism. Third, China's modern history or philosophy history is viewed from the perspective of one-sided 'acceptance of western culture' by 'the eastern penetration of western powers'. It is the content of this paper to explain these three questions. The content is that modern Chinese philosophy begins with Wei Yuan, who insisted on the proposition to 'learn the strong points of western barbarians and thereby to conquer them' in response to the 'the eastern penetration of western powers', and Yan Fu's method of acceptance of western culture for the first time faithfully carried out Wei Yuan's argument, which later influenced Chinese philosophy and new Confucianism greatly. Finally, it is revealed that the history of 'the eastern penetration of western powers' is not a one-sided 'acceptance of western culture', but a process of western Chineseization or the fusion of Chinese culture.