The Civil Rights Movement Pioneer Yang Xingfo’s Human Rights Thought

As is known to all, Yang Xingfo is a famous patriot, loyal democratic soldier, prominent social activist, and excellent scientific educator in our country. However, few people have noticed that Yang Xingfo is also called "the forerunner of human rights movement".At the beginning of the paper, the contribution made by Yang Xingfo in science, education and industry is positive appraised, and at the same time, his details of making friends, interest and hobbies, and masterpieces as well as collection of books are also explicated. As a patriot, Yang Xingfo’s active behavior provoked the hatred of KMT authorities. As the news of assassination got about, it touched off an uproar in the public. People’s studies on Yang Xingfo mainly focus on his various propositions of saving the nation by science, industry, education, revolution and his quest for the third road to save the nation. Some scholars stay focus on the studies of Yang’s death and personal quality. However, scholars’description of Yang Xingfo’s human rights movement and his thoughts of human rights appear to be fragmentary and unsystematic, therefore, this paper aims to make systematic and comprehensive analysis of Yang’s thoughts of human rights on the basis of the previous researches. To study Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights is of important meaning for us to understand and evaluate modern thoughts of human rights and of important edification significance for our country’s democracy and law-based governance as well as the wellbeing of people. There are four chapters in this paper, and the roughly structure is as follows:Chapter one discusses and describes the civil rights movement launched by Yang Xingfo. Before the establishment of Chinese League for Human Rights, Yang Xingfo positively initiated and established self-help mass organization by his great efforts and rescued revolutionary progressiveness. After the founding of League for Human Rights, he continued to rescue political prisoners by virtue of the power of the organization. He protested against KMT’s prosecution of progressives and autocracy of German fascist, investigated the condition of prisons, and actively promoted to improve the treatment of the prison.Chapter two further analyzes Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights, which is also the main content of this paper. Firstly, Yang Xingfo disclosed and criticized the KMT for their human rights abuses. Under the governance of KMT, people’s basic rights to life could not be safeguarded, democratic system existed in name only, and political rights got no protection. Secondly, Yang Xingfo made a description of ideal human rights in future. In consideration of China’s reality, the prosperity of the country and the independence of the nation must be achieved; proletariats are the main creators of social wealth, and the value of labor should be affirmed. Greatly influenced by western thoughts of human rights, Yang Xingfo not only advocated the emancipation of countrymen’s thoughts, but also adored the democracy, freedom and equality of bourgeoisie; Yang Xingfo hoped to shape high-quality countrymen by launching personality education and industrial education. When talked about the liberation of women, Yang Xingfo thought that contemporaries need to make more studies on women’s position and psychology. Thirdly, the system to achieve human rights imaged by Yang Xingfo need the safeguard of lawmaking, the establishment of human rights organization and the improvement of educational system. Finally, Yang believed that the achievement of human rights needs social self-help.Chapter three is the evaluation and analysis of Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights. Firstly, Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights are of great significance for arousing people’s awareness. Particularly, Yang Xingfo emphasized the countrymen’s responsibility and stuck to the spirit of rational criticism, which had especially far-reaching influence. Secondly, this chapter discussed the actual inspiration of Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights on modern China’s democratic progress. Finally, it pointed out that Yang Xingfo’s thoughts of human rights and behavior had its limitation because they divorced from reality and classes.Chapter four, conclusion. Learning from modern China’s practice of constitutionalism, intervened by the nation, the guarantee for human rights would achieve more progress, and people would live with greater dignity.