On Transformation Of Hunan’s Academy In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Early Republic Of China

The period from late Qing Dynasty to early Republic of China saw the overalltransformation of its age, including that of politics, economy, society and academy. In theQing Dynasty, the study of Confucian classics played a leading role in the academic ideas ofHunan. However, later in the Dynasty, with the strong advocate of Li Hongzhang and others,Confucian philosophy, as the official philosophy, flourished for a short while again but itsdecline could be reversed. Although such people as Wang Xianqian and Ye Dehui made greatefforts to maintain the development of classic Chinese prose and Confucian philosophy, theyfailed to do so. Later in that feudal society, Hunan witnessed the transient prosperity ofConfucian classics and Confucian philosophy which was brought about by reforming ancientinstitutions in the banner of Confucian, but the two cultures could not escape the fate ofdecline. As a main part of traditional academic ideas, Confucian classics were hard hit byWestern civilizations and had no choice but to give way to them which represented theadvanced productive force in that age. Naturally, learning civilization and technologies fromthe Western world became the theme of that time. In doing so, what should we abandon orcarry forward and how to integrate properly them have plagued the academia of China. Laterin the Qing Dynasty and early in the Republic of China, the academia of Hunan completed itstransformation to a modern one in an unclear manner while debating “completewesternization”,“cultural sectionalism” and “cultural compromise”.In the transformation of academy, the modern one was rising while the traditional onewas declining. During this period, the academy of Hunan reached a new height in whichsubjects were classified into seven instead of four parts. Based on this, changes in academicresearch and academy on the part of Hunan scholars took place, with the upgrading ofphilosophy, the initial transformation of historiography, the rise of public law case, theresearch on modern ethics and new achievements in pedagogy as representatives. In the faceof the miserable and heart-breaking situations, Hunanese volunteered to undertakeresponsibilities and aspired to change people and customs and reform the society and politics,with a view to saving their country and compatriots owing to the fact that they are braveenough to shoulder tasks and take the lead, and show concern for their motherland. In reform,firstly, they focused on society and politics; in academy, they fixed their attention on doctrinesof western law, politics and society but neglected natural science, with the result that there arefew scholars in natural science in the history of Hunan. The above-mentioned qualities canexplain why there were more political activists and practitioners and less scholars, pure andsimple in this land. During it, the academy of Hunan was featured by a close combination of academic research with political activities. This helped academy and politics develop toward anew direction respectively. On the other hand, because academy permeated the strongpolitical intention, this rendered academy less independent and in turn, hindered thedevelopment of real modern academy. Therefore, in this transitional period, the academy ofHunan completed its transformation to a modern one, but due to the restrictions in that ageand the scholars, its transformation is an elementary one and its thoughts and doctrines werefar from mature. Of course, seeing it from the perspective of development, we will find that inthe development of academy, this phenomenon is unavoidable. Consequently, we still shouldattach importance to the role that the transformation of academy and thoughts of Hunan inthat period played in linking traditional academy to modern ones. It constitutes anindispensable link in the development of academy and can give a lesson to our countryundergoing social transition.