| This thesis tries to analyze the Japanese involvement in the shaping of Liang Qichao's concept about modern nation. From this perspective, it explores the contents ofLiang's views about modern nation. It specifies his ideas on modern nation, civiliansand the relationship between the two, and reveals the historical significance of Liang'sconcepts of nation and their influence on Chinese society.The first part gives a general introduction on the shaping of Liang Qichao'sconcept on Nation, reviews recent status of research about the relationship betweenLiang's thoughts and Japan and lastly points out the significance of further study onLiang's thoughts on nation.The body part is divided into four chapters as follows:Chapter One explores Chinese awakening of nation concept. Throughinvestigating Liang Qi chao's family history, personal experience and historicalcircumstances of China in the 1890s, this part gives Liang's early thoughts on nation,which are the base of his later mature concept.In Chapter Two, after "Wuxiu Reform", Liang Qichao studied the west bystudying Japanese books and he was influenced greatly by Japanese enlighteningthoughts. Liang read a great number of works by Japanese enlightening philosophers,and learned Rousseau's liberalism from the Japanese translation by "JapaneseRousseau"—Nakae Chomin, hence the shaping of his thoughts on concept of nationbased on the theories of reforming civilian and fighting for national independence.Chapter Three explores the transformation of Liang Qichao's concepts on nationafter his travel to America. Liang discovered the defects of democratic institution andsuspected the compatibility of such a western liberalism into Chinese society. Liangstarted to pay more attention to the influential theories on state by Bluntschli indeveloping Japan into a great power, thus he started to stand off Rousseau and insteadapproached the thoughts of Bluntschli.Chapter Four reveals the historical significance of Liang Qichao's concepts onnation. His thoughts exerted far-reaching influence on further exploration on nationconcept for Chinese intellectuals, on the transformation of Chinese social thoughts, onthe development of Chinese modern education, and on the future practice of importanthistorical figures in developing old China.The last part concludes the main ideas of the thesis, and proposes the influentialfactors shaping Liang Qichao's concepts on modern nation as an implement to theearly discussion. |
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