On Yan Fu's Liberalism

Liberalism, after its introduction into China, presents us with a different situation from its original meaning. This article is to study at Yan Fu's liberalism as a individual case.Yan Fu as a stealer who steals the light of freedom, he has a profound understanding that there is ultimate value of personal freedom contained in liberalism. He pointed out that the value of personal development is beyond the national interest,but in the current situation , Yan Fu has to adapt to the changes of the situation, put forward that "national freedom" should take precedence over "personal freedom", which is a last resort choice,when the state is no longer facing the threat of subjugation,this choice should be naturally eliminated. based on the relationship between the group and the individual, Yan Fu's liberalism worthy of our discussion again.This paper consists of four parts.The first part briefly summarizes the research status of Yan Fu at home and abroad which has a simple description of the researchers's theory,and there is a reason of choose this topic as a research content of my graduation thesis.The second part mainly writes about Yan Fu realized that the difference between China and Western society is that "China is no free". So Yan Fu put forward the liberalism is to hope that Liberalism can serve as the cornerstone of China's prosperity.His idea of this cornerstone is in line with his"communication of the Chinese culture and the western culture" thinking,which is hope Chinese Liberalism can choose the good way that from Chian and Western countries to go,so as to achieve the path of freedom to perfection without a pause.The third part discusses the content of Yan Fu's liberalism from two aspects: the progressive view of freedom and a fusion of Chinese and Western view of freedom, because he put the concept of freedom on the theory of evolution to think, So Yan Fu's liberalism is to adapt to the pace of gradual development of the country and the improvement of national quality. This gradual thought also makes his attitude towards Chinese traditional culture different from the revolutionary's .The connotation of his concept of freedom contains the ideological content of Confucianism, Mohism and Taoism in traditional culture.Based on this, we can see that there should be a dynamic balance between the relationship of the individual and the nation.The fourth part elaborates that Yan Fu has put forward a series of measures that is suitable for China's reform and the political system which is compatible with the national conditions according to his liberalism.