Classic Learning·Practical Learning·Western Learning

Cheng Benpu is one of the historical characters in China's modern history.In the modern context of dramatical social changes,his academic thought possesses not onlya strong traditional meaning but also a certain characteristics of the times.This paper starts monograhic studies on Cheng Benpu mainly in the background of modern social transition which is of a specific historical stage.It focuses on Cheng Benpu's academic thought of the Reform Movement and Qingmoxinzheng period as research objects(including practice),is based on Cheng Benpu's works of this period as the most basic materials and combines the comparison between the contemporary progressive people.Cheng Benpu's academic thought has its ideological origins.It is influenced by Huxiang cultural and academic environment,the statecraft tradition of the late Qing Dynasty,his teachers and friends,the introduction of the West learning as well as his family and his own experience.These interwoven factors broaden his academic perspective and lay the foundation of his academic tendency to adopting Han and Song and mastering the Chinese and Western,making his academic thinking show a clear awareness of statecraft and the all-embracing characteristics.As for the classic learning,Cheng Benpu's study for the thirteen classics emphasizes primarily on the "Book of Songs","Shangshu",three "rites" and "The Analects of Confucius".His explanation for them is relatively abundant,but for other classics relatively small.As far as the harutsune methods are concerned,although he has receiced the training of exegesis and textual research,he is more inclined to elucidate the philosophical connotations of clssic learning purport and elucidates the new purport and meaning by combining with the social needs at that time.Cheng's greatest feature of harutsune is that it isn't independent but adopts Han and Song, invokes the West to clssic learning and everything is based on the practical criteria, revealing the strong traditional academic characteristics of the transitional period. For the thought of practical learning,Cheng Benpu attaches great importance to the correlation between "study" and "governance" because of his suffering consciousness of anti-governance for chaos and helping the distressed.His ultimate goal for respecting and mastering clssic learning is also to put the rule theories into political realities,thus forming his academic orientation of dismissing the virtual and adoring the real and the practicality of statecraft.His thought about practical learning consists of the science of practical politics,covering politics, economy,ideology and culture and military fields.His thougt about practical politics is manifested specifically as follows:regulating government affairs, keeping the diplomatic relations between countries,creating the parliament to understand people' s condition;revitalizing technology,expanding commerce, instructing soldiers and encouraging farming;developing people's intelligence, creating schools,changing the old Chinese learning and introducing the new ideas, renovating military affairs and politics etc.From the viewpoint of the developmental meaning of Chinese statecraft practical learning,his thought about practical learning not only contains the content of the traditional statecraft science but also gives birth to some enlightenment elements of the modern new school, filled with the traditional and modern dual personality everywhere.For the West learning,Cheng Benpu realizes its superiority and believes that we must learn from the West to rejuvenate China and make China prosperous and strong.He firmly and rigidly understands,pursues and transmits the West learning and actively puts into academic practice.He has a relatively deep understanding for the western civilization after his specific observations and experience for the present state of the Western capitalist parliamentary democracy,the social economy and ideology and culture.His vision of the West learning is further expanded and has a more deep-seated grasp for the western countries' "foundation" underlying all efforts to build the country.He makes it concrete as parliamentary system,development of industry and commerce, freedom of expression,universal education,social customs and so on.To make our country strong and prosperous,he thinks,corresponding political system, economic strength,science and technological culture,customs and the people must complement each other.He persistently and sincerely seeks the truth from the West to save the country and actively introduces the West learning to serve the modern rescue activities.He can link with the pulse of the time and shout out the current needs among the people.At the same time Cheng Benpu also sees the serious crisis facing the traditional culture,so he strongly and consciously takes on the responsibility of defending Confucian culture,and in dealing with the relations between the Chinese and Western cultures,he still adheres to the line of thought of "Western sources".And he panegyrizes and has a soft spot for Confucianism which has been regarded as the official philosophy for over 2000 years.For him,Gangchang Norm and ethics of Confucianism is extremely perfect and never becomes obsolete.He just considers the West learning as materials and tools,as the anti-feudal supplementary in the feudal theoretical system.Therefore,he doesn't and isn't possible to break up with the traditional culture and his academic thought embodies the class and era limitations: respecting the ancient and adoring the Confucianism,and the insufficience of ideological views in depthGenerally speaking,Cheng Benpu's academic thought is all-embracing,based on clssic learning as and practicality,paying attention to the close integration of academy and the times.However,in the historical context of the modern social dramatical changes,culture has shown a new trend to replacing the old with the new. Cheng Benpu still insists on using the traditional academic concept to deal with the realistic dilemma,not only reflecting the statecraft consciousness of his thought but also exposing the conservativeness,pedantry and stubbornness.Therefore,he is the typical representative of the middle and small intellectuals deeply influenced by the Chinese and West academy in the period of the modern social transition.His academic thought is a link from the traditional academy to the modern new academy and its positive significance is greater than its negative impact.