The Study Of Pan Guangdan’s Nationalism Thoughts (1922-1949)

Pan Guangdan was a famous social scientist, education expert and eugenics studyexpert in China. Pan Guangdan was an intellectual after May4thMovement. When hewas young attending school, he was baptized by the May4thMovement, and alsoexperienced an unprecedented period of national crisis. After graduation from TsinghuaSchool, he went to the United States accepting western modern education and studiedeugenics. During his study time, he combined the physical aspect and culture tightly.Meanwhile, scientifically, he made a theoretical analysis according to the actualsituation of Chinese during that special time. Throughout his academic ideas, they arewith a care of the richness of nationalism.The first chapter talks about the development of Pan Guangdan’s thoughts onnationalism, which is about the origination of theory and the real situation. The sourcemodern Chinese nationalism of ideological theory mainly had three forms. First, it isinter-banded by the traditional forces; second, exhaustive social change; third, toachieve modernization needs one nation’s self improvement. The first two points haveobvious political significance and the third point is special with its methodology. PanGuangdan was growing up after the May4thMovement, he received systematiceducation of Confucian before going abroad for preparatory education with wellgrounded knowledge. He chose eugenics as his major when he was in the U.S for hisstudy. After returning to China, he experienced the Anti-Japan War and the liberationwar. The plight of the social influence made Pan Guangdan’s scientific idea keepingchanging. Pan Guangdan’s theory, no matter what the social stage was, its valueorientation and fundamental demands were based on national interests.The second chapter talks about Pan Guangdan’s previous academic thoughtsincluding race competition and national healthy birth. Pan Guangdan, using relatedwestern modern national theory, analyzed modern national situation in China, andconcluded that the modern Chinese nation was with a lot of problems. Then, under theguidance of “eugenics" theory, he demonstrated the improvement on one nation’spersonality. He tried to prove that, to make one nation stronger needs to bring thecongenital up to full strength.Chapter3talks about the consideration of the family “ethical” and the “nation”.Pan Guangdan’s ideology began to turn to the research on the relationship amongfamily ethics. First of all, Pan Guangdan pointed out that there were issues existed inChina’s families. Then, he demonstrated that to construction the new ethics has certainsignificant to the national “Renaissance”. Only with the construction of newdemocratization of ethics can contribute to the progress of the whole nation.Chapter4is on the topic of education and saving the country. Pan Guangdan suggested that the education of humane quality after birth was the key to nationalrejuvenation. The core of Pan Guangdan’s education thoughts was the self-criticism ofeugenics so that later the education of national quality was the important cognition tothe issue of saving the country. At the same time, the crisis of the country and educationwere closely related, which assured that after the humanism played an important role innational revival, naturally, education became the spotlight. But the true meaning ofeducation hadn’t been found, it was a question that what the real goal of China’smodern education was. To set education’s target should be closely linked with the fateof its country.In Chapter5, author thinks that, Pan Guangdan’s nationalism was a rational andconstantly self-developed theory centered by nation. At the same time, it also hadcertain historical limitations. With “eugenics” as the center of nationalism, it showedthat it overemphasized the influence of national character on the biological inheritance.Secondly, it is not difficult to see that, modern Chinese intellectuals to the constructionof the national state still had some dreams. In such a historical situation, Pan Guangdanacclaimed that, strengthening physical endowment was the first national guarantee tothe prosperity of one nation. Meanwhile, it emphasized the ethical relation should beconstructed reasonably, and fully implement national education in one national state.