On The Historical Influence And Practical Significance Of Wei Yuan’s Idea Of "Surpass Foreigners By Learning From Them"

It’s not easy for Wei Yuan to propose the idea of “Surpass Foreigners byLearning From Them” in the background of eastward spread of Western Culture.Inheriting the Pragmatic spirit of East Zhejiang Scholarship, his theoretical ideaspermeate the Patriotism of “Regarding saving the world as one’s own’s responsibility”.With the Social unrest, the fall of the country and the times of hardship, the idea ofSurpass Foreigners by Learning From Them had its nurtured soil.Wei Yuan was among the first progressive personages to propose the idea ofopening our eyes and looking at the world and he was also the starting character ofChinese modern philosophy. Among many thoughts, the idea of Surpass Foreignersby Learning From Them had the most far-reaching impact on the future generations.The proposal of the idea of Surpass Foreigners by Learning From Them emergedas the times required in the background of the First Opium War when feudalautocratic decayed, the country was threatened by growing crises and was cut offfrom the outside world, thus encountered the intrusion of foreign countries.The idea of Surpass Foreigners by Learning From Them can be interpreted infour aspects. It propagated western democratic political system in political aspect. Inmilitary it advocated learning from the western’s military reform. In economy itdeveloped foreign trade and established industry. In culture it adopted the attitude ofopen minded, fully inclusive and equitable.The historical influence of the idea of Surpass Foreigners by Learning FromThem was profound and broad. It had a great impact on the thoughts of The Diehardsin late Qing Dynasty. It also enlightened and guided numerous reform movement inour history, such as self-improvement and seeking to be rich in WesternizationMovement. Meanwhile, it also had a positive impact on the Meiji Restoration inJapan.The idea of Surpass Foreigners by Learning From Them has a realisticsignificance. Although China’s current overall national strength significantly increases, and the exchanges between the western and China become more frequent,we still need to be prepared for danger in times of peace and be ready to learn fromeach other if we want to realize the great rejuvenation of the our nation. We need toform the development model of interpretation of each other and complement witheach other in the diverse culture between western and China, and then discover itsmodern trend and contemporary significance of Chinese Philosophy.