Shuming Cultural Philosophy Of The Modern Position

With the inevitable process of modernization, modernity has being pursued for Chinese people for generations. In thinking about such issues as "Where will China goes?" and " In which way can China realize modernization?", Liang Shuming advocates his influential philosophy of culture.When pointing out the negative dimensions of intellectualism and utilitarianism in western culture, Liang criticizes its modernity and consequently refuses to totally deny traditional Chinese culture, whose value in effect is smartly affirmed in the theory of Three Approaches of Cultures, including that of Three Parallel Approaches of Cultures and that of Three Stages of World Cultures. This veils Liang's philosophy an air of itraditionalism and orientalism and easily leads to an interpretation that it is a theory of anti-modernity. This paper shows that it would be better to understand Liang's critique of western modernity is a kind of reflection. (1)Furthermore, it is paradoxical in some sense that Liang in effect shares with western modernity in his critique and reflection some theoretical premises and ways of thinking, such as progressism, cultural Darwinism, nationalism and holism. (2)Lastly, Liang's philosophy implies an understanding of Chinese modernity underlying the continuity between tradition and modern time, which is well embodied in his theory of cultural fusion in the deep level, i.e., advocating the fusion of western and eastern culture with the unique Confucian spirit of gang. (3)...