The Sociological Analyse On The Transmission Of The Theory Of Evolution In Modern China

After the Opium War, there have been introductions about the Theory of Evolution. But it didn't transmit widely in China until the publishment of Yan Fu's book the Theory of Evolution. On the basis of summarizing the developing situation of the Theory of Evolution in the western countries and briefly reviewing its transmitting processes in china, the author tried to analyze the reasons why the Theory of Evolution transmitted in China and its influences on China from the view of sociology. It indicated that, the reasons were as following: first, it met the need of saving the country; second, it complied with the Ideological Trend of Scienticism; third, the weakness of the social control of modern china provided a very pleasant environment for its transmitting. As the influences of the theory of evolution on China, the author began his analyses from two aspects, that were, positive and negative. Its positive influences are: it roused the spirit of the Chinese nation, it destroyed the doctrine of "Nature dose not change, nor dose Tao", and it broke the cycle of the cyclical theory. The negative influences lies in two aspects: it intensified the Utilitarianism of China; it led to the descent of Chinese morality.