Research On Jiang Tingfu’s Viewpoints Of Modernization

Jiang Tingfu was the famous historian and diplomatist in the modern history ofChina, being the “Contributor advocating the modernization in the early stage”, alsothe representative of intelligentsias being a politician in the early20century. In thecircumstance of China in the revolution extremely rare in eternal history, facing theprosperous and development brought to European and American countries byexecuting the modernization early and China’s criticism and humiliation caused bybeing late-comer in modernization, Jiang integrated the characters as the“experiencer”,“researcher” and “executor” of modernization during the pursuit andexploration to modernization. In the analysis frame as the modernization paradigm,taking the promotion of China’s overall modernization as one’s own responsibility,he exerted vigorous efforts and entire life for the modernization of China.The modernization thought of Jiang Tingfu contained the politics, economy,education and history etc., the modification in character of who from anintelligentsias to a member of the cabinet provided the advantage to execute theproposition of above-mentioned modernization. The modernization all over theworld from late19th century to the early20th century and unrest political situationof China society, and also the experience of Jiang Tingfu’s Life, are the conditionsto generate the modernization thought of Jiang Tingfu, and further more whichcould be divided into generating period, developing period and maturing periodaccording to time. As the bridge between the modernization thought of Jiang Tingfuand social practice, the execution of modernization thought is also been sorted andintegrated systematically in this article. The execution of modernization containedthe improvement and modification of the history departments of Nankai Universityand Tsinghua University as the teacher, also the administrative reform and reliefmeasures for rehabilitation to the KMT National Government as the politician.Although the executions are not both success in education and politics, they are stillsignificant. At last, by summarizing the Jiang Tingfu’s modernization theory andexecution, the article evaluate Jiang Tingfu’s modernization thought. Jiang Tingfuwho was with the wide international view and background in academy, setting themodernization of China in the modernization tide of world, carried out the thinkingabout the underdevelopment of China in aspect of internal factor, which contributedChina’s entering to international community, accepting the modernization andprocess of modernization. But on the other hand, it is hard for him to recognize the nature of imperialism or get rid of the thinking pattern in western-central concept,with the shortage as being intellectual elite, and finally neither approved nor chosenby the era.