On The Secularization Of Chinese Traditional Political Culture In Modern China

Antiquated monarchy in China deteriorated and decayed from Opium War to Hsinhai Revolutionary under the Western invaded and finally collapsed in 1911, which indicates the first polity change in 2000 years. What's more, people's view of politics changed significantly. This article aims to generalize and describe such change in perspective of secularization of political culture.Before modern times, Chinese political culture contains too much anti-secularization, of which the major aspects are mysticism and the Confucian ethic. The former is undoubtly irrational Weltanschauung and political theory which provides legitimacy for Divine Right of Kingsin in traditional Chinese politics. The latter concerns both political belief and institution and it is also some kind unsecular political theory centered by norm belief. The two aspects disappeared after Western sciences and political thinking transmitted to China, which implies secularization-oriented change for traditional political culture in modern times.The motivity of secularization of political culture mainly comes from the West. Such motivity shows its mechanisms in modern times in the following tow ways: The first is the fundamentally change in relation of the elite and the mass. The intellectual direct their way from “serving the king” to the mass by taking on the task of enlightenment, inducting secular political theory to the mass. Second, the alliance of intellectual and power collapsed. Political power lost the ability to control of knowledge explanation, production and appreciation, the revealed unsecular facts.The characteristics of modern political culture in China lie in single-dimension, obsceneness and inadequacy. Single-dimension is most obvious among the three. In decades of modern times, God and his embodiment in man-kind were beaten down, as well as apparition in politics. However, man's status and dignity were not built in secularization, which is the crucial point of society and politics, so was individual's right.A series of significantly political subsequences came after secularization of political culture. Firstly, the base of legitimacy changed and secularization strengthened, directing legitimacy from Divine Right of Kingsin to rule by the people. Secondly, Confucian ethic, which restricts human nature, collapsed and led to the enlargement of political participation. Finally, norm-oriented political thinking was abandoned and modern politics characterized by interest-oriented was built.