On The Study Of Yen-Fu’s "Employing The Western Theory In China" Thought

Since the Opium War, China’s modern social upheaval prompted intellectuals to seek the path of saving the nation from subjugation, Yen-Fu’s "Employing the Western Theory in China" thought is derived in this background. His thought source has two facets, one from his family and teacher guidance with the traditional Confucianism accomplishment; the other from his modern education in Britain. And in terms of content, the so-called "Employing the Western Theory", refers to absorb some sort of western culture which is beneficial for China; "In china", refers to take China’s actual situation as the main body and act in accordance with China’s actual needs as a starting point which should not be bounded by the outmoded conventions and bad customs. In some ways, Yen-Fu’s thought is beyond the understanding of Lin Ze-xu and Wei Yuan, because he take a positive attitude towards western culture and advocate cultural blending rather than "national isolation". Furthermore, He also intend to absorb essence from western culture while abandon its dregs by which he seek to promote the modernization of China.