근대 전환기 중국의 문명 인식과 ‘天’ ‘國’ 관념 －담사동과 엄복을 중심으로－

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century, China was in the time of upheaval. The Chinese traditional civilization - in the political, economical, and cultural aspects - had been challenged by the new civilization introduced by the western countries. The traditional civilization started disintegrating and tried to find a way to look for something new positively. Chinese intellectuals admitted that the western civilization was superior to the Chinese one and made a goal to develop the Chinese civilization to the level of the western civilization. Their altered perspective toward civilization was caused by the current desperation and led to the change of their attitude - accepting the western thoughts and social and political systems. This thesis focuses on the change of Chinese perspective toward the early modern civilization and the change of ideas of “天” and “國” consequently. “天”and “國” are the Chinese political and social bases. Tan Si Tong and Yan Fu embraced “ether” and “social Darwinism” to define “天”, and criticized the norms and principles that had maintained the traditional state. It is necessary to study these disintegrated and redefining these traditional ideas in order to understand the process of the modernization of East Asia.