THE POLITICAL WSOPHY OF K'ANG YU-WB:
A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF RELIGIOUS
SYNCRETISM

Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Winston P. Fan
7966

Tull-I

0-169

The Political Philosophy of K'ang Yu-Wei;

A Sociological Study of Religious Syncretism

Date

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

presented by

Winston Ping Fan

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

PhD degree in Political Science

1,. £22»; aiLLc r-Zkk—LQL/
Majér professor

April 184 1966

 

     
   

  

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ABSTRACT

THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF K'ANG YU-WEI:
A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM

. ‘0,
by Winston Pfc‘li‘an

This is a case study of political philosophy in con-
nection with religious syncretism and sociology of knowledge.

Based upon the late sociologist Florian Znaniecki's
The Social Role of the Man of Knowledge (1940), the study de—
velops a theoretical framework to analyze and predict how a
religious scholar responds to the impact of new knowledge by
means of rediscovering the traditional holy writs. It pro-
ceeds to analyze the social and political application of the
discovery by a religious scholar in connection with Karl
Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia (1953). Generally speaking,
when a religious scholar orients himself to the maintenance
of the existing order by means of rediscovering the holy
truth, such a rediscovery is regarded as ideological syncre—
tism. On the contrary, if the rediscovery is used as a means
for bursting the bonds of the existing order, it is regarded
as utOpian syncretism.

The main theme in K'ang Yu-wei's political writings
is that Confucianism is essentially an all—embracing unity in

which all substantive knowledge is contained. Therefore, all

Winston PI“Fan

the world cultures, particularly the validated truths of the
various essential aspects of Western culture, were already
contained in their Confucianist counterparts. Due to histori-
cal incidents many of the substantial elements were lost, or
left undevelOped, in the process of transmittal. It was his
mission, he contended, to rediscover these authentic elements
by eliciting the contents and connections of the Confucian
holy writs, polish them, develop them further and present
them to his fellow religious scholars. It would be their
duty to adopt the rediscovered system of knowledge to save
the Chinese Empire and eventually the whole world.

K'ang's political philosophy is actually a strange
mixture of both ideological and utOpian syncretisms. His
prOposal for a universal constitution was an outright ideo-
logical syncretism, because he kept it secret and never in-
tended for its realization. Later to counteract the rising
republicanism he used it as a means to defend the collapsed
Manchu ruling house. As for his reform proposal for the
Chinese nation, it was originally a genuine utopian syncre-
tism but later was rendered completely obsolete due to the
change of events. The obsolescence of the reform program
further rendered the universal constitution more ideological

in articulation.

THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF K'ANG YU-WEI:

A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM
By

Winston Pngan

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Political Science

1966

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Upon the completion of this little study, I should
like to tender my sincere gratitude to the taxpayers of the
state of Michigan for their generous support of Michigan
State University. The success of Michigan State University
in attracting students from many foreign lands is an out-
standing event in the history of cultural encounters which,

I am sure, will result in many wonderful things.

Special thanks are extended to Professor Guy H. Fox,
Professor Joseph LaPalombara, past chairmen of the Department
of Political Science, and Professor Wesley R. Fishel, my
major professor, for their genuine interest in this writer,
particularly to Professor Fishel for his patient guidance
and continuing friendship, without which the situation would
have been much more strenuous.

I am also indebted to Professor Charles Adrian,
present Chairman of the Department of Political Science,
Professor Robert Scigliano, the graduate advisor, and Pro-
fessors Alfred Meyer, Alan P. Grimes, and Herbert Garfinkel;
from each of them I have received Optimum attention and
solid instruction in political science.

Among my former teacher-friends I should like to
mention Dr. Andrew T. Roy, Vice-President of Chung Chi College,

Hong Kong, and his wife, not only for their genuine interest

11

in the academic orientation of the writer but also for their
generous financial support, without which the completion of
this study could perhaps not have been accomplished.

Great thanks are also due to Dr. Alan A. Spitz,
teacher, friend and a fellow graduate student for his high
recommendation of, and warm encouragement to, this writer.
The feet that he performed the role of a talent scout in
Hong Kong will be perennially remembered by this writer.

Among my friends in Hong Kong I owe thanks to
Mr. and Mrs. James Y1 and Miss Irene Woo not only for their
continuing encouragement during my long years spent at
graduate school but also, and most importantly, for their
generous financial support.

My expression of gratitude would be incomplete
without especially mentioning my fellow students in the
Political Science Department. That intellectual life is a
process of continuing growth and adaptation makes friendly
advice a necessary condition for success.

It has seemed that the above-mentioned persons
were more interested in pushing me through the process of
intellectual challenge and competition than I was; it is
to their combined efforts that this little study is hereby

dedicated.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Objective of the Study . l

The Historical Setting in the
Nineteenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Major Parts of the Dissertation . . . . . . 9

II. THE SACRED SCHOOL AND ITS RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS . . II

The Absolute Knowledge . . . . . . . 13
Methods of Incorporating New Knowledge . . . 16
The Sacred Complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Grand Synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Question of Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Religious Syncretism: Ideology or Utopia?. . 31
The Socio- -Ontological Implications of the
Sacred School Study . . . . . . . . . . 36
III. THE REDISCOVERY OF AUTHENTIC CONFUCIANISM . . . 39
In Search of True Teachings . . . . . . 39
Confuciansim: An All- Inclusive System
of Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . AA
Confuciansim as a Religion . . . . . . . . 51
Confucius as an Omnipotent Law-Maker:
The Grand Depository . . . . . . . . . . . 57
IV. THE REDISCOVERY OF AUTHENTIC CONFUCIANISM
(Continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
TaT”ung v. Small Tranquility:
Two- Fold Confucianism . . . . . . . 66
The Great Learning Re- -Interpreted . . . . . . 7O
Doctrine of the Mean Re-Interpreted . . . . . 72
The Analects Re- -Interpreted . . . . . . . 78
The Works of Mencius Re— —Interpreted . . . . 85
The Lost Transmittal and China's Stagnation . 89
V. THE WORLD OF TA T'UNG . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Multi- State Rivalry . . . . . . . . . 93
Long- Range Evolutionary Design: Stateless,
Classless, and Racially- -Mixed World 99
Community . . . . . . . . . .

iv

Chapter Page

Long-Range Evolutionary Design: The

Sexually Promiscuous, Familyless,

and Communistic World Community . . . . . 10“
Long-Range Evolutionary Design: The

Disorderless, Animal Loving and

Painless World Community . . . . . . . . lll

 

Ideology or Utopia? . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

VI. THE 1898 REFORM AND THEREAFTER . . . . . . . . 122
Institutional Reform of 1898 . . . . . 122

Political Thinking After the Coup d'Etat . . 138

VII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Objective of the Study

 

K'ang Yu—wei (1858-1927), one of the greatest Confu-
cianist thinkers in the last century and the mastermind of
the unsuccessful 1898 Reform in China, presented the Chinese
nation, as well as all mankind, his version of Confucianism
which included a universal constitution. The significance of
K'ang's universal constitution and his interpretation of Con—
fucianism lies first in that he syncretized into the Confu-
cianist scheme numerous foreign elements in the name of
Confucius on a scale of grand synthesis. Further, K'ang's
grand synthesis was proposed to revitalize the centuries old
sacred system of knowledge and adapt it to the new interna-
tional scene--the multi-state rivalry. In my opinion, K'ang's
political phiIOSOphy illustrates the paradox of religious or
quasi—religious truth: the absoluteness and self-sufficiency
of the sacred truth on the one hand, the attempt to incorporate
the newly discovered, or encountered knowledge on the other.
Consequently, it also illustrates the conflict between the
imported knowledge and the indigenous social situation: the
absolute unbreakability of the sacred social situation on the

l

one hand, the attempt to break it up and transform it into a
new pattern on the other. Both in Chinese and English there
has been much literature dealing with K'ang's political philo-
sophy, his ideological influence, and the 1898 Reform. But
few studies have centered upon the paradoxical phenomena in-
volved in the characteristics of K'ang's political philosophy.
Therefore, a more thorough investigation of his theories may
serve to promote a greater understanding of the type of poli-
tical phiIOSOphy derived from religious or semi-religious
premises. Consequently, it will help to illuminate the inter-
relationship between political philosophy and the social and
political order, a main concern of the sociology of knowledge.

The Historical Setting in the
Nineteenth Century

K'ang's political philosophy was essentially a product
of cultural encounter: the meeting of Chinese and Western
cultures in the last century. Historically the meeting
between these two cultures had taken place long before the
nineteenth century, but its implications had not deeply af-
fected the Chinese nation and its culture until the 1840's
when the Chinese Empire was defeated by England in the Opium
War. After that the long-isolated Chinese Empire, together
with her social and political institutions, began to undergo
a series of drastic changes. Several of these changes are

closely related to this study and are worthy of note.

The first was the transformation of the Chinese Empire
from a quasi "world-state" into a member of the contemporary
multi-state system. As a result of the treaty of Nanking in
1842 the Chinese finally came to the realization that the Wes-
tern "maritime states“ had absolute equality with China. The
traditional tribute system which had characterized the rela—
tions with the West was replaced by the "unequal" foreign
treaties. Thus 18A2 began a new era, characterized by the
treaty ports and the opium traffic, extraterritoriality, the
treaty tariff, and the most-favored nation clause.l However,
it was not until 186“ that China began applying international
law in settling disputes with foreign countries;2 legations
abroad as permanent institutions had not been established
until 1875.3 Then, following a series of international inci—
dents and warfare, China lost her tribute states: Liuch'iu
in 1879; Viet Nam in 1885; Burma in 1886; finally Korea in
1895. She was slowly and reluctantly drawn from a self-
centered empire into a sovereign state with a semi—colonial

status among the contemporary family of nations.

 

1John K. Fairbank, Trade and Diplomacy on the China
Coast: The Opening of the Treaty Ports 18H2-1853'(Harvard
Historical Studies, Vols. LXIII; Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1953), LXII, 3.

2For the story of applying international law see .
Immanuel C. Y. Hsu, China's Entrance into the Family of Nations:

 

 

The Diplomatic Phase, I858:l880 (Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1960), Chapter ix, especially p. 133.

3Ibid., Chapter xii.

The effect of the breakdown of the status of the world-
empire also had direct bearing on the centuries-old enthnocen-
tric, geographic myth. For centuries the Chinese had regarded

their country as the Middle Kingdom (Chung Kuo) located in the

 

center of the earth, with numerous barbarian tribes residing
on the four outer fringes, which were further surrounded by
the four seas. The glory of being Middle Kingdom symbolized
the glory of political and cultural leadership. Without being
seriously questioned, the myth was sustained for centuries.
However, the defeat in the Opium War dramatically altered this
belief. Realizing the necessity of understanding the Western
powers after the Opium War, the scholar—officials availed
themselves of the current studies of world geography. Ten
years after the war there were three geographic studies
dealing with world geography published in China. They were
Commissioner Lin's Ssu—chou chi (Gazeteer of the Four Contie

nents), l8ul; Wei Yuan's Hai—kuo t‘uechih (Maritime Countries),

 

l84u; and Hsfi Chi—yfi's Yin—huan chih—lueh (A Brief Descrip-
tion of the Ocean Circuit), 1850. Drawing information from
Western source books the Chinese compilers became aware of

the existence of other continents. Although the knowledge
propagated in these three works was slowly felt and understood
among the Confucian intellectuals, their publications marked
the breakdown of the traditional myth. The last two works had
direct influence on the thoughts of K'ang. Thus, after the
introduction of modern geographic knowledge into China, the

traditional concepts, "Middle" and “All—under-heaven"

5

(T'ien-hsia) were replaced by cognizance of the continents

 

and the world.

The introduction of the Western geography marked the
beginning of a new trend: the emergence (or re-emergenceu)
of the so-called Western learning. Realizing the increasing
danger of foreign aggression, but deeply impressed by the
Westerners' "strong ships and effective guns," some farsighted
scholar-officials began, in the 1860's, adOpting a policy of
"Western methods imitation."5 The manufacture of modern wea-
pons and the study of foreign languages were begun. Concom-
itantly 21 number of Western books were translated into Chi—
nese by the newly established Kiangnan Arsenal and the
Interpretor's College. Western missionaries, in addition to
propagating evangelistic publications, also produced a number
of translations of non-religious literature. As of the eve
of the 1898 Reform, the translated books totaled approximately
three hundred. These books, according to Liang Ch'i-ch'ao's
classification, fell into three different categories: (1)
science, covering the entire fields of natural science; (2)

politics, covering social sciences; and (3) Christian

 

“During the preceding Ming period and early in Ch'ing
period some scholar-officials in cooperation with the Jesuits
had already translated a number of EurOpean works on astronomy
and mathematics. Western learning to some extent had influence
on early Ch'ing learning.

5For the imitation of Western methods see Li Chien-
nung. The Political History of China, 1840-1928, trans. and
ed. Ssu—yu‘r Teng and Jeremy Ingallis (New York: D. VaneNos-
trand, 1956), Chapter iii, especially pp. lOl-(En see also
my analysis of the utilitarian approach in the next chapter.

religion.6 Although the number of translations in politics
was relatively small, the newly imported Western learning
which had been presented to the Confucian scholar-officials
covered a variety of subjects. They included the knowledge

of comprehending the physical universe, the knowledge of mani-
pulating varied forms of governments, and the knowledge of the
power of salvation.

It is important to note that the importation of Wes-
tern learning by the scholar—officials of the Western-methods-
imitation school was not met without strong opposition from
the ultra—conservatives. Alarmed by the possible impact of
new knowledge on Confucianism the conservatives were violently
opposed to the study of Western books. For instance, Wo-jen,
a devotee of Neo—Confucianism, in opposition to the teaching
of mathematics and astronomy, memorialized the Emperor of the
danger of Western learning. He maintained:

But according to the vieWpoint of your slave, astronomy
and mathematics are of very little use. If these subjects
are going to be taught by Westerners as regular studies,
the damage will be great....Your slave has learned that
the way to establish a nation is to lay emphasis on pro-
priety and righteousness, not on power and plotting....
even if the teachers sincerely teach and the students
faithfully study them, all that can be accomplished is the
training of mathematicians. From ancient down to modern
times, your slave has never heard of anyone who could use
mathematics to raise the nation from a state of decline

or to strengthen it in time of weakness....If astronomy

and mathematics have to be taught, an extensive search
should find someone who has mastered the technique. Why

 

6Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, Bibliography of Western Learning,
in Chinese Historiography Society (ed.), The 1898 Reform (4
vols., Shanghai: Shanghai People's Press, 1956), I, 447-54,
especially 448 and 452-53.

 

is it limited to barbarians, and why is it necessary to
learn from the barbarians?...Since the conclusion of the
peace [treaty in 1860], Christianity has been prevalent
and half of our ignorant peOple have been fooled by it.
The only thing we can rely on is that our scholars should
clearly explain to the peOple the Confucian tenets, which
may be able to sustain the minds of the ignorant populace.

7

The memorial reflected fully the ultra-conservatives‘
deeply entrenched fear of the encroachment of Western learning.
First, it indicated that they comprehended the sharp conflict
between the newly imported secular knowledge and the Confucian
theory of government by moral principles. Secondly, it sug-
gested why the scholar-officials were anxious about the pres-
ence <3f westerners; for the very presence of the bearers of
new knowledge would threaten the position and prestige of the
scholar—officials. Thirdly, it indicated their clear aware—
ness of the influence of Christianity on the allegiance of
the Confucian followers. Paradoxically, the propagation of
the Christian sacred knowledge was being carried out by ardent
missionaries who avowed the conversion of the heathenish Chi-
nese Empire but whose fate depended upon the power represented
in the treaty ports and in the foreign legation in Peking.

The importation of Western learning was not halted by
the conservatives, though they did create an environment un—
favorable toward the reading of Western books among the
scholar-officials. Later events, such as the Sino—Japanese

War in 1895, indicated that the imitation of Western methods

had actually failed. However, the introduction of Western

 

7See Ssu-yfi Teng and John K. Fairbank, China's Response

 

to the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961, pp.
76-77.

learning did exert considerable influence upon some future—
oriented intellectuals. "Since then," as Liang Ch'i-ch'ao
recalled, "[a few of] the Chinese (intellectuals) began to
realize that the Westerners had learning hidden behind 'the
strong ships and effective guns;‘ their conception of Western
learning gradually changed."8
Thus the increasingly deepening political crisis, the
creeping penetration of the scientific and social knowledge
and the provocative challenge of the Christian sacred know—
ledge, all constituted a tremendous impact upon the Confucian
sacred system of knowledge, its social and political institu—
tions as well as its cultural bearers——the scholar official
class. Some of them began a painstaking search for the nature
of the Western impact: the knowledge behind the West's mili—
tary power, the relationship between knowledge and social and
political institutions, and the historical development of such
knowledge and institutions. It was an attempt to determine
whether the Chinese nation should adopt the knowledge and
institutions of the West; it was also concerned with what
portions of the West's knowledge and institutions that the
Chinese nation should adopt. This search for the West's se—

crets, so to speak, was essentially an attempt to answer the

conservatives' charge that the West was barbaric; it was also

 

8Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, An Academic History of China During
the Last Three Hundred Years (4th edition; Shanghai: Ming Chi
Book Store, 1929), p. 43. This was referring to the influence
of books of science and politics; the influence of religious
books was not mentioned.

 

an attempt to answer the question as to whether the Confucian
system of knowledge and institutions remained valid and self-
sufficient. Among the intellectuals there was one who was
endowed with deep conviction, well versed with the Confucian
classics, who actively responded to the challenge of his time,
by offering a considerably elaborate theory, and vigorously
tried to put his ideas into practice. This was the scholar
K‘ang Yu—wei. He was born in Nanhai of Kwangtung Province,
which was close to the British colony of Hong Kong. lHis fam-
ily haxi been known for thirteen generations for its Confucian
scholarship and he distinguished himself early in his boyhood
with ambitions to be a sage. His answer to the challenging
issue was absorption and incorporation; in other words, it

was a religious syncretism in character.

Major Parts of the Dissertation

 

The analysis of K‘ang‘s religious syncretism is di-
vided into the following three parts.

Part One (Chapter II) analyzes various forms of reli-
gious syncretism and its possible relationship with the social
situation. This is also, in part, a brief review of litera—
ture in the field of the sociology of knowledge. It is the
intention of this study to develop a general model, the"sacred
school,"for analyzing K‘ang's political philosophy as well as

for further research.

10

Following the sacred school approach, Part II (Chapters
III and IV) analyzes K'ang's effort to rediscover the authentic
version of Confucianism in his attempt to syncretize the Wes—
tern culture. Special attention is paid to K‘ang's descrip-
tion of how China had become stagnant and backward.

Part Three (Chapters V and VI) presents K'ang's ver-
sion of the lost but rediscovered Tao of Confucius. In
addition to the analysis of K'ang's universal constitution,
attention is especially paid to K'ang's attitudes towards
and efforts to apply this religious syncretism. This part of
the study will shed light upon the ideological and utopian

nature of K'ang's version of Confucianism.

CHAPTER II

THE SACRED SCHOOL AND ITS RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS

Religious syncretism results from the interplay be-
tween the strong impact of a newly encountered knowledge on
the one hand, and the vigorous resistance of the existing
absolute sacred system of knowledge on the other. To analyze
this interplay, this study first places its major emphasis on
the paradox of the presumably self—sufficient character of the
absolute knowledge and the various methods used to incorporate
the new knowledge under circumstances of compulsion. Then it
unveils the function of the incorporation, indicating whether
it tends to burst or to maintain the status quo of the existing
social and political orders.

The sociological concept of the sacred school was first
employed by the late sociologist, Professor Florian Znaniecki.

In one of his remarkable works, The Social Role of the Man of

 

Knowledge,l Znaniecki used the concept to denote the special

 

patterns of deveIOpment of the religious or semi-religious
truths. According to his observation, the men of knowledge in

different religions tend to respond toward new knowledge in the

 

1(New York: Columbia University Press, 1940).

ll

12

same patterns of thinking by virtue of the similarities of
their religious premises. This idea is of utmost importance
to the understanding of K'ang Yu-wei's political phiIQSOphy.
However, the concept of the sacred school was not

fully developed by Znaniecki. In his book he observed that

he knew of no general study of sacred schools. He used pri—
marily second—hand information contained in historical works
on particular religions and in synthetic studies of particular

civilizations.2

Although more than two decades have elapsed
since the first publication of his book in 1940, there has
been no major socio-historical research into this concept,
nor any further development of it. The sociological study of
the religious truths still is, on the whole, an uncultivated
and incredibly rich land.

The present study intends to develop further this con-
cept in connection with other social theories and to apply it
to the analysis of K'ang Yu—wei's political writings. Fol-
lowing Znaniecki‘s concept I shall deve10p a sacred school
model by drawing evidence from the historical developments of
Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; occasional reference will
be made to other religions. Then following the sacred school
model I shall proceed to analyze the social and political ap-
plication of the religious truths; in other words, the inter-
relationship between the religious truths and their social

existence.

 

2Ibid., p. 93, n.l.

13
The Absolute Knowledge

The religious or semi-religious truth is termed by
Professor Znaniecki to be the absolute or holy knowledge.
According to Znaniecki, the absolute knowledge is of gods
and things divine, or the sacred order of the universe. It
is derived from divine sources and regarded by its followers
as power. Its very possession means participation in the
sacred forces that rule the world. In sharp contrast with
technological knowledge with practical test as its criterion,
social knowledge with popular acceptance as its requirement
and secular knowledge with rational evidence as its necessity,
the sacred knowledge stands with no need of these fulcrums
for it is based on divine revelation which cannot be questioned.3

Further, according to Znaniecki's social theory, each
system of knowledge has its men of knowledge as its cultural
bearers. The man of knowledge plays his role in co-operation
with a smaller or larger set of peeple, i.e., his social circle,
which in turn, grants him social status. The men of knowledge
who bear the holy knowledge are called by Znaniecki the "reli-

gious scholarsfi the grouping of such men is designated the

 

3Professor Znaniecki classifies all human knowledge into
four basic forms: technical knowledge, social knowledge, ab-
solute knowledge and secular knowledge, with "new knowledge“ as
a residue category. Since the present study is basically a further
development of the concept of the sacred school, there is no
need to criticize and evaluate the correctness of the classifi-
catory scheme, which appears to be very important in the field
of sociology of knowledge. I would like to point out that each
of the historical sacred schools contains a great deal of other
categories of knowledge by virtue of its being a sacred school.
Hence, the classification is to some extent over-lapping.

l4

sacred school. Znaniecki maintains that if we survey the cul-
tural history of societies that have grown beyond the tribal
stage--such as Egyptians,Babylonians,Assyrians,Chinese,Indians,
Persians,the Jews since the seventeenth century before Christ,the
Greeks, the Etruscans, the Romans, the Gauls, the Mayas, the Aztecs,
the Incas, the Arabs under Islam, European nations during the
Middle Ages, we shall find nearly everywhere the sacred school
and the religious scholars.Ll

What is the major role of the religious scholars?
To Znaniecki, "The scholar's role within the school is strictly
determined by the task of the school—~the perception of the
sacred lore."5 The perpetuation of the sacred lore, according
to Znaniecki‘s observation, is a process of imparting, trans-
mitting, or interpreting the holy knowledge. In other words,
it is basically educational. Here I beg profoundly to differ.
Since in theory sacred knowledge is presumed to be absolute in
nature and to direct human lives, as Professor Znaniecki has
pointed out, it follows logically that both the sacred school

and the religious scholars are confronted not only with the

 

“It is obvious that Znaniecki regards Confucianism as

a religion because he groups Confucianism into other religions.
(See pp. 93-95.)In my opinion Confucianism is not a religion;
its life orientation only represents an innerworldly morality
for laymen. Hence,I choose the term"the semi-religious truth."
However, as the present study is to develop further the con-
cept, the sacred school, it is needless to argue whether Con-
fucianism is a sacred school. As this is also one of the major
concerns in K'ang Yu-wei‘s writings, I shall have more things
to say on this point in the following section.

5Znaniecki, op. cit., p. 100.

15

imparting and maintenance of the holy knowledge but also with
the application of this knowledge to the practical, social and
political world. As a matter of fact, all of the major reli-
gions of the world have considerably deveIOped systems of
ideas and values concerning the social and political order.
The uniqueness of Confucianism lies in the fact that it is
mainly composed of social and political knowledge which is
intended to direct the social and political order. For var-
ious reasons a sacred school or a religious scholar may not
face the challenge or may not have the opportunity to be in

a position of secular leadership; but it is always the highest
ideal of the sacred schools that the two different status—
functions should be connected in one way or another so that
the holy knowledge may direct human lives in conformity with
the sacred order of the universe. Thus, a religious scholar
may always perform the "lay" function in addition to the
sacred one; the lay function is considered by him as an essen—
tial part of the sacred work. For instance, the Indian Brah-
mans and the Jewish prophets, in addition to capacities as
priests, also advised their rulers on lay matters. In case

of the religious scholars in Confucianism, intervention in
social and political affairs is probably their main objective;
for the Confucian intellectuals are a stratum of officials

and aspirants to office who claim that the emperor could rule

only by using orthodox Confucian officials.6 This shows

 

6Max Weber, The Religion of China, translated and

edited by Hans H. Gerth, (Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1951),
p. 122 and p. 144.

16

clearly the close relationship between the holy knowledge and
the social and political order, between the lay function of a
religious scholar and his sacred one.

It is to the relationship between holy knowledge and
its application to social and political order that half of
the present study is fundamentally oriented. I shall proceed
first to examine the ways and methods used by the religious
scholars to incorporate new knowledge, and then investigate
whether this incorporation is ideological or utopian in

character.

Methods of Incorporating New Knowledge

Znaniecki points out that the function of a religious
scholar is to perpetuate the absolute, superindividual, sacred
truths, "an exact and faithful reproduction of the symbolic
expression of those truths is essential;"7 it is impossible for
a religious scholar "to introduce any modifications into this
knowledge."8 Neither can he "discover personally any new and
valid truth that was not known from the very beginning to the
first masters, gods, or heroes who revealed the sacred know-
ledge to their successors for perpetuation in the school.“9
However, it is a fact that the knowledge of the sacred school
actually grows in the course of generations. This is because,

according to Znaniecki, the growth of the sacred knowledge is

 

7Znaniecki, 0p. cit., p. 103.

81bid., p. 104.

91bid., p. 105.

17

mainly a response to demands made by the wider society. The
sacred school and the religious scholars, in perpetuating the
sacred lore, have to deal or to cope with the appearance of
the new problems of natural technology, reflections about the
cultural order roused by social conflicts, new factual obser-
vations of curious people, strange doctrines imported from

abroad, occasionally innovations by rebels, etc.10

It is my
opinion that the impact of these novelties first poses the
question as to how to dismiss the new knowledge which appears
to be in contradiction with the traditional sacred lore.~
Thus, to combat heretics becomes an essential duty for a reli—
gious scholar in the process of transmitting the traditional

ll Throughout all the world religious scholars

sacred lore.
respond to heretics by using the same guiding principle: what—
ever is in contradiction to the authoritative system must be
false. The responses may range from silence to active denun—
ciation and suppression depending upon the degree of impact by
the new knowledge and the particular social order. It is only
after the resistance proves ineffective that the religious
scholars tend to incorporate the new knowledge into the tra-
ditional sacred system. As Znaniecki points out:

...yet it is better for the prestige and influence of the

school if it can solve efficiently and authoritatively most
of the problems which bother the lay society and can

 

lOIbid.

11He seems to have ignored the combating function of
the religious scholars, though he notes that "some of these
novelties may be dismissed as irrelevant or blasphemous," by
the religious scholars. See p. 105.

18

subordinate most of the new profane knowledge which seems
to be gaining acceptance in its wider milieu to its own
supreme, holy knowledge.l2
Thus another auxiliary function is added to a religious scholar:
to enrich the sacred knowledge by recognizing or even introduc-
ing innovations.
H w can these two different functions be reconciled?
According to Znaniecki, religious scholars throughout the
world have applied the same principle: “Whatever in the do—
main of knowledge is verily true cannot be new; whatever new
must be false."13 To both the sacred school and the religious
scholars, the total truth, including the partial truths ever
to be known, were already known to the spiritual ancestor of
the school—god, demigod, or divinely inspired supermen.lu
Furthermore, according to Znaniecki, as the develop—
ment of the knowledge of sacred schools reveals, their growth
is essentially an accumulation of commentaries, in which su—
perior scholars interpret for the benefit of their contem-
poraries and successors either the original holy texts or the

writings of early commentators. “Interpretation consists

either in expounding the content of sacred truths or in

 

12Znaniecki, op. cit., p. 105.
13Ihid.
14

Ibid. It might be advisable to point out that the
present study is limited to the religious and semi-religious
truths only. The kind of absolute knowledge, such as Marxism—
Leninism, which is not generally regarded as derived from
divine sources and revealed by divinely inspired superman, is
hereby excluded from our study. After the completion of the
thesis, I plan to make a systematic survey of philosophical
syncretism with reference to Communism, and other absolute"isms."

l9

eliciting their systematic connection or both."15 Znaniecki
points out that by the first method of interpretation a reli-
gious scholar can show that the sacred truth already contains
truths which lay scientists or importers of foreign ideas
erroneously believe to be newly discovered or will explain
facts which have only recently been observed.16 Thus, for
instance:
medieval scholars found the essential truths of Greek
science included in the Bible; some modern scholars inter—
pret the record of creation formulated in the first chaps
ters of Genesis as including the theory of_genera1 evolue
tion. Recent historical processes are seen to have been
generally anticipated, if not specifically predicted, in
ancient holy writs; and sacred ethics, if properly under—
stood, though preached centuries ago, gives absolutely l7
valid guidance for dealing with modern social problems.

For convenience, this way of interpreting new knowledge
is termed the theory of containment, the first method of inter-
preting the rival knowledge.

In the course of China's contact with the West during
the Ch'ing period, particularly during the last century, many
Confucian intellectuals not only claimed that their old holy
writs contained the knowledge imported from the West but also
strongly contended that they originated in China as a result
of the westward spreading of Chinese culture. The Westerners,

they claimed, were returning the Chinese culture to the Chi-

nese. For illustrative purpose, this will be termed the theory

 

l51bid., p. 107.

16Ibid., pp. 107-08.

l71bid., p. 108.

20

of origination.18 This sort of interpretation was not an in-

novation of the Confucian scholars. It was originated by the
Taoists. When Buddhism was first introduced into China, the
popular legend among some Chinese intellectuals was that
Buddha was a disciple of the alleged Taoist sage Lao—tzu.19

The basic characteristic of the theory of origination,
as compared with that of containment, is that the former,
besides being based on the apparent resemblance of the tradi-
tional knowledge with the imported counterpart, further derives
its claim for legitimacy from a certain legendary account
handed down from time ixnmemorial. In the case of Lao-tzu's
preaching or incarnation in India, the claim was derived from
the legend that the alleged founder of Taoist religion was
recorded as having traveled to the Western territories on a
black ox.2O

According to Znaniecki, the eliciting of the systematic

connection of the sacred commentaries permits the religious

scholar:

 

18See Ch'uan Han—shen's article in Source Books in
History of Modern China, ed. Wu Hsiang—hsiang et al.(10 vols.;
first edition; first series; Formosa: Cheng Chung Book Store,
1956), V, 216—58. I have found the article especially useful,
Abut it fails to distinguish the theory of containment from that
of origination. The former is indicative of a parallel develop-
ment while the latter indicates cultural diffusion only.

 

l9Ihid., p. 216.

201t was discovered by historians that Lao—tzu hua—hu
Ching (The Story of Lao—tzu's Incarnation in India), the offi-
cial claim advanced by the Taoist scholars,was written by Wang
Fu of the Western Tsin period (A. D. 265—317). This may be
considered a forgery, another way of incorporating new ideas.
I shall deal with it shortly.

 

21

...to rediscover certain holy truths which his immediate
predecessors for some reason have failed to transmit or
even truths which the spiritual ancestors of the school,
knowing that mankind was not yet prepared for them but
forseeing that their disclosure would come in the proper
time, intentionally failed to reveal at the beginning.

A scholar of superior learning and ability, or even an
intellectually simple but saintly man, enlightened by
divine inspiration, may find such a truth and communicate
to the school, thus helping it to complete its traditional
knowledge.2

The rediscovery of certain holy truths which were lost
either by accident or by intention through eliciting the holy
writs will be termed the eliciting revelation. It is best rep—
resented by the emergence of Neo-Confucianism. Students of
Chinese philosophy generally agree that the Neo-Confucianists
incorporated into the Confucianist philosophical system many
metaphysical elements from Buddhism and Taoism. However, in
defending their philosophies, the Neo-Confucian scholars in-
variably claimed that their theories were based upon or deduced
from the Confucian sacred truths, and that they only rediscov-

ered tflma Tao which their predecessors had failed to transmit.22

 

’1

21Znaniecki, op. cit., p. 108.

22For instance, Han Yu (768-824), the first real pro—
tagonist of later Neo-Confucianism, made the following remark
on the lost transmittal of Tag. "Yao transmitted it to Shun;
Shun transmitted it to Yfi; Ya transmitted it to T'ang; T'ang
transmitted it to (Kings) Wen and Wu and the Duke of Chou;
Wen and Wu and the Duke of Chou transmitted it to Confucius;
Confucius transmitted it to Mencius. After Mencius died, it
was no longer transmitted." See Fung Yu-lan, History of Chi-
nese PhilOSOphy, trans. Derk Bodde (2 vols.; Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1953), II, H10. I was unable to
find out the Neo-Confucian scholars' account as to how and
why the transmittal of Tag was lost. Probably such a study
will shed new light on the nature of Neo-Confucianism.

Furthermore, the analysis of eliciting revelation
poses the question of direct revelation. Besides eliciting
revelation a religious scholar may declare that truth was

 

 

22

Similar in appearance but different in character is
the fourth form of presenting new ideas--the method of apocry-
pha. It was frequently discovered by historians or text re-
searchers that some holy writs were actually added to or
corrupted by pseudo—authors.in the name of an ancient prophet
or a renowned religious scholar. It is due to the problem of
apocryphy that textual research is a necessity for the sacred
schools?3 Quite often religious scholars in the same sacred
school accuse each other of falsification and forgery in order

for each to justify his own interpretation.

 

directly revealed to him by a demigod, a sage, or the spiri-
tual ancestor of the school. He bases his claim for legiti-
macy upon the holy sanction of a spiritual being. For instance,
Chang Ling, founder of the Taoist religion, contended that he
had received revelation in person by Lao—tzu. Nagajuna, the
well-known founder of the Real Word school in Buddhism, claimed
that he had been directly inspired by Dharmakaya Buddha and the
Vajra Sattva in meditation. As Allan W. Watts in his The Way

of Zen put it, "The traditional Mohayanaist account of its own
origin is that its teachings wence delivered by the Buddha to
his intimate disciples but their public revelation withheld
until the world was ready for them." See Allan W. Watts, op.
cit., (New York: The New American Library, 1957), p. 67.

These indicate that direct revelation is similar to eliciting
revelation in that both claim that the lost transmittal re«
sulted from accident and/or deliberate withholding by the spiri-
tual ancestor. In a word, the growth of sacred knowledge is
essentially a process of permanent revelation. To determine
whether it is a form of religious syncretism, further research
in connection with its rival school of thought is essential.

23It should be noted that many “forged“ books were not
necessarily ill—intentioned. In ancient China many philosophers
did not write books: if they did they would not author their
books in their own names. It is because of this that textual
research is a very complicated undertaking. For a complete sur—
vey of the forged works see Chang-Hsin-cheng, A Comprehensive
Survey_of Forged Books (Two vols.; Shanghai: The Commercial
Press, 1939). The survey covers more than a thousand contro-
versial works in all fields of Chinese studies.

 

 

23

The fifth way of interpreting new ideas is termed
the integralist approach. A religious scholar can argue
that both the holy truth and the imported new knowledge are
different levels of the same truth; that nowhere do they
conflict with each other and that the new knowledge should
be subject to the control of the higher level of the sacred
truth. This integralist approach is best represented by
Thomas Aquinas' "Christianization" of the philos0phy of
Aristotle. The essence of his universal synthesis is the
attempt to reconcile the different levels of truth with the
Christian theology as the consummation of the whole system.2u
Very similar to Aquinas' universal synthesis is the theory of
integral knowledge propounded by thinkers of the Eastern
Orthodox Church. In responding to the Western impact, the
church thinkers, starting from F. V. Kireyevsky (1806—1856),
A. S. Khomiakov (lBOH-l860), down to V. S. Soloviev (1853-
1900?), N. A. Berdyav (l87u-l9u8) and others, stressed the
ambition of embracing the European civilization in its full-
ness by the "highest principles" of the Orthodox Church,
according to which knowledge is an organic all-embracing
unity:

. . . but it can only be attained if the subrational
aspect of the world (sense qualities), its rational
(or ideal) aspect, and the superrational principles are

all given together in experience which combine sensuous,
intellectual, and mystical intuition.25

 

2“George A. Sabine, A History of Political Theory
(revised edition; New York: Henry Holt, 1959), p. 2UB.

25N. o. Lossky, History of Russian Philosophy (New
York: International Universities Press, 1951), p. HOD.

 

2A

This Christian all-embracing synthesis can be com—
pared with the typical Buddhist synthesis of the scholars of
early Sung period. The general opinion among learned scholars
was: "Confucius is my teacher; Lao-tzu the teacher of Confu-

cius; the Buddha the teacher of Lao-tzu."26

Obviously the
three architects of religion were considered as three repre-
sentatives of three different levels of the same truth with
Buddhism occupying the highest level.

Finally, a religious scholar may approach the question
from a utilitarian point of view. For instance, during the
late Ch'ing period, K'ang Yu-wei's predecessors, such as Feng
Kuei-fen, Tseng Kuo-fan and Li Hung—Chang, tried to syncretize
Western natural science and technology, particularly arms and
ships, with the Confucianist social and political institutions.
They argued that if China could imitate the West's ways in pro-
ducing ships and guns, the Maulchu Empire, whose ethical, civil
and military systems were far more superior than those of the
West, could be strengthened and saved.27 This utilitarian ap—
proach differs from the integralist approach in that the latter
penetrates into the depths of epistemology,while the former

believes the newly encountered knowledge onlgr practically use-

ful. The former regards its traditional system of knowledge as

 

26Fan Ch'i, A General Survey of History of Chinese Philo-
sophy (Nth ewiitiorl; Shanghai: Kai Ming Book Store), 1938,
p. 392-

 

27See Ssu-yfi Teng and John K. Fairbank, China's Response
to the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961), Chap-
ters v, vi, and vii.

 

25

the foundation for new knowledge, while the latter considers
it the consummation of all levels of truths.

So far the study has identified six basic forms of
religious syncretism. Regardless of the differences in their
outer appearance, they all share the same characteristics:
traditional knowledge is absolute, adequate and immutable.
They enable us to understand that the pattern of response of
religious or semi—religious truths is essentially a permanent
process of rediscovering the authentic meaning of the holy
truths. In other words, it is a continuing emancipation
through the revival of the ancient customs. The pattern is
this: the stronger is the coming impact, the farther back in
time the revival will be; the more distant is the revival, the
stronger the charge against paganism, forging, or falsifica-
tion will be.

Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the anal-
ysis of the six forms of religious syncretism is essentially
analytical. Due to the complicated nature of cultural en— I
counter, a religious scholar may combine more than one form
in his incorporation of the new knowledge. For analyzing
K'ang Yu-wei's political philosophy and the counter-ideas of

his Opponents we are obliged to employ all of them.

The Sacred Complex

The above analysis of the various forms of religious
syncretism clearly shows that both the sacred school and its

religious scholars are permeated almost without exception

26

with a deep reverence for the ancient authorities--the sacred
complex. This complex was best described by the late Confu-
cian philosopher Liang Ch'i—ch'ao, a leading disciple and
critic of K'ang Yu—wei. He said:

If a man harbored even the slightest intention of
doubting or criticizing a single word or sentence in a
classical text, he felt instantly as if he had fallen i
into a position of "vilifying the saints and disregarding
the law;" he would be uneasy and conscience-stricken, not
only in drggd of legal prosecution and irresponsible
criticism.

Another Confucian philosopher Han Yfi once remarked
during the T'ang period: "That which has passed through the
hands of the sages is beyond the reach of discussion and
criticism."29 Although both men's remarks referred to the
Confucian intellectuals' respect for the ancient sages, never-
theless, they can be considered as typical expressions of the
degree to which the sacred complex was deeply entrenched in
the followers' minds of the various sacred schools. Probably
it is due to the deep entrenchment of this complex that some-
times a religious scholar is obliged to adopt new things in
disguise lest it offend the pOpular respect for the sacred
school.

Furthermore, it is understandable that both the

Taoists and the Neo-Confucianists, after having absorbed the

imported new knowledge,tenaciously1kept to the dichotomy of

 

28Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, Intellectual Trends in the Ch'ing

Period, trans. Immanuel C. Y. Hsu (Cambridge: Harvard Uni—
versity Press, 1959), p. 33.

291bid.

27

barbarism-civilization, trying to get rid of the impact of
foreign theories. Since the main purpose of incorporation
was to "kill," or to subjugate the new knowledge in order to
"uproot" its impact, it was very logical that incorporation
and denunciation must be found together.3O
Lastly, to make both ends meet, in many instances, a
religious scholar is obliged not only to stretch the tradi-
tional framework to make room for the incoming new knowledge,
but also to dilute the form and content of the incoming new
knowledge thus to make it more palatable to the traditional
system. In this way, a religious scholar's interpretation
tends to be radically different from the traditionally ac—
cepted systems. More important, it tends, intentionally or
unintentionally, to differ profoundly from the understanding

generally held by the rival schools of thought.31

Presumably
the more the new knowledge is to be introduced, the more radi-

cal the difference will appear to be.

 

30The late Professor Cheng Yin-ko, in his second com-
ment on Fung Yu-lan's History of Chinese Philosophy, contends
that this is the true spirit of the Taoist religion, the old
path of Neo—Confucianism, the revelation by cultural contact
between China and other peoples. His contention indicates
that he was also a religious scholar. See Fung, o . cit.
(reprint; Hong Kong: The Pacific Book Store, 1961;, appendix
3. Vol. I of the Chinese text was first published in 1931 in
Shanghai. It was reissued in 1934, together with Vol. II, by
the Commercial Press, Shanghai.

31Carson Chang, in his account of the emergence of
Neo—Confucianism, offers a succint analysis as to how the Neo—
Confucianists "misunderstood" the Buddhist metaphysical con-
cepts. See Chang, The Development of Neo—Confucianism (New
York: Bookman Associates, 1957), pp. 131-32.

 

28

The Grand Synthesis

 

Religious syncretism often occurred in cultural con-
tact within the sacred school or between different schools of
thought. In the present contact between East and West, due
especially to the deveIOpment of science and technology, all
types of knowledge, or all categories of men of knowledge,
should have the opportunity to meet with one another. This
can be regarded as the"great encounterg'which had never pre-
viously occurred in the history of mankind. Great encounter,
I assume, would result in"grand synthesisl' Thus it may be
safely be conjectured that there must have been, or there will
be, a variety of religious scholars in various sacred schools
who have tried to incorporate, transcend or reconcile the dif—
ferent kinds of validated knowledge under the highest princi-
ples of each of their faiths. K'ang Yu-wei was one of them.
How do these sacred men of knowledge evaluate the newly en-
countered knowledge in terms of their sacred truths? In what
forms do they syncretize them, and what are their social
effects? The answers to these questions should form a very
interesting body of subject-matter for students of political

phiIOSOphy as well as for students of the sociology of knowledge.

The Question of Truth

 

A religious scholar, during and after his incorporation
of the new knowledge, is obliged to put new knowledge to test.
The question arises: who will test the contributions made by

a religious scholar? According to Znaniecki, "the scholar's

29

contribution must pass through the criticism of the school,
which decides whether they can be incorporated into the total
body of scholarly tradition."32 Then the next question is:
who constitutes the sacred school? Insofar as Confucianism
is concerned, it seems that the "school" does not consist of
a stratum of office-seekers, i.e., literati, alone; (see foot-
note 5) it also includes‘the "son of heaven" who is supposed to
look to the literati for administration and advice. There—
fore, a Confucian scholar's attempt to incorporate any new,
vital knowledge must pass through not only the literati class,
but also the emperor, who is the center of the power structure.
It is because of this that the formulation of political philo-
SOphy in the Confucian sacred system must by nature be an
arduous political fight, even if it may not be a difficult
struggle in the academic sense. Seeking the sanction by the
emperor an active Confucian scholar must try to climb the
bureaucratic ladder in one way or another to make his contri-
bution acceptable. It is the Confucian scholar's deep con-
viction that his contribution should soon, or will eventually
win the recognition by the "son of heaven," who will declare
to make it the official learning.

The test of truth gives rise to another important ques-
tion: is the claim made by an individual religious scholar or
by a group of scholars real "truth"? Therefore, it must be

especially noted here that the exposition on the six methods

 

32Znaniecki, op. cit.,_p. 109.

30

of religious synthesis does not necessarily lead to an extreme
skepticism as Professor Znaniecki seems to have conveyed in

his analysis. Probably this is one of the major differences
between Znaniecki‘s approach to religious truth and that of
this writer. I submit that the analysis of religious truths
does not exclude the possibility of the inner connection be-
tween the seemingly new knowledge and the old traditional
framework. From a socio-historical point of view the question
of whether the sacred system of knowledge does contain some
portion of the new knowledge, or whether the new knowledge was
originated from the old, or whether the transmittal failed, or
whether a sacred book or passage was written by a pseudo-author,
or whether new knowledge can serve some purpose, can be inves-
tigated and verified. A centuries-old major culture whose
system of knowledge continuously grows does not exclude

such a possibility.33 The difficulties lie rather in the veri-
fication of the integralist approach (as well as of the direct
revelation). This will require ontological as well as episte—
mological inquiries beyond the field of sociology of knowledge

and political philosophy. Thus, for the same reason, even if

 

33Liang Ch'i-ch'ao was correct in saying that some
young scholars in modern China in refuting the old claim for
containment went so far as to negate everything, thus to make
the Chinese nation equal to the uncivilized tribes. He repu-
diated both the traditional sacred complex and the tendency to
despise one's own country. "Their ridicules are exactly the
same. Fundamentally speaking, the error is stemmed from their
ignorance." See Liang Ch'i-ch'ao,AnAcademic History of China
During the Last Three Hundred Years (2nd edition; Chungking:
Chung Hwa Book Store, 19HH), pp. 3h6-A7.

31

one accepts the six forms of incorporation, it will not
necessarily lead to the conclusion that absolute truth does
not exist. Rather it shows that by the inner logic of the
religious truth the religious scholars, when they encounter
new knowledge, are obliged to resort to incorporation in one
way or another.

‘ Religious Syncretism:
Ideology or UtOpia?

 

 

The fact that the incorporation of new knowledge is
to perpetuate and enrich the traditional holy truths has been
analyzed above. Now I shall proceed to analyze the social
and political application of such an incorporation, i.e., to
study the close relationship between new knowledge and its
social existence. From a sociological point of view, the
incorporation of new knowledge by a religious scholar may
function either as ideological or utOpian. Ideology refers
to the attempt, either consciously or unconsciously, to sup—
port the existing social order; while utOpia pertains to the
attempt to break up the bonds of the existing order. A re-
ligious scholar may incorporate foreign knowledge as much as
he can but still orients himself to the maintanance of the

existing social order. "Such an incongruent orientation

 

became utOpian only when in addition it tended to burst the

"311

bonds of the existing order. (Italics mine.)

 

3”Karl Mannheim, Ideology and UtOpia, trans. Louis
Wirth and Edward Shils (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.,
1953), p. 173. Here it may be fruitful to point out that

 

32

Probably the most salient characteristic of religious
syncretism as an ideology or utOpia rests in the fact that
the composition of its ideas is essentially a strange "mixture"
of two or more different sources. It is derived from the
emergence of new ideas, or counter—ideas. It is a resultant
of the intellectual response toward outside impact in a his-
torical setting of cultural contact. When a religious scholar
tries to defend or justify the maintenance of the existing
order of things by means of .rediscovery of the holy writs,
the result of such a mixture can be termed ideological syn—
cretism. On the contrary, if such a ,rediscovery is used as
a means for social and political reform, which tends to break
up the status quo, this strange mixture is regarded as uto-
pian syncretism.

It is important to point out the inherent danger of
religious syncretism. It may imply that its social conse-

quences are to some extent unforeseeable. As pointed out

 

the concept of "incongruent orientation" was borrowed from
Mannheim's sociology of knowledge but was essentially dif-
ferent from his. Taken from the EurOpean historical setting
the varied perspectives mentioned in Ideology and Utopia

were treated by Mannheim in such a way that their "departure
from reality" was "spontaneous," occurring within an insulated
great community. The inadequacy of this approach rests in
the fact that it failed to pinpoint the responsive pattern of
thinking in the Christian church in relation to the rival
schools of thought. As a consequence, when the concepts of
ideology and utopia are applied to the study of the intel-
lectual response of varied sacred cultures in the non-West,
the concept of "incongruent orientation" has to be enlarged
to include the imported knowledge, which functions as a
stimulant to the "departure from reality" of the religious
scholars.

 

33

by Znaniecki, there is a tendency that the introduction of
new knowledge, particularly "the secular criteria of truth,
gradually, perhaps, almost imperceptibly, pushes the criteria
of holy tradition into the shade."35 The reason is that
the incorporation of new knowledge, no matter how successful
it may be, does not guarantee the "revealing" or "leak-out"
of the new knowledge to the lay society. As a consequence,
it tends to help throw doubt upon the absoluteness and the
degree of self-adequacy of the holy truth. The lay society
may demand more importation of the foreign knowledge which
may not be congruent with the sacred framework, or by the
inspiration of foreign knowledge lay members may take a dif-
ferent approach, contrary to the eXpectation of the religious
scholar. For this reason, any attempt to incorporate new
knowledge is always viewed with deep suspicion by the ultra-
conservatives. Despite the plea for legitimacy, a religious
scholar, especially a scholar of utOpian syncretism, is likely
to be accused of wittingly or unwittingly weakening the sacred
social order by committing heresy. (Incidentally, the ultra-
conservatives may Justify their accusation by invoking a
historical, religious syncretism.)

More important is the fact that utOpian syncretism
is in part ideological. The ideological character of utopian
syncretism is deeply rooted in religious syncretism pg; pg.

As mentioned above, the very purpose of religious syncretism

 

35Znaniecki, op. cit., p. 115.

3A

is to preserve the absoluteness and self—adequacy of the
sacred framework by means of rediscovering the holy truth.
It follows that the social and political application of
such a discovery is always limited to the extent that the
basic aspects of the sacred framework, which a religious
scholar deems absolute, are unalterable. A religious
scholar may unwittingly destroy the basic framework by
introducing undesirable elements, but it is always his duty

36 In

to see that the basic framework is exactly preserved.
this sense, a utopian-bent scholar is obliged by nature to
be a conservative no matter how radical he may be accused
of being. The difference, therefore, between the two types
of religious scholars lies only in the degree to which the
sacred social order may be preserved or reformed.
Furthermore, the ideological character of utopian
syncretism is also closely related to the scope and variety

of foreign knowledge which a religious scholar tries to in-

corporate. This is because the abundance of ideas and

 

36This by no means excludes the possibility that a
religious scholar is motivated other than by his strong ad-
herence to the sacred trust which he has pledged. But it
is difficult to identify the extra-functional motivations,
particularly of the utopian-bent religious scholars, because of
the fact that their syncretic philosophies are generally
couched in terms of sacred language. It is reasonably safe
to conjecture that the utOpian-bent scholar is more strongly
motivated by adherence to the sacred truth than the ideo-
logical-bent scholar. This is because the ideological-
oriented scholars are generally tied to the existing social
and political situations, whereas the utOpian-oriented
scholars are devoid of immediate interests.

35

counter—ideas syncretized in the perspective of a religious
scholar tend to make them stand in sharp contrast with one
another, consequently rendering them impotent in actual
practice, or otherwise distorted in political embodiments.
Therefore, the wide range of incorporation of new knowledge
suggests the idea that part of the incorporation is implicitly
or explicitly intended to be a lip-service, the actual em—
bodiment of which is likely to be postponed to the remote
future. Probably the broader the scope of a religious syn-
cretism, the more lip-service; thus the more ideological
elements a religious scholar's prespective tends to have.
because of this that a utOpian syncretism will never en-
tirely succeed g; fpppp in the realization of its projected
contents. Probably a religious scholar of the utOpian type
in applying his doctrine is always compelled by his own
logic to fall short of his nobler motives.

Lastly, it is of interest to note that the ideological
or utOpian function of a religious scholar's syncretic philoso—
phy may not necessarily be permanent; it fluctuates in accord-
ance with the changing conflict between or among the rival
schools of thought. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find
a utopian religious scholar of yesterday gradually shifting
to an extremely Opposite position as a result of the chang-
ing situation, or of the emergence of a more utOpian—like
school of thought. .When a utopian religious scholar insists
upon clinging to the old ideas, or fails to incorporate the

newly encountered school of thought, he will soon find the

36

social and political application of his syncretic philosophy
gradually becoming obsolete, thus, more conservative, or
more ideological. He may continue to lay claims on the
rival schools of thought in a high—sounding utopian manner;
in actual practice, however, he tends to orient himself to
the maintenance, even the restoration, of the status quo.
Religious syncretism as such is entirely ideological.

The Socio-Ontological Implications
of the Sacred School Study

 

 

In his evaluation of the contributions made by
the religious scholars, Znaniecki maintains that the reli-
gious scholars have actually eliminated the sacred lore's
naive superficialities, overcome its most striking incon-
sistencies, and then constructed a more coherent body of
doctrine and given it a philOSOphic depth undreamed of by

its initiators.37

In many cases this may hold true. But
if one agrees that the incorporation of new knowledge may
be indicative of a possible crisis within the sacred school,
he will have to admit that the more dissimilar and/or the
more utopian the new knowledge appears, the more severe the

38

possible crisis will be, for there is the great posSibility

 

37Znanieoki, Op. cit., p. 110.

38Wirth's analysis of Japan's strong resistance to
"dangerous thoughts" from the West actually touched the prob-
lem of religious syncretism, particularly the political and
ontological aspects of the sacred school in relation to out-
side impact. Unfortunately his analysis was not carried far
enough to its logical conclusion. See Mannheim, 0p. cit.,
preface, pp. xvi-xvii.

37

of altering the basic assumptions of the sacred systems of
knowledge. This alteration is termed the breakdown of the
sacred school. For convenience, it can be divided into two
kinds: the breakdown from within and the breakdown from
without.

In theory, a system's adaptability is predetermined
in the sense that its essential parts cannot be severely
altered or destroyed, otherwide it will cease to be a sys-
tem 93; system. Thus, if the incorporation of new knowledge
should result in the negation of the essential elements of
the sacred system of truth, this system can be considered
as having been destroyed, despite the fact that the religious
scholar and the sacred school have persistently made the
claim that they have imported nothing that was not aready
contained in the sacred lore. This is the breakdown from
within.

Contrary to this is the breakdown from without.

A breakdown from without usually results from the failure
of the religious scholar and the sacred school in upholding
the absoluteness and the full-adequacy of the holy truth.
As a result, men of knowledge gradually stOp hanging their
creations, discoveries, or imports on pegs of the tradi-
tional sacred system; meanwhile they formulate or import
'their own frames of reference. When new schools of thought
Eire gaining importance and recognition, the old sacred

1:ruths start to decline, losing their traditional appeal.

38

If a sacred school fails in re-incorporating the rival school
of thought, it may eventually result in a complete breakdown
from without.

The crucial question arising from the sacred school
study is, therefore, this: to what extent is each sacred
school obliged to retreat in the present Age of Great En-
counter? Insofar as Confucianism is concerned, it shares
the absolute and divine character of all major religions,
but its metaphysical and life-orientation mainly belongs to
this world. As a sacred system of knowledge, it is funda-
mentally devoid of any elaborate penetration into the sacred~
proper concerning gods, or the characteristics of other-
worldliness. Therefore, its points of retreat may be less
certain than those of other religions. A comparative study
will shed light on the nature of intellectual developments
characterized by religious truth as well as on the future

of each of the sacred cultures.

CHAPTER III

THE REDISCOVERY OF AUTHENTIC CONFUSIANISM

In Search of True Teachings

 

The principal theme in K'ang Yu-wei's academic and
political writings is that Confucianism is essentially an
all-embracing unity in which all substantive knowledge is
contained. Therefore, the basis for all the world cultures,
particularly the validated truths of the various essential
aspects of Western culture, were already contained in their
Confucianist counterparts. Due to historical accidents
many of the substantial elements were lost, or left un-
developed, in the process of transmittal. It was in his
mission, “he contended, to rediscover these authentic ele-
ments by eliciting the contents and connections of the Con-
fucian holy writs, to polish them, and to further develOp
them and present them to his fellow religious scholars. It
would be their duty to adopt the rediscovered system of
knowledge, to save the Chinese Empire from the Western in-
vasion, and eventually to save the whole world.

The story of K'ang's rediscovering the authentic
version of Confucianism dates back to his youth, when he
was exposed to the influence of Oriental mysticism and

Western learning. In 1878 and 1879, against his teacher‘s

39

MO

prohibition, K'ang secretly practiced meditation and studied
the Taoist and Buddhist holy writs. According to his own
account, one day while sitting in meditation he had suddenly
seen that heaven, earth and all the ten thousand creatures
and he were of the same body with a great light shining.l
Subsequently, he continued the practice and study and gained
many unusual and mysterious experiences, which encouraged
his belief in the possible value of religious mysticism.
Later, he read books on Western history and geography and
visited Hong Kong where, upon seeing the huge mansions,
clean streets and well—organized police force, he began to
realize that the Western countries had law and order, there—
fore they should not be regarded as occupying the same level
as the ancient barbarian tribes. Whereupon he re-read Wei
Yuan's Maritime Countries and Hsu Chi-yfi's A Brief Descrip-

tion of the Ocean Circuit, purchased world maps and collected

 

books on Western learning. In 1882, after having failed in
the triennial examination, he traveled through Shanghai on
the return journey. Upon seeing the prosperity of the
Western settlements there, he was further convinced that
the Western governments must have underlying principles.
After that time, he declared that he had dissolved all of
the traditional prejudices and become a serious student of

Western learning.

lK'ang,"Autobiography," in Chinese Historiography
.Society (ed.), The 1898 Reform, IV, 11H. For my comment on
IK'ang's mysticism, see the section "Confucianism as a religion."

41

His continuing interest in studying Oriental re-
ligions and Western learning in addition to Confucian
classics greatly expanded his sphere of knowledge and en-
hanced his level of understanding. He began to contemplate
such great concepts as the nature of the universe, the de-
velopment of history, and the future of the world. As his
thoughts deepened, he was increasingly led to believe that
he was the incarnation of a. demigod whose mission it was
to bring salvation to all sentient beings. Driven by this
conviction and an expanded SCOpe of knowledge, he began
drafting a constitution for all mankind, proposing to re-
form the nation and collecting disciples to propagate his
theory. Most important of all, his study on the non—
Confucian literature led him to cast serious doubts on the
nature and legitimacy of the traditional Confucian commen-
taries which were then prevailing in the Empire as orthodox
interpretations of Confucian teachings. Searching for the
true version of Confucius' teachings, he underwent a number
of stages in his re-examination of Confucian literature.

As he stated in Li Yun Chu (Commentary on the Evolution of

 

Rites):

I have studied the teaching of Confucius compre—
hensively and reverently. At first, I followed the
beaten track of the Sung scholars, where I eagerly
thought that I had found it; then, however, I realized
that Confucius could not have been so bigoted and
narrow as that. So I pressed further along the path
of the Han scholars, at every moment thinking that I
was treading on it; but then I realized that it could
not be so fragmentary and confused as that. For if
it stopped only there, Confucius would be a sage but
not a divine being. Thereupon I resigned from the

A2

complexity of the Classics, and sought for it from the

historical records . . . . Thereupon I rejected the
Old Text forgeries entirely, and sought for it in the
New Text scholarship, . . . In this way I came to

understand the transformation of the Yip and Yang [as
portrayed] in the Spring and Autumn Annals. [At this
point] I said that the Way of Confucius, though so
great that it cannot be wholly seen, may at least be
spied in its outlines. Alas, however, the Great Way

is so deep and boundless that it cannot be summed up

in a few words only. After this I completely discarded
the commentaries and sought for it in the texts of the
Classics themselves. When I came to read the Evolu-
tion of Rites, I was greatly moved and exclaimed:
"Herein are to be found the successive changes of the
Three Ages of Confucius, and the real truth of his
Great Way, . . ." This text represents the esoteric
words and true teaching of Confucius. It is a precious
record without superior in any country, and a divine
recipe for resurrecting all sentient beings throughout
the world.2

 

 

Although the exact date of the book was repudiated
by some historians of the intellectual history of modern

China,3 nevertheless central thoughts in Commentary

 

2K'ang, o . cit., in K'ang, The Compassion Magazine
(8 vols.; Shanghai; IBy the author], 1913), V, 23b-24a; or
K'ang, Collection of Essayg of K'ang Yu-wei (l2 vols.;
Shanghai: Kung Ho Book Store, 191“), VIII, la—b. Quoted
with a slight modification from Fung Yu—lan, History of
Chinese Philosophy, II, 678-79.

 

3K'ang dated the Commentagy back to 1884 but it is
generally agreed among commentators that it was written and
completed much later. Hsiao Kung-Ch'uan in "K'ang Yu-wei
and Confucianism" (Monumenta Serica, 18 [1959], p. luu.)
indicates that the Commentagy was actually done in 1901-2.
T'ang Chi—chun's study indicates that the book was possibly
written between 1896 and 1897. He further points out that
the forged dateline was probably motivated by an attempt to
indicate the author's independent thinking, thus eradicating
the traces of influence from other schools of thought. See
Essays on the 1898 Reform (Wuhan: Hupei People's Press,
1957), pp. 151—52. To illustrate the nature of forgery in
K'ang's political thinking the present study is instead con—
centrated on the anatomy of his mysticism-—the core of K'ang's
religious syncretism. See the section "Confucianism as a
.religion."

 

 

 

“3

illustrated the extent to which K'ang pressed forward in his
pursuing the truth and greatness of Confucius' teachings.
Beginning with the examination of Neo-Confucianism, the then
"state cult" of the Chinese nation, he continuously pressed
forward and brushed aside Sung Learning, Han Learning, the
Classical Commentaries until he came to the sayings of Con-
fucius. The process of rediscovering the holy truth, as
experienced by K'ang, was so deep and penetrating that
finally he came into direct contact with the spiritual an-
cestor of the Confucian sacred school to which he belonged.
This lengthy, academic recourse is indicative of K'ang's
deep reverence for Confucius on the one hand, and on the
other, it showed the degree of anxiety and apprehension on
K'ang's part in his re-examining the holy writs of Confu—
cianism. From K'ang's point of view, if there had been no
"esoteric words and true teachings," the Confucian sacred
school of thought, or generally speaking, the Chinese cul-
ture, would have been inadequate: too narrow as the Sung
Learning (Neo-Confucianism) was, or too fragmentary, as the
Han Learning was, or too deep as the Classical Commentaries
were. Therefore, there would have been no precious record
and divine prescription that would meet the demand of the
new age. In other words, Confucianism would lose its
rationale for existence, give way to other cultural values
and become extinct. As a consequence, the Chinese nation

would lose her entire cultural independence to other states.

AA

Confucianism: An All—Inclusive
System of Knowledge

 

 

K'ang's rediscovery of the Evolution of Rites as

 

a divine recipe is only a part, though the most important
part, of his findings. I shall deal with it in a following
chapter. The first thing to be noted is that he tried to
prove that the holy writs of the Confucian sacred school
had contained many, as a matter of fact, all, of the vali-
dated knowledge that the world had ever known. At least,
he argued, Confucius and the Confucian scholars and states-
men of the subsequent ages had paid a considerable amount
of attention to some of them, or had had some crude ideas
of them. Therefore, the introduction of Western learning
into China would either help illuminate the inherent value
of the Confucian system of knowledge, or would serve as a
means to recover what the Chinese nation had unfortunately
lost many centuries earlier.

K'ang's claim for all—containment is best shown
in his Jih-Pen shu-mu chihLl (Bibliography of Japanese Books)
which was compiled and printed during the interim of the
Sino-Japanese War and the 1898 Reform. The main purpose of
the book was the persuade the Court and the literati to
translate the Japanese books into Chinese, thus to under-
stand further the characteristics and secrets of the Western

culture through the media of the Japanese language. In

“(Shanghaiz Taflflung Book Store, 1897.)

“5

other words, it was to be used as a guide to promote Western
learning in China by way of the Japanese short out.5 (At
that time the Japanese written language was not far differ—
ent from the Chinese counterpart.)

In introducing the Japanese books K'ang severely
attacked the "foreign matter" school, i.e., the then preva—
lent utilitarian approach (which I have already discussed).
He contended that China's defeat by Japan was mainly due to
the fact that the scholar-officials had paid excessive at-
tention to the purchase of weapons and the imitation of
military techniques from the West, and had ignored the de-
velOpment of the knowledge of the Chinese people, which was
supposed to be the foundation of all undertakings.6 In

other words, China was desperately in need of a clear and

over-all understanding of the Western learning with its

 

5Tracing K'ang's failure to found a new school of
learning, Liang Ch'i-ch'ao maintained that it was partly due
to the insufficiency of the translation of Western works.
"This [possibility] was already precluded by that time,
since not only was the indigenous traditional thinking too
inveterate and deep-rooted, but the new foreign thought had
too shallow and meager a source, which dried up easily once
tapped and, quite expectedly, died of exhaustion." (Intel-
lectual Trends in the Ch'ing Period, p. 113.) This is
partly correct. But he failed to take the Japanese books.
into account. In addition to the twenty to thirty scientific
works translated by the Kiangnan Arsenal and a number of
translations contributed by the foreign missions, K'ang
heavily relied upon the Japanese books for understanding
the West. One cannot ascertain, therefore, that the sources
were too shallow and meager.

6K'ang, 0p. cit., Preface, p. iiia.

M6

various compartments of knowledge, something which the
Japanese had already achieved. As a religious scholar K'ang
offered a theoretical justification based upon his under-
standing of the classical literature and his annotations

of the Japanese books.

It is important to note that K'ang strongly em-
phasized the broad scOpe of modern learning against the
traditional Chinese learning based upon geographic isolation.
According to him, the main factor that made the significant
difference was the effect of the revolution in transporta-
tion and communication which had made isolation impossible.
In olden times due to the backwardness of communication and
transportation, historians were familiar with the Middle
Kingdom only. Historical records attached little signifi-
cance to the individual tribes residing on the four outer
fringes of the Chinese empire. He went on to say:

Nowadays when communication and transportation have
been extended all over the globe, the world has become
one, learned scholars [literally, students of great
oceans] are obliged to regard [other countries] as if
their households, and [the study of foreign countries]
as if the counting of rice and salt.7

As a result of the breakdown of geographic isola-
tion, the sphere of scholarly interests tended to transcend
the traditional scope of learning. To K'ang, a learned Con-

fucian scholar was not simply required to possess an abun-

dant knowledge of the past in connection with that of present;

 

7Ibid., II, Chuan III, 18b; remark on world history.

“7

he was further required to know all foreign countires in
addition to his own. This all—out function assigned to the
Confucian religious scholars by K'ang clearly indicated his
awareness of the wide scope of modern scholarship, especially
of the theoretical impact on the Confucian system of know-
ledge. It was his belief that the traditional Confucian
system of knowledge with its narrow sc0pe of study, if not
prOperly enlarged to incorporate the various kinds of newly
encountered knowledge, would no longer survive in a world
in which modern communication had brought varied types of
knowledge together.

The several thousand volumes of Japanese books,
maps and atlases, which he had collected were classified
into fifteen categories, ranging from physiology and physics
to novels and military science. Each category was further
sub-classified into a number of headings. From the point
of View of modern scholarship K'ang's fifteen-fold classi-
ficatory scheme may appear rudimentary and questionable,
but it clearly indicated the extent to which K'ang had tried
to relate the Chinese learning to its Western counterpart.

It is amazing to see how K'ang remarked on the
contents of Western learning.

In regard to philosophy he said, "The concepts of
Yip and ngg have included everything [in philosophy] with-

8

out exception."

 

81bid., I, Chfian II, 18o.

48

In regard to psychology he contended that psychology
was the traditional science in Confucianism. According to
him, the Ming scholars' penetration into the study of mind
is comparable or identical to the Buddhist Lakavatara Sutra,9
which is far superior to the psychological science in the
Occident. He deplored the fact that scholars since the
Ch'ien-lung and Chia-ch'ing periods had attacked the study
Of the mind. He critically questioned these scholars by
saying: "How can one write books and do things with a
ripped mind!"10

In regard to economics he said, "All the Six
Classics are literature in economics."11

In regard to law he claimed that the laws contained

in the Spring and Autumn Annals were created for all peoples

 

and all nations. Compared with the international law in the

Occident, both are in eight or nine instances out of ten

identical with each other.12

 

9Ibid., I, Chfian II, 20b. For English translation
of the Buddhist scripture see Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, The
Lavkavatara Sutra, (Reprinting; London: Routledge and Kegan
PaulLtd., 1956).

10

 

Ibid.

llK'ang, op. cit., III, Chuan v, 18b. One of his
pupils, Chen Huan-chang, wrote a doctoral dissertation, The
Economic Principles Of Confucius and His School, (2 volumes;
New York: Columbia University Press, 1911), claiming that
all classical economic theories were contained in the Six
Classics.

 

 

l21hid., III, Chuan VI, 20a. However, in his an-
notating the Annals K'ang only mentioned a few comparisons,
thus failing to make it explicit how many were identical to
modern international law.

“9

In regard to the theory of state, he maintained
that among political theories none was comparable with the
perfection of the Confucian Six Classics. "I have studied,"
he declared, "and found out that the secret of the Occi-
dental's strength rests in that [his political institu-
tions] are secretly in accord with our Classical principles."13
In regard to agricultural chemistry he said, "The
use of chemistry in farming was originally a science of our
Middle Kingdom. Unfortunately its transmittal was lost."lu
In regard to soil science he said, "After having
read the 'Essay on Soil Science' translated in Japanese I
realized that it was secretly identical to the ideas con-

tained in Kwang tzu."15

 

In regard to the calendar he said, "None of the
calendars in the world has gone beyond the Three Beginnings.
It is indeed that the institutions set by Confucius [are]
so vast in scope!"16

In regard to modern industry he quoted a histori-

cal figure to indicate the importance of industry in China's

history. He said, "The History of the Three Kingdoms re-

 

cords: When Chu KO was in governance of Sze—Ch'uan,

 

l3Ibid., III, Chfian V, 2a.
l”Ibid., IV, Chuan VII, 6a.
15Ibid., IV, Chuan VII, 8a.

l6Ibid., I, Chuan II, 8a.

50

industry, craft, and technology were fully developed. Nowa-

days the Occident has got the idea.”17

These are merely a few of his comments but they
indicate the SOOpe of knowledge he credited to Chinese
learning.

Thus he maintained:

It is sufficient for us to observe the Classical prin-
ciples in governing the Middle Kingdom. We are not
borrowing anything from the Occident. If we are, we
are only trying to consult the Western books to under—
stand why the Occident is so orderly and powerful thus
to further illuminate the [wide] applicability of our
Classical principles. Nowadays scholar-Officials are
so accustomed to our national records that they have
forgotten the Classical principles. They took the
recent historical records as the learning of the Middle
Kingdom condemning the foreigners [as barbarians].
They have failed to note that our historical records
are no longer the same Classical principles laid
down by our ancient sages. As it says, seek the lost
rites from the barbarian territories. [We should take
notice of the fact that] foreign countries are pragtic-
ing the very essence Of our Classical principles.

Thus the dialectic conflict between Confucianism
and "barbarism," or the conflict between the Chinese and
the Western learnings was solved by K'ang's recognition
that the Western learning was the very essence of the sys-
tem of knowledge contained in the holy writs of the Confucian
sacred school. He was not adOpting any imported knowledge,
he asserted (M1 the contrary, he was rediscovering the very

essence Of the Confucian holy writs that had been lost in

the past centuries.

 

l7Ibid., IV, Chuan VIII, lb.

18ipgg., III, Chfian V, 2b—3a; remark on the
theory of state.

Sl

Confucianism as a Religion

 

In his universal claim for containment K'ang laid
heavy emphasis upon the religious elements contained in
Confucianism, particularly the godly nature of Confucius.
His purpose was to demonstrate that Confucianism was algo
a religion, and that Confucius was alpo a divine being with
a Messianic mission.

He claimed when introducing books on world reli-
gions that the theory of soul, the foundation for all world
religions, had originally been a part of Confucius' teach—
ings which was lost due to ignorance of the Confucian or
non-Confucian scholars. He said:

It was because of Lao-tzu's propounding the atheistic
doctrine, Yuan Shan's fabricating the non-existence of
ghosts, the Sung scholars' further misinterpreting

[the existence of soul] as the original potentiality

of the two vital forces, i.e., Yin and Yang, that made
the teaching of Confucius on ghosts and gods contained
in the Six Classics and six Weis [literally, the woof
of a fabric] darkened. As a result, the Tao of Con—
fucius became invisible. They have failed to realize
that [as the Book of Changes says] the union of essence
and [matter] . . . forms things and the wandering away
of the soul produced the change of their constitution,
and that the Hél for the Book of Poems regards soul as
the very foundation of matter. Thus the theory of soul
was originally a part of Confucius' teachings, which
should not be monopolized by other religions. Alas!
The Sung scholars' ignorance resulted in ceding terri-
tories to other religions.1

 

 

 

 

Parallel to the claim for soul was his claim for
the knowledge about God (or gods). In his analysis of the

nature of the physical universe he maintained that

 

19Ibid., II, Chfian III, 5b-6a; remark on religious
books. Wei literally means the "woof" of a fabric. The six
Weis were considered by historians as apocrypha.

52

"[The belief] that there is God living in heaven is commonly
held by world religions. The term T'ien in Chinese language
generally means control. The one who is in control is God."20

Thus by quoting the Book of Poems as saying "Serve your God;

 

God is near you; be not double-minded," K'ang joined the
world religions claiming possession of the knowledge about
the existence of God.

Not only had Confucius the clear knowledge of the
existence of God, argued K'ang, but he himself was the son
of God Black Emperor. Following the traditional legendary
account of Confucius' mysterious birth advanced by the New
Text scholars in Han periods, K'ang tried vigorously to
apotheosize Confucius. As the legend contained in the
apocrypha goes:

Confucius's mother, Cheng-tsai, once while taking

a walk happened upon the mound of a large tomb, where
she fell asleep and dreamed that she received an invi—
tation from a Black Emperor. She went to him and in
her dream had intercourse with him. He spoke to her,
saying: "Your confinement will take place within a
hollow mulberry tree." When she awoke she seemed to
feel [pregnant] and [later] gave birth to Confucius

within a hollow mulberry. This is why he is called
the Black Sage .21

 

20K'ang, All Heavens, (2 vols; Privately printed
by K'ang's disciples, possible in 1930), II, Chuan XI, 3a.
The book is a strange mixture of astrology, theology and
astronomy. Its drafting dates back approximately to the
same period when K'ang began writing the Ta T'ung Shu.

21A detailed account of Confucius' mystical birth
and Messianic mission is given in Ch'un-Ch'iu-wei yen-K'ung-
2L3 (Apocryphal Treatise on the Spring and Autumn Annals:
Expository Chart on Confucius). Quoted from Fung Yu-lan,

Op. cit., II, 129.

 

 

53

Basing his formulation upon this "Christianity-
liké'myth K'ang declared that he had discovered that Confu-
cius was the son of the Black Emperor with a Messianic
mission.

Heaven having pity for the many afflictions suf-
fered by men who live on the great earth, [caused] the
Black Emperor to send down his semen so as to create a
being who would rescue the people from their troubles
——a being of divine intelligence, who would be a sage-
king, a teacher for his age, a bulwark for all men,
and a religious leader for the whole world.

K'ang may be excused from propounding a pseudo-
mysticism by invoking an apocrypha to advance his claim on
the grounds that the legendary account of the mysterious
birth of Confucius was handed down many centuries ago, thus
it could be regarded as part Of the spiritual heritage of
the Confucian sacred school. The difficulty with K'ang's
religious claim lies rather in his attempt to apotheosize
himself. Reference has already been made as to how his
study of the Oriental religious writs had changed his aca-
demic orientation. One may wonder whether his subsequent
claims for the "mysticistic" achievements and a Messianic
mission are correct and legitimate, for the question is of
paramount importance in the study of K'ang's syncretism.

In my Opinion, his declaration of being the incarnation of

a divinely-inspired maha-buddhisatva or a demigod with a

mission to save all mankind are utterly untenable and false.

 

22K'ang, Confucius as a Reformer, (Peking: Chung
Hwa Book Store, 1958), Preface, p. vii. Quoted from Fung
Yu-lan, Op. cit., II, 675.

 

5h

The falsehood of K'ang's claim can be seen in
that he wrongly interpreted his emotional disturbance after
he first saw a great light shining. According to his own
account, the fact that he suddenly laughed with joy and
cried with melancholy resulted from the flying devil enter-
ing his heart, as it was stated in the Buddhist scripture

23

Len Yen. "It frequently happens," he maintained, "to a

man who is earnestly in pursuance of Tao, but who has not

taken refuge of [the Buddha].”2u

After consulting the said
scripture,I.discovered that this emotional abnormality was
either due to the over-suppression of one's feelings in the
process of meditation, or due to the disappearance of the
influence of the physical body. According to this esoteric
teaching, both crying and laughing are the necessary by-
products that a practitioner must be clearly aware of. It
is only after one has erroneously assumed that one has
already become a holy man, as indeed K'ang had, that the
flying devil will enter one's heart. Whether there is a
flying devil or not is not our main concern here. The sig-
nificant thing is that K'ang's claim for holiness and been
flatly rejected beforehand by the spiritual sources upon

which he primarily relied.

 

23For the_scripture see Tripitaka In Chinese (55
vols; Tokyo: Taisho Issai-Kyo Kanko Kwai, 1924-28), XIX,
105-55.

2“K'ang, Autobiography, in Op. cit., IV, 11“.

 

55

Secondly, the falsity is exemplified in his mis-
presenting the divine experience he had achieved. He claimed:
. . in heavens, on earth, in the pure lands as well
as in the hells I manifested myself and tested them all.
. . In practicing the Five Superior Ways I saw my
[spiritual] self beside my [physical body, then I made
myself enter into my physical body.2

One is not obliged to be an expert on Buddhism to
see the error in K'ang's statement, for it is clearly illogi-
cal. By the very characteristics of the statement it indi-
cates that a practitioner had to first separate his spiritual
body from his physical counterpart, to enable him to travel
to other parts of the universe. However, K'ang reversed
the order of occurrence.

Other evidence indicating K'ang's untenable claim
lies in his "misunderstanding" of the Buddhist concept of
Wheel Transmission. After having subscribed to the theory
of endless circle of birth-death-birth, he thus declared:

My incarnation into this world was for the sole purpose

of saving the living beings. Therefore, I declined to

stay in the heavens, and deliberately entered the hells;

I did not cast myself to the pure lands, instead, I

came to the dirty world; I did not choose to be a prince,

on the contrary, I chose to be a [Confucian] scholar
in-order to get close to the living beings.26

The fact that the endless process of birth-death-
birth does not lead to the said conclusion is Obvious. For

according to the doctrine all sentient beings live and die

in the same eternal process without any exception, not just

 

25Ibid.

26Ibid., p. 118.

56

K'ang himself.27

Therefore, it is illegitimate to deduce
from the theory a conclusion that one has deliberately
entered the world with a Messianic mission, particularly
with a political one.

Therefore, I maintain that K'ang's religious

story was a ta—wang1yfi (a big lie); that his claim for a

 

Messianic mission was unwarranted; and that his apotheosis
of himself was consequently a pseudo-mysticism.

K'ang's attempt to apotheosize Confucius was in
response to the impact of world religions, particularly of
the organized churches in the West. Fearing the possible
extinction of Confucianism from the earth he tried to coun-
teract the influence of Christianity and further to spread

28

the teachings of Confucius over all the globe. He en-
deavored to demonstrate that because of Confucius' being
the incarnation of a divine being, he was in a position to

create laws and institutions for all ages and all peoples.

 

271 am unable to locate any authoritative study
in English or translated work on the doctrine of Wheel Trans-
mission. There are many of them in Chinese. For example,
the above-quoted scripture Leng Yen is a distinguished one.

28K'ang frankly confessed in his reply to Chu Yun—
sheng in 1891 (?) that his rediscovery of the esoteric
teachings of Confucius was designed to counteract the spread
Of Christianity but denied that it had any necessary connec-
tion with institutional reform. As will be shown later,
the denial was also false. See K'ang, "Rejoinder to Chu
Yfin—sheng" in The Posthumous Writings of K'ang Yu-wei, a
mimeographed manuscript edited by K'ang T'ung—pi, K'ang Yu-
wei's daughter. (4 vols.; Peking; By K'ang T'ung-pi, 1960),
Chfian IV, pp. 23-28, especially pp. 26b-27a.

57

If Confucius were not a god, he could not have possibly laid
down institutions for the Chinese nation for so many centuries.
Above all, his teachings could not have contained so many
truths that would meet the challenge of the Occident and
eventually spread around the world.

Incidentally, K'ang's attempt to apotheosize him—
self can be understood from his apotheosis of Confucius.
Were he not a divinely inspired demigod, he could not have
discovered the godly nature Of Confucius, especially the
long—buried truths set down by Confucius. Above all, were
he not the incarnation of a maha-buddhisatva he would have
no charismatic "right" to collect disciples and followers to
reform the Chinese nation. Thus K'ang's pseudo-mysticism
may be interpreted as a conscious or unconscious attempt to
create a personal myth for advancing the social and political
application of his discovery. The ironic point about K'ang
is that as a leading Confucian religious scholar he used a
different sacred system of knowledge to legitimize his claim.

Confucius as an Omnipotent Law-maker:
the_Grand Depository

In support of the assertion that Confucius had
created laws and institutions for all ages and peOples,
K'ang first explained why Confucianism had become a state
religion in China. He maintained that this was because the
other contemporary schools of thought suffered from the de-
fect of one-sidedness,just as the ears, eyes, mouth and

nose are unable to communicate with one another, whereas

58

the teachings of Confucius collected the excellence of all
other philOSOphies of his time. Confucius stood out among
his contemporary philos0phers, the world rallied around him
and his doctrine eventually became the religion of the
state.29
Then he went on to contend that the Six Classics
which had been revered in the nation for many centuries
were actually written by Confucius, and that they were not
merely historical documents edited and revised by Confucius
as the traditional belief had maintained. "How do we know
Confucius was the founder of Confucianism, the god, and the
sage-king?" K'ang asked. "The evidence lies in the Six
Classics, which were written by Confucius. All the theories
prior to the Han period said that."30 He cited lengthy
quotations including the apocryphas to support the claim.
K'ang's emphasis upon the "creation" of the Six
Classics by Confucius was first intended to illustrate the
fact that all the institutions adOpted in China during the
subsequent ages were created by Confucius. He maintained:
All the principles and institutions of the Middle King-
dom were created by Confucius. Confucius' disciples
received the Ego from him and spread his teachings all
over the empire in place Of the archaic customs. Among
the most notable creations were cap and clothes, three
years' mourning for parents, :receiving the bride by

the bridegroom in person, well—field system, schools,
and elections.3l

 

29K'ang, Confucius as a Reformer, p. 9.

 

30Ibid., p. 2AA.

31Ibid., p. 21H.

59

Even the abolition of the feudal state system by
the Ch'in dynasty, according to K'ang, was based upon the
teachings of Confucius.32

Confucius had not only created a number of insti-
tutions for the subsequent ages, he had also reposited many
esoteric dicta in his Classics. For instance, the Book of
Qg§§_begins with a chapter about King Wen, the Book of
History begins with a chapter of Emperors Yao and Shun,

and the Spring and Autumn Annals begins with the record of

 

King Wen and concludes with that of the Emperors Yao and
Shun. K'ang maintained that the beginnings and endings
were not without a purpose. He contended, as stated in the
Book of Changes, that speech is not the full expression of
ideas, therefore the beginnings and endings had to be inter-
preted through their implications. To K'ang, King Wen was
the symbol of Confucius' ideal of benevolent monarchism,
and Emperors Yao and Shun were the symbols of Confucius'
ideal of democracy. Confucius, an omnipotent law-maker,
reposited his philosophy of benevolent monarchism in the
name of King Wen, his philosophy of democracy in the names

of Yao and Shun.33

It follows that Confucius was not only
a law-giver who had in mind the benevolent monarchical form
of government, he also was a law-giver who had cherished the

highest ideal of government; i.e., Western democracy.

 

32Ibid., p. 236.
33Ibid., p. 28“.

60

Therefore, democracy, the newly encountered form of govern-
ment, was not unknown to Confucius; in fact, it was the
very essence Of Confucius' teachings.

Western democracy was part of Confucius' reposié

tory scheme concealed in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

 

This concerns the Theory of Three Ages which was tradition-
ally propounded by the Kung Yang scholars of the New Text
school. K'ang claimed that other than the written records
as shown in the Six Classics, he had discovered this re-
pository scheme, which was handed down secretly in the
form of oral instruction.

According to K'ang's study, among the three Some

mentaries of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Tso Commen-

 

 

 

tary was a forgery (see the last section of next chapter);

the Ku Liapngommenta y failed to transmit the Tao of Con-

 

fucius sufficiently; only the Kung Yang Commentarycflflfled an

 

account of the principles of institutional change proposed
by the Uncrowned Prince. Furthermore, among the Kung Yang
scholars only Tung Chung—shu (179-104 B.C.) transmitted

Confucius' oral teachings in the most complete manner. In

fact, the Wei for the Spring and Autumn Annals had recorded

 

as saying "The one who was going to edit my Annals would be

Tung Chung-Shu." Therefore, Tung Chung-shu was the man to
3A

whom one should turn to discover the lost Tao.

 

3”K'ang, Tung Chungrshu's Study of the Spring and
Autumn Annals (6 vols.; Canton: By the author, I896T,
Preface, pp. ia—iia.

 

 

61

According to Tung Chung-shu, when Confucius was
editing the history of Kingdom Lu, he divided the two hundred
forty one years, or the twelve generations, which he planned
to cover into three periods: the age Of which he had heard
through transmitted records, the age of which he had heard
through oral testimony, and the age which he personally had
witnessed. To each different age Confucius attached a differ-
ent set of rules with regard to editing and criticism. He said:

Regarding what he [personally] witnessed, he uses con-
cealing phraseology; regarding what he heard of
[through oral testimony], he expresses sorrow for ca—
lamities; regarding what he heard of through trans-
mitted records, he sets his compassion aside [and
writes dispassionately]. This is in accordance with
the feelings [apprOpriate to each situation].35

Later it was further developed by a Kung Yang
scholar, Ho Hsiu (A.D. 129—182), to a three-fold classifi—
cation of history: the Age Of Disorder, the Age of
Approaching Peace, and the Age of Universal Peace. Much
philosophical flavor was added into them. According to
HO Hsiu:

In the age of which he [had] heard through trans-
mitted records, [Confucius] made visible [through his
records] that there was an order arising amidst decay
and disorder, and so directed his mind primarily
toward the general [scheme of things]. Therefore he
considered his own state [of Lu] as the center and
treated the rest of the Chinese hegemony as something
outside [his scheme]. He gave his first detailed
treatment to what was close at hand, and only then
paid attention to what was further away. He made a
careful record of major [events], but only passing
reference to lesser ones. And he recorded lesser

 

35Quoted from Fung Yu—lan, Op. cit., II, 81.
For Tung's philOSOphy see Fung Yu-lan, Op. cit., II, chap-
ter ii.

62

villainies within [his own state], but not those that
were outside. Thus great officials, when belonging
to large states, [would be recorded as such,] but in
the case of one of a small state, he would merely use
the less precise term, "person." [Likewise] in the
case of an assembly that failed to reach any agree-
ment, were it one within [his own state] he would re-
cord it, but if it were outside, he would not do so.
In the age of which he [had] heard [through oral
testimony], he made visible that there was an order
arising of Approaching Peace. Therefore he considered
the Chinese hegemony as the center and treated the
outlying barbarian tribes as something outside [his
scheme]. Thus he recorded even those assemblies out-
side [his Own state] which failed to reach any agree-
ment, and the great Officials of even small states.

Coming to the age which he [personally had] wit-
nessed, he made evident that there was an order arising
of Universal Peace. Thus [at this time as reported by
the Ch'un Ch'iu], the barbarian tribes became part of
the feudal hierarchy, and the whole world, far and
near, large and small, was like one. Hence he applied
his mind still more profoundly to make a detailed re-
cord [Of events Of the age], and therefore exalted
[acts of] love and righteousness, while ggiticizing
[the use of] double personal name. . . .

In annotating Tung Chung—shu's concept of Three
Ages, K'ang maintained:

[The teaching of] Three Ages was the most unusual,
and great principle of Confucius. To illustrate it
[Confucius] reposited it in the Ch'un Ch'iu. The age
of which he [had] heard through transmitted records
stood for the Age of Disorder; the age of which he
[had] heard through oral testimony stood for the Age
of Approaching Peace, and the age he personally [had]
witnessed stood for the Age of Universal Peace. The
Age of Disorder is an age in which civilization has
not been clearly developed. In the Age of Approaching
Peace, i.e., in the Age of Small Tranquility, civili-
zation is gradually develOped. The Age of Universal
Peace is the Age of Ta T'ung [Great Unity] when the
world, both far and near, large and small, are like
one; civilization is fully develOped. Most of the
great principles are of the Age of Small Tranquility,

 

 

36Quoted from Fung Yu-lan, op. cit., II, 83, with
slight modification.

63

while the esoteric dicta are mostly of Universal Peace.
Therefore to rightly understand the teachings of Con-37
fucius one has to divide them into two categories....

The co-relation of the Theory of Three Ages with
the two-fold classification of society and political systems
will be analyzed in the next chapter. It is important to
note here that the Theory of Three Ages, the backbone of
K'ang's political philosophy, was employed by K'ang to indi-
cate the divine foresightedness of Confucius. As a divine,
omnipotent law-maker, Confucius had designed two different
sets of socio—political systems in full anticipation of the
,possible progress of mankind. As shown by the oral instruc-
tions handed down by the Kung Yang scholars, Confucius had
clearly anticipated that human history would evolve to a
stage when all the peOples and all the cultures in the world
encounter one another and merge into oneness. Basing his
analysis upon the evolutionary Theory Of Three Ages, K'ang
wrote a universal constitution for all mankind.

Upon discovering the esoteric dicta handed down
through Tung Chung-shu and the subsequent Kung Yang scholars,
K'ang strongly attacked Han Yu, a forerunner for NeO-Confu-
cianism, for his ignorance of the oral transmission. He
said:

However, Han Yu was ignorant about [the oral transmis-
sion]. He ascertained arbitrarily that the Tao Of

Confucius had no longer been transmigted after Mencius
died. Alas, how ridiculous he was!3

 

37
38

K'ang, Op. cit., II, Chuan II, 3b-Aa.

Ibid., VI, Chuan VII, 1b.

6“

His continuing search for the esoteric dicta re-
posited by Confucius in the Annals led him to discover the
various editions of the Annals. According to his study,
there were four different editions of the Annals.39 The
first edition was the original text of the history of King—
dom Lu, which Confucius had used as a blueprint. This
edition had been seen by Mencius and Kung Yang. The second
edition of the Annals was the one edited by Confucius,
which embodied 16,446 characters. The third edition con—
sisted of the great principles taught by Confucius in the
oral form and transmitted by both Kung Yang and Ku Liang
Commentaries. As for the fourth edition, it contained
merely the esoteric dicta of Confucius' oral transmission,
which were transmitted only by Tung Chung—shu and HO Hsiu
of the Kung Yang school. Thus following the Kung Yang and
Ku Liang Commentaries in a detailed verbatim annotation
K'ang declared that he had not only restored the original
text of the history of Kingdom Lu but also unveiled many of
Confucius' oral instructions. Commenting on the historical
significance of the Theory of Three Ages in connection with
oral transmission K'ang once said:

Fortunately the transmission of the Theory of Three

Ages by Tung Chung-shu and HO Hsiu by means of the
word <3f mouth was rediscovered. . . . nowadays when

 

39K'ang, Study of the Editions, Great Principles,
and Esoteric Dicta of the Spring and Autumn Annals, (10
vols.; Peking: By the author, 1916), Introduction, p. 7b.

 

 

65

[the socio-political systems] of the world have evolved
into the Ages of Approaching Peace and Universal Peace,
the Ego Of Confucius is still able to contain them.

Had there been no oral instructions the Ego of Confu-
cius might not be applicable to the new era because the
Classics con ist mostly of the principles for the Age

Of Disorder.

 

“Olgig., Introduction, p. Aa.

CHAPTER IV

THE REDISCOVERY OF AUTHENTIC CONFUCIANISM
(Continued)

TaTUung v. Small Tranqoility:
Two-fold Confucianism

 

KEngHSCO-relation of the Theory of Three Ages with
a two-fold classificatory scheme, i.e., Talflung v. Small

Tranquility, was based upon the Chapter of the Evolution of

 

Biiesor Lilli.

Replying to Tzu—yu, one of his disciples, Confu-
cius expressed regret because he could not witness the prac-
tice of the Grand Ego, nor see the eminent men Of the three
dynasties; i.e., the founders of Hsia, Shang and Chou and
their great ministers. To Confucius, the pre-Hsia period
when Emperors Yao and Shun were reigning was a time when
the Grand Ego was in practice; but its aftermath, covering
three entire dynasties,was a time when the Grand Ego fell
into disuse. These two periods generally represented two

different kinds of government, society, and esprit de corps;

 

the first was the ideal.
According to Confucius' own account, the highest
ideal of government and society as represented by Yao and

Shun was:

66

67

When the Grand Tao was pursued, a public and common

spirit ruled all under the sky; they chose men of
talents, virtue, and ability; their words were sincere,
and what they cultivated was harmony. Thus men did not
love their parents only, nor treat as children only
their own sons. A competent provision was secured for
the aged till their death, employment for the able—
bodied, and the means of growing up to the young. They
showed kindness and compassion to widows, orphans,
childless men, and those who were disabled by disease,
so that they were all sufficiently maintained. Males
had their proper work, and females had their homes.
[They accumulated] articles [of value] disliking that
they should be thrown away upon the ground, but not
wishing to keep them for their own gratification.

[They laboured] with their strength, disliking that it
should not be exerted, but not exerting it [only] with
a View to their own disadvantage. In this way [selfish]
schemings were repressed and found no develOpment.
Robbers, filchers, and rebellious traitors did not show
themselves, and hence the outer doors remained open,
and were not shut. This was [the period of] what we
call the Grand Unity [Ta T'ung]."l

Contrary to the public and common spirit of the
preceding period, the "world” became a family inheritance
during the subsequent three dynasties. The social and
political systems were characterized by the principles of
prOpriety (or rites) and constant selfish schemes. Concern-
ing these Confucius had the following to say:

Every one loves [above all others] his own parents and
cherishes [as] children [only] his own sons. PeOple
accumulate articles and exert their strength for their
own advantage. Great men imagine it is the rule that
their states should descend in their own families.
Their Object is to make the walls of their cities and
suburbs strong and their ditches and moats secure.

The rules of prOpriety and of what is right are re-
garded as the threads by which they seek to maintain
in its correctness the relationships between ruler and
minister; in its generous regard that between father

 

lJames Legge, The Sacred Books of China, Vol.
XXVII of The Sacred Books of the East, ed. F. Max Mfiller
(49 vols.; Oxford: Clarendon press, 1879-1927), pp. 36A-66.
Quoted with a slight modification.

 

 

J- -‘n—n ;

68

and son; in its harmony that between elder brother and
younger; and in a community of sentiment that between
husband and wife; and in accordance with them they
frame buildings and measures; lay out the fields and
hamlets [for the dwellings of the husbandmen]; adjudge
the superiority to men of valour and knowledge; and
regulate their achievements with a View to their own
advantage. Thus it is that [selfish] schemes and
enterprises are constantly taking their rise, and re-
course is had to arms; and thus it was [also] Yu, T'ang,
Wan and Wu, King Khang, and the Duke of Kau obtained
their distinction. . . . This is the period of what
we call Small Tranquility.2

The dichotomy of social and political systems,
particularly the critical remarks on family inheritance of
power and the suggestion of a love without distinction, was
traditionally repudiated as heretical by many prominent
scholars, including some leading Neo-Confucianists of the
Sung period. They were regarded as foreign elements close
to Lao Tzu, or MO Tzu, smuggled into the Confucian holy
writs. If they were the teachings of Confucius, the Ego
of the Sage should have had two!3

In annotating the Evolutions Of Rites K'ang de-

 

clared that he had discovered Confucius' esoteric teaching
which had been buried for twenty—five hundred years. Accor-

ding to his account, the Evolution of Rites was a constitu-

 

tion set by Confucius for the Age of Disorder. He said:

 

2Ibid., pp. 366—67.

3See Liang Shu-ming, Civilizations and Philoso-
phies of the Orient and the Occident (Nth edition; Shapghai:
The Commercial press, 1933), pp 135-37; Hsiao Kung-Ch'uan,
Histomy of Chinese Political PhilOSOphy (6 vols.; 3rd edition;
Formosa: Chung Hua Wen Hua, 1961), I, 67-68.

 

 

 

69

It is my opinion that the Ego of Confucius includes the
Three Ages, Three Sequences, and the Evolutions of the
Five Virtues. Benevolence, [Rites], Wisdom, Justice
and Sincerity evolve according to the proper time. The
Evolution of Benevolence is the Ego for Ta T'ung, the
evolution of Rites the Ego for Small Tranquility. It
is the function of Rites to set the Age of Disorder

[in order], therefore, [the Ego for Small Tranquility]
can be included in [the evolution of] Rites. Rites

are equivalent to the "constitution" in Greece; but the
former are much broader because they include the way of
god. This essay illustrates the foundation of Confucius'
government by rites in which many great principles and
esoteric di ta are contained. Scholars should be
thoughtful!

K'ang did not specify how Wisdom, Justice and Sin-
cerity were co-related to the Theory of Three Ages. In anno-
tating the practice of the Grand Ego, K'ang only co—related
Ta T'ung with the Age of Universal Peace and Small Tranquility
with the Age of Approaching Peace.5 Thus he divided all of
the Confucian teachings into two different categories: the
great principles concerning the Age of Small Tranquility and
the esoteric dicta relating the Age of Ta T'ung, the latter
representing the highest form, and the authentic version of
Confucianism. He later develOped the esoteric part into a
"constitution" for the whole world claiming that it would
be a divine recipe for resurrecting all the sentient beings.

I shall discuss this facet thoroughly in the next chapter.

 

A

K'ang, Commentary on the Evolution of Rites, in
The Compassion Magazine, V, 25a.

 

 

5Ibid., V, 25b.

70

The Great Learning Re—interpreted

 

Between 1901 and 1902 when living in exile in
Singapore and India, K'ang extended the process of redis-
covering the holy truths by means of containment and elicit-
ing‘ revelation to other Classics. Unfortunately among the

annotations of the Six Classics only The Spring and Autumn

 

Annals and the Evolutions of Rites of Li Ki, were printed;

 

the remaining ones were unpublished or even unfinished
manuscripts, and therefore, not available to this writer.6

Among the annotations of the Four Books, the Great Learning

 

Annotated is not available in print; only the preface pro-

 

vides a clue for the understanding of its contents. It may
be taken as an example indicating the extent to which K'ang
attempted tore-assessthe value of the Great Learning in

terms of its richness in containment and revelation.

 

6For a list of K'ang's published and unpublished
manuscripts see "A List of K'ang Yu-wei's Works," edited by
Chang Pochen, in The 1898 Reform, IV, 38-42.

According to Liang Ch'i—ch'ao, K'ang had intended
to write a book entitled Ta-I wei-yen (The Esoteric Dicta
of the Great Book of Changes) which is probably Chin-wen I-
hsueh (Book of Changes in the New Text) included in the
above—quoted list. The purpose of this book was to develOp
Confucius' theory of soul and foster a spirit of martyrdom.
See Laing, K'ang Yu-wei (3rd printing; Shanghai: Kuang Chi
Book Store, 1908), pp. 18-19. Liang's account conveyed the
impression that K'ang's theory of soul was essentially an
incorporation of Buddhist philosophy. Moreover, according
to an article written in 1923, during K'ang's remaining
years, K'ang repudiated both the Taoist metaphysics and the
forged elements of the 01d Text school in Chu Hsi's annota-
tion of the Book of Chapges.p He gave due credit to Master
Chu Hsi only because the latter's annotation was apprOpriate
to "human affairs." See K'ang, "I-Ching ts'ung—Chu—shu" in
K'ang T'ung-pi (ed.), The Posthumous Writings of K'angSYu—wei,

 

 

 

71

In his preface to the Great Learning K'ang claimed

 

that it contained Confucius' oral teachings, through which
Confucius' esoteric dicta and great principles had been
transmitted. It was a book propounding the Ego for Inner-
Sage and Outer—King, which ranged from the theory of soul to
the ultimate grand union of all mankind. Thus among the
books transmitting the oral teachings none was comparable
with the Great Learning.7 However, K'ang contended that
Master Chu Hsi, one of the leading Neo-Confucianists, com-
piler and annotator of the Four Books, had failed to under-
stand Confucius' Theory of Three Ages, thus was unable to
unveil the true meanings of it. He said:

The Tao of Universal Peace [contained in the Great

Learning] had thus been covered up for two thousand
years. Nowadays as communications have extended

 

Chfian II, p. Ha. Probably K'ang's annotation of the Book of
Changes is a manuscript consisting of the attack on forgery,
the theory of soul which he professed to have recovered from
Buddhism and other religions, as well as the social and
political application of the theory.

Furthermore, in response to his Opponent's charge
that the "Western barbarians" lacked the Three Bonds and
Five Relationships, K'ang maintained that the Westerners had
nations and families just as the Chinese did. "The only dif-
ference between their [way of life] and our Ego lies in that
the relationship between man and woman [in the Occident] is
that there is no Obligation to wait for the match-makers."
See K'ang T'ung-pi, (ed.), Op. cit., Chfian IV, pp. 25a-26a.
In my estimation K'ang's annotation of the Book of Odes may
consist of a strong emphasis on freedom between both sexes.
There :is a variety of folk songs about love in the Book of
Odes.

 

7K'ang, "Preface to the Great Learning Annotated"
in K'ang, Collection of Essgys Of K'ang Yu-wei, V, 9a.

 

72

throughout all corners of the world, it is no longer
appropriate to propound the [outmoded] theory that was
designed for the Age of Disorder.

Doctrine of the Mean Re-interpreted

 

As with his re-assessment of the Great Learning,

 

K'ang was dissatisfied with Master Chu Hsi for his failure
to discover the great principles and esoteric dicta trans-

mitted by Tzu Ssu, Confucius' grandson, in The Doctrine of

 

the Mean. Thus K'ang undertook the task of re—annotating
it.9

For the purpose of illustration, I shall single
out a few passages of K'ang's annotation together with their
correspondent passages in the original text. These passages
are significant because they are indicators of K'ang's con-
ception of time with regard to the evolutionary Theory of
Three Ages. Or properly speaking, they indicate in theory
K'ang's social and political application of his "discovery."
In his view, the social and political systems should pro-
gress in accordance with their proper times. Change should
not be retarded; nor could it be accelerated. It was the
duty of a sage, he maintained, to understand and grasp this
inevitable law of history and act accordingly. Otherwise

disaster would result.

 

81bid.

9K'ang, Doctrine of the Mean Annotated (Shanghai:
By the author? 1912), Introduction, p. ia.

 

73

For instance, The Doctrine of the Mean has a pas-

 

sage concerning "Timely Mean" which reads as follows:

The superior man's embodying the course of the Mean is
because he is a superior man, and so always maintains
the Mean. The mean man's acting contrary to the course
of the Mean is because he is a mean man, and has no
caution.lO

In annotating the above-quoted passage K'ang
stressed the need for institutional changes with the times.
He maintained:

The Tao of Confucius comprises the doctrines Of the
Three Systems and the Three Ages. It changes with the
times. The superior man should therefore consider mak-
ing appropriate changes to accommodate the time in
which he lives, so that his laws and institutions may
Operate usefully. . . . Whatever he does that fits the
requirements of the time constitute the mean for that
particular time. Hence it is referred to [as] "the
timely mean."
If institutional changes were needed to accomo-
date the time, it follows that new institutions such as
liberty and constitutionalism, etc., would have to be intro-

duced in the Age of Approaching Peace. The Doctrine of the

 

Mean contains a passage which reads:

He who attains to the sovereigntycf the kingdom,
having those three important things [san Chung], shall
be able to effect that there shall be few errors under
his government.

 

 

 

lOJames Legge, The Chinese Classics (3rd edition; 5
vols; Hong Kong: Hong Kong University press, 1960), I,
386.

llK'ang, Op. cit., p. 3b. Quoted from Hsiao's article
in Monumenta Serica 18, p. 1A8.

 

 

l2James Legge, Op. cit., I, A25.

74

San chung was interpreted as three important things

 

by Chu Hsi with opopg pronounced in the 4th tone. K'ang
ignored the interpretation and took opogg as recurrence or
rotation; opogg was pronounced as 2nd tone. According to
him, the three recurrences referred to the sequence of

the Three Ages, the succession of which would be infinite
and inevitable. Thus he declared:

The three recurrences are the three systems in the

Three Ages. They are the Age of Disorder, the Age of
Approaching Peace, and the Age of Universal Peace. . . .
Therefore the Three Ages are recurred into nine ages
which are multiplied by three and become eighty-one
ages. The number can be further multiplied into infi-
nity. The [spirit of the] regulations of Confucius is
that they must be employed according to the proper
period. If in the Age of dark Disorder, before the
influencescu‘civilization had Spread themselves, one
were to practice the institutions of Universal Peace,
this would certainly result in great harm. But if, in
the Age of Approaching Peace, one were to continue to
cling to [the institutions of the Age of] Disorder,

this too would result in great harm. The present time,
for example, is the Age of Approaching Peace. It is
therefore necessary to promulgate the doctrines of self—
rule and independence, and the actualities of parlia-
mentary and constitutional rule. For if the laws are
not reformed great disorder would result.1

The sequence of the three ages of history cannot
be delayed. Within each age there are also developmental
distinctions which are inevitable. These are manifested in

different peoples of the world. The Doctrine of the Mean

 

says, "All things are nourished together without injuring

one another. The Taos are pursued without any collision

 

l3K'ang, Op. cit.

, p. 36a-b. Quoted partly from
Fung Yu—lan, op. cit., II, 683.

75

among them. ."1A

K'ang commenting on this passage main-
tained that the minority peoples in China, the Malayans in
the South Pacific, the black men in Africa, and the American
Indians, were in the period of Disorder of the Age of Dis-
order. India, Turkey, and Persia, whose prOprieties and
governments were considerably develOped, could be categorized
in the period of Approaching Peace of the Age of Disorder.
In regard to the United States, where everyone enjoyed the
right of self-independence, K'ang held that its people were
in the period of Universal Peace of the Age of Disorder.
Furthermore, he maintained that the progress Of the backward
peoples could not be bypassed. For the peOples still living
in the first period it would be sufficient to institute
tribal heads, separate males from females, teach them how

to read, make general regulations, put restrictions on
mutual strife and killings, and guide them to prOpriety.

If American institutions were suddenly introduced, contrary
to natural order, numberous tribal wars would become inevi-
table. American—styled institutions should only be intro-
duced after the tribes had evidenced progress in the forms
peculiar to the period of Approaching Peace, such as in
India and Persia. Viewing this as a historical necessity
K'ang pointed out that the majority of peOples in China

were nourished together with the Chinese; each was governed

respectively by the Tao of Disorder and the Tao Of Approaching

 

l“James Legge, op. cit., I, A27. Quoted with a
modification.

76

Peace, without collision. The same was true of the American
Indians and the African black men who were ruled by white
peoples.15

One may dismiss the validity of K'ang's Observa-
tion on the grounds that there is ample evidence in history
concerning the "injuries" and "collisions" that have occurred
between the backward and advanced peOples in the progress of
mankind. It is important to take note of K'ang's notion of
progress. In pointing out the sharp contrast between the
contemporary social and political institutions in the world,
particularly the colonial rules in Africa, K'ang tried to
demonstrate that the progress of national cultures was un-
even. For progress to occur each must pass through the ap-
propriate institutional stage. Therefore, the introduction
of institutional change must be done in accordance with the
stage of progress Of each national culture. It is obvious
that to K'ang the United States, or generally speaking, the
West, represented the most advanced institutions in the
world. Among the non-Western peoples only a few nations,
such as India, Turkey, Persia, and China, had achieved the
appropriate institutional level to progress into the most
advanced stage.

If Confucius' Ego had consisted of all the truths,
or had it been a progressive system of manifold infinite

the unfolding of which would be historically inevitable,

 

15K'ang, op. cit., pp. Ala-A2a.

77

then one could question why Confucius, the divinely inspired
sage—king, had developed few institutions for the coming Age
of Universal Peace. Or why had he not specified his crea-
tions clearly in the Six Classics instead of resorting to
repository and concealment? K'ang's answer to the questions
was candid. He held that the progress of history could not
be transgressed and that Confucius had acted in accordance
with the propriety of his time. It was more important that
Confucius, as a divine sage-king, had fore-ordained K'ang

to prOpound the doctrine for the new age. In The Doctrine

 

of the Mean Confucius says, "He is prepared to wait for the

rise of a sage a hundred ages after and has no misgivings."16

Regarding this passage K'ang had the following to say:

Confucius had develOped many institutions for [the Age
of] Disorder and Small Tranquility, but few for that

of Universal Peace and Great Unity. This is because
the process of emerging from Disorder is a complex one
which must proceed in accordance with the times. In
the age Of Confucius the world was still young and im-
mature. It was like a child which in its course of
upbringing cannot be abruptly made into an adult simply
by suddenly stripping it of its swaddling clothes. As
to the institutions suitable for Disorder, therefore,
Confucius had no alternative [but to make them himself].
But as to the regulations for Universal Peace, and the
principles of Great Unity, though he certainly intended
to make them brilliantly evident, he was unable to
achieve his purpose because he was not born at the
prOper time.

The process of evolution follows an inevitable
course which cannot be transgressed. When the proper
time arrives, the changes suited to it take place of
themselves. That is the reason for the individual dif—
ferences among the regulations for the Three Ages and
the principle for the Three Sequences [Systems]. It

 

l6James Legge, op. cit., II, A26.

78

is quite evident that [Confucius'] sole intention was
to save the [peOple of each] age. He knew that three
thousand years after him another sage would arise, who
would proclaim the teachings of the Great Unity. Such
a one would surely not transgress the track leading
from Approaching Peace, nor would he consider the
track leading from Disorder to Small Tranquility as
wrong.

It was obvious that the sage whom Confucius had
fore-ordainedtfluwmathousand years [sic] ago was K'ang him-
self. He was the man who, being born at the proper time,
had promptly rediscovered Confucius' esoteric teachings
and developed them into the doctrine Of Great Unity or Uni-

versal Peace.

The Analects Re-interpreted

K'angs re-assessment of the Analects was drastic.
According to his study, the Analects was recorded and
edited by the disciples and followers of Tseng—Tzu, thus it
only represented the philOSOphy of the Tseng-Tzu school.

K'ang maintained that Tseng-Tzu was a man whose philosophy

18

was exclusively a devotion to observing restraints, and
therefore he could not have heard the great Tao of Confucius.

Because the philosophy Of Tseng—Tzu was such, the academic

17K'ang, o . cit., p. 39a. Quoted from Fung Yu-
lan, op. cit., II, 68A.

. 18This refers to Tseng-Tzu's daily self—examination.
As the Analects records, the philoSOpher Tseng said, "I daily
examine myself on three points: ——whether, in transacting
business for others, I may have been not faithful;-—whether
in intercourse with friends, I may not have been sincere;
--whether I may not have mastered and practised the instru—
tions Of my teacher." See James Legge, Op. cit., I, 139.

79

orientation of his disciples could not have been one of ex—
cellent caliber. The Sung scholars in their rediscovery
of the great principles and esoteric dicta from the remnant
Classics could find no other works than the Analects as a
source showing the sayings and activities of Confucius.
They wrongly mistook it as covering the entirety of Confu-
cianism, and it was elevated to a position even higher than
that of the Six Classics, and Officially recognized by the
court in examinations. As a result, the Analects took over
the orthodox position from the Six Classics, and Tseng-Tzu's
learning of observing restraints became extremely pOpular.19
However, K'ang's low esteem for the Analects did
not prevent him from sifting out a few passages into which
Confucius' resourceful dicta were reposited. The first
outstanding example of such discoveries concerned Confucius'
divine foresight. In annotating Confucius' saying that the
affairs within a hundred ages could be known, K'ang main-
tained that the Analects contained the Theory of Three Ages.
He said:
Tzu Chang [i.e., the inquirer] had received the prin-
ciple. Therefore he inquired further whether ten ages
could be foreseen. He would like to know what the
world would be after the Age of Universal Peace. .
Confucius himself was born in the Age of Disorder.
But at the present time communications have extended
throughout the great earth, and EurOpe and America,
through their vast changes, have entered into the Age

of Approaching Peace. There will be a day when every-
thing throughout the earth, large or small, far or near,

 

19K'ang, Analects Annotated, (Peking: Wan Mu Ts'ao
T'ang, 1917), Preface, pp. ib-iib.

 

80

will be like one. There will no longer be any nation,
no racial distinctions, and customs will be everywhere
the same. With this uniformity will come [the Age of]
Universal Peace. Confucius understood all this before-
hand. . . . A hundred ages comprise of three thousand
years, now it is close to the three thousandth year.
Therefore, Confucius said, "He is prepared to wait for
the rise Of a sage a hundred ages after, and has no
misgivings.". . . This is Confucius' esoteric dictum.
It should be viewed in connection with the esoteric
dicta, i.e., the Theory Of Three Ages in the Spring

and Autumn Annals and the idea of Great Unity in the
Evolution of Rites, thus to see the holiness [of Con-
fucius] and the extent to which the world was projected
by him.2

 

 

By annotating a simple passage K'ang indicated the
scope of Confucius' divine foresightedness. If translated
into plain language, K'ang meant to say that Confucius had
actually foreseen the progress Of modern technology, the
coming of the Western impact, and above all, their inevitable
global results.

To demonstrate that freedom was a “contained" con-
cept in the original Confucian teachings, K'ang managed to
prove that Tzu-kung, one of the leading disciples of Confu-
cius, had already prOposed the concept long before the
introduction Of the idea in the West. As the Analects re—
cords, once Tzu—kung mentioned to Confucius that "What I do
not wish man to do to me, I also wish not to do to man."

In K'ang's view, this was Confucius' teaching of freedom.
He maintained.
[The principle of freedom] is one of the most profound

theories in Confucianism. . . . Nowadays because the
world is so close to the Age of Approaching Peace, the

 

20Ibid., 1, Chuan II, 10b—lla.

 

81

principle of freedom is gradually illuminated. In
actuality, it was Tzu-kung who had first fathered the
Edea that was but ope limb of the entire body of Con-
ucius teachings.

K'ang's high respect for Tzu-kung was not limited
to the fact that Tzu-kung had transmitted freedom, an eso-
teric dictum, from Confucius. He had further transmitted
the theory of human nature and the way of heaven to Chuang
Tzu, a leading Taoist philOSOpher of the pre-Ch'in period.
According to his study, Tzu-kung transmitted Confucius' Ego
to his disciple Tien Tzu—fong, who further transmitted it
to the Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu. ThusChuang'Tzu was
in the direct line of transmittal in the Confucianist
school of thought. His discovery that Chuang Tzu was an
academic follower of Confucius led him to the conclusion
that the Six Classics did not cover the entire way of Con-
fucius' teachings.22 What he tried to indicate was that a
big portion Of Confucianism was wrongly given away to the
Taoists.

K'ang justified his inclusion of a Taoist philoso-
pher into the Confucianist sacred school by noting that the
latter had highly praised Confucius. To indicate the great-
ness of Confucius' teachings K'ang frequently quoted the

Taoist philOSOpher as having said that Confucius' Tao was

all—inclusive when compared with other schools of thought

 

21Ibid., II, Chuan V, 6b.

22EoEo., II, Chuan V, 6b—8a, particularly 8a.

 

 

 

82

of Confucius' time.23 Therefore, Confucius' teachings had
not only contained the newly encountered knowledge of modern.
time, they had also contained the truths of the various
schools of thought during his time. Confucius' teachings
as a system of holy truth are all-inclusive and all-pervading.
The wide sc0pe of Confucius' divine teachings had
not only included the knowledge of the coming Western impact,
it had already possessed a correct understanding of the world
geography. The Analects had a passage which says:
The Master said, "My doctrines make no way. I will get
upon a raft, and float about on the sea. “He that will
accompany me will be Yu, I dare to say."2
Commenting on this passage K'ang contended:
At that time the concept Of Great Ocean had already been
popular. The knowledge about the nine continents had
already been known. Confucius indicated to Tseng Tzu
that the earth was round. Therefore, in his estimation,
beyond the oceans there must have been human species of

the highest excellence that would practice his princi-
ples of Great Unity and Universal Peace.25

 

” 23For Chuang Tzu's praise of Confucius see F. Max
Muller (ed.), The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XL, pp.
215-17. It is too extensive to be quoted here.

2A

 

See James Legge, op. cit., 1, 17A.

25K'ang, op. cit., II, Chuan'V, 3a-b. K'ang asser—
tion that Confucius already had knowledge of the nine conti-
nents was clearly based upon Tsou Yen's famous discourse on
nature. Tsou Yen, a member of the school of the Egg and the
Yang, who came after Mencius, claimed that there were nine

large continents in the world. "He had first to examine
small objects, and extended this to large ones until he
reached what was without limit. . . . He maintained that

what scholars call the Middle Kingdom [i.e., China] holds a
place in the whole world of but one part in eighty—one.
China, he named the Spiritual Continent Of the Red Region
[ch'ih hsien shen chou], within which are nine provinces
[chou], which are the Nine Provinces which Yfi [the legendary

83

Probably the most interesting point in K'ang's
annotating the Analects was the discovery of constitutional
monarchism through textual criticism. The Analects contains
a passage which reads: "When right principles prevail in
the world, government will not be in the hands of the Great

officers."26

Commenting on the negative assertion "not,"

K'ang maintained that the expression was extraneous. "The
present edition" he asserted, "has the character pg which

is a gloss. I have deleted [it] according to the old

edition."27 Then he went on to maintain:

 

Emperor who after nine years conquered China's great flood]
had laid out. But these cannot be numbered among the real
continents. Besides China [there are other continents]
similar to the Spiritual Continent of the Red Region, making
[with China] a total of nine continents, which are the real
so-called Nine Continents. Around each of these is a small
encircling sea, so that men and beasts cannot pass from one
to another, and these [nine continents] form one division
and make up one large continent. There are nine [large con—
tinents] like this, and around their outer edge is a vast
ocean which encompasses them at the point where heaven and
earth meet." Quoted from Fung Yu-lan, op. cit., I, 160.

In his suggestion to abolish national boundaries, K'ang
stated that, ". . . when we look at that which was called
'The Central Nation' (i.e., China) and the four barbarian
[territories], [we see that they] are then just one corner
of Asia and only one-eightieth part of the world." The con—
nection is very clear. However, K'ang failed to validate
Tsou Yen's statement that around the nine provinces of China
was a small encircling sea. See K'ang, Ta T'ung Shu, trans.
Laurence G. Thompson (London: Allen and Unwin, 1958), p. 80.
For a complete survey Of K'ang's Ta T'ung Shu see chapter
V.

 

 

26See James Legge, Op. cit., I, 310. With a

slight modification.

27K'ang, op. cit., V, Chuan XVI, Aa.

8A

The government which is in the hands of the Great
officers is constitutional monarchism. Right principles
are referred to the Age of Approaching Peace. The

sovereign shouldersrn responsibility, thereforg, the
Great officers take charge of the government.2

Following the above-quoted passage the Analects
contains another statement which reads: "When the right

principles prevail in the world, there will be no discussions

among the common people."29

Concerning the negative statement K'ang said re-
peatedly, "The present edition has the character pg, which
is a gloss. It was deleted according to the Old edition."3O
Then he went on to maintain:

[In the Age of] Ta T'ung when a public and common
spirit rules all under the sky, politics is publicly
discussed or determined by the peOple. This is an in-
stitution for the Age of Universal Peace, the highest
expression of the right principles. This chapter illus—
trates the Theory Of Three Ages, and is identical with
the Spripg and Autumn Annals. . . . If the common
peOple were not allowed to discuss as asserted in the
present edition, the tyrant, Emperor Li, who had
triedtosnnuzthe peOple's mouths, would have achieved
the right principles. This would contradict the Clas-
sical principles. Hence, I know it was a superfluous
error, otherwise it must have been wrongly inserted in
the text by the successors.

An alert reader need not question the validity Of
K'ang's interpretation of Confucius' sayings, granting that
the statements with pg are a contradiction of the Classical

principles. The most important question remains-~whether

 

Ibid.

 

29James Legge, Op. cit., I, 310. With a slight
modification.

30
31

K'ang, op. cit., V, Chfian XVI, Aa.

Ibid.

85

K'ang's claim for discovery of the ”old edition” of the
Analects is tenable. Had he discovered or possessed the
old edition of the Analects, he should have shown or proved
this to his fellow religious scholars. There is no indica-
tion whatsoever to substantiate his claim, and I, therefore,

maintain that the claim was a forgery.

The Works of Mencius Re—intempreted

 

K'ang's two-fold classification of Confucianism,
Ta T'ung v. Small Tranquility, was extended to include the
teachings of Hsun Tzu and Mencius, two leading schools of
thought in early day Confucianism. According to him,
philOSOpher Hsun Tzu,who contended that human nature was
essentially eviL had transmitted propriety, which was part
of Confucius' teachings for the Age of Small Tranquility
and the Age of Disorder. Therefore, it was a branch of
Confucius' Ego, not the foundation of it. On the contrary,
philosopher Mencius, who claimed that man's nature was in-
nately good, had transmitted the basic and esoteric teachings
of Confucius, i.e., the philOSOphy and prospectus of TaTVung.
According to K'ang's study, Mencius was the immediate dis-
ciple of Confucius' grandson, Tzu-ssu. Tzu—ssu transmitted
the Ego of Ta T'ung from Tzu—yu, one of the leading disciples
of Confucius. Thus Mencius was directly in the line of

transmittal of the esoteric dicta of Confucius.32

 

32K'ang, The Esoteric Meanings of Mencius,(2 vols.;
Shanghai: By the author, 1916), Preface, p. iib. K'ang's
high respect for Mencius seems in clear contradiction with

 

86

In regard to the sayings of Mencius, the most
notable discovery by K'ang was Mencius' dichotomy of ages.
While commenting on the difference in conduct between
Emperor Yu, his prime minister Ch'i, and Confucius' dis-
ciple Yen Yuan, Mencius once said:

Yu and Ch'i in an ago of peace, [italics mine] thrice
passed their doors without entering them. Confucius
praised them. The disciple Yen, in an age of disorder,
[italics mine] dwelt in a mean narrow lane, having his
single bamboo—cup of rice, and his single grand-dish

of water; other men could not have endured the distress,
but he did not allow h§§ job to be affected by it.
Confucius praised him.

 

 

According to K'ang's interpretation, the passage
is a strong evidence that Mencius had indeed transmitted
the learning of the Kung Yang school, thus had had discussion
on the principles of the Age of Peace and Disorder, and had

understood the difference between the ways of conduct of

 

his early view that only Tung Chung-shu had transmitted the
esoteric doctrine in the most complete manner and that even
Mencius did not afford the esoteric doctrines as contained
in Tung's Cu'un-Ch'iu fa-lu. Se K'ang, Tung_Chung-shu's
Study of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Preface, pp. ib-iia.
Hsiao Kung-ch'fian was correct in saying in his article
"K'ang Yu—wei and Confucianism" (Op. cit.) pp. 119-20, that
"This is a good example of his change of mind and his intel-
lectual develOpment from one stage to another." But is
should be noted that the change occurred only in the pro—
cess of rediscovering the holy truth. Insofar as the Con-
fucian sacred framework is concerned, K'ang never altered
his views. Therefore K'ang was correct when he con-

tended that "My knowledge was complete by the time I was
thirty; from that point on I made no more progress, as
indeed there was no need to advance." See Liang Ch'i—ch'ao,
Intellectual Trends in the Ch'ing Period, p. 106.

 

 

33James Legge, op. cit., II, 335. With a slight
modification.

87

the Age of Peace and the Age of Disorder. He maintained that
what Mencius had called the Age of Peace was actually the
Age of Great Unity, while the Age of Disorder was the Age
of Small Tranquility.3u

In addition to the transmittal of the Theory of
Three Ages K'ang manifested a high admiration for Mencius
and his transmittal of the theory of the goodness of human
nature. The importance of the theory, according to K'ang,
was that it was a philosophy projected for the Age of Peace.
Commenting on Mencius' view of the good nature of man, and

his laudatory reference to Emperors Yao and Shun,35 K'

ang
maintained that Mencius had made laudatory reference to

Yao and Shun because he had transmitted the Ego of Confucius
and had been especially committed to the Age Of Peace.
"Every man has the same good nature," he contended, "[there-
fore,] every one is similar to Yao and Shun, and every one
can practice the Ego of Universal Peace and Great Unity."36
What K'ang meant was that because Yao and Shun were symbols
of democracy, every man has the same nature as Yao and Shun;
therefore every man is entitled to democratic institutions.
In annotating Mencius' saying that "All men have a mind which

..37 K.

cannot bear to see phe sufferings of others, ang contended:

 

 

3“K'ang, Op. cit., I, Chfian I, lAa.

35James Legge, Op. cit., 11, 23A.
36K'ang, op. cit., I, Chfian I, 8.

37James Legge, op. cit., II, 201.

88

The benevolence of humanity, the civilizations of
humanity, together with the progress Of humanity
towards Universal Peace and Great Unity are all derived
from this [commiserating mind]. . . . The evil-nature
theory [was intended] to govern the Age of Disorder
when government was obliged to go along with the de—
sires of human beings. Therefore, most of the regula-
tions were restrictive and Oppressive in character.

This is the theory of Hsun Tzu. The good-nature

theory [was intended] to govern the Age of Peace, thus
to make every man equal and independent of one another.
Therefore, most of the regulations were progressive 38
and upward in character. This is the theory of Mencius.

To K'ang, Mencius had not only transmitted the
evolutionary Theory of Three Ages, he had also transmitted
the philosophy of democratic institutions for the coming new
age. Furthermore, as a transmitter of the great Ego of Con-
fucius, Mencius was, in reality, an earlier prOponent Of

democracy. Commenting on Mencius' statement that "The

"39 K1

peOple are the most important element in a nation, ang

said:

This is Mencius' prOposal for democratic institution,
a system for the Age of Universal Peace. . . . One who
has the confidence of the people is elected the ruler of
the peOple, such as the president of the United States
or France. . . . Nowadays the United States, France,
Switzerland and South American nations all have adOpted
this institution. [This] is close tn) the public and
common spirit and the election of men of talents, virtue,
and ability, for the Age of Great Unity [as stated in
the Evolution Of RiteS}“0

 

Thus, according to K'ang, the pOpular election of
the head of a state had been proposed by Mencius long before

the beginning of modern democracy.

 

38K'ang, op. cit., I, Chuan I, 3.

39James Legge, Op. cit., II, A83.

”OK'ang, op. cit., I, Chuan I, 10b.

89

The Lost Transmittal
and China's Stagnation

 

K'ang's rediscovery Of the authentic version of
Conficius' teachings led him to the claim that he had dis-
covered the real cause of China's centuries-Old backwardness
and stagnation, as compared with the Western countries. He
contended that his fellow religious scholars had lost or
abandoned the most important holy truth which their spiritual
ancestors, Confucius and others, had handed down many cen-
turies ago. The lost truth consisted of the philOSOphy of
Ta T'ung and the Theory of Three Ages.

According to K'ang's study, the transmittal of
Confucius' esoteric teachings was lost due to an academic

forgery. As early as 1891 in his first book Hsin-hsueh wei—

 

chipgfk'ao (Study of the Classics Forged During the Hsin

 

Period) K'ang tried to introduce his rediscovery of the lost
Tao by first presenting his textual research on the so-called

"forged classics." The latter were the Rites of Chou, the

 

Dispersed Rituals, the Tso Commentary on the Sprimg and

 

 

 

Autumn Annals, and the Mao Commentary on the Bookof Odes,

 

 

 

works for which Liu Hsin (ca. A6 B.C.-23 A.D.) had tried
hard to appoint Erudites at the end of the Former Han (206
B.C.—A6 A.D.). The essential points in the book were best
summarized by Liang Ch'i-ch'ao as follows:
(1) The classical learning of the Former Han had never
had anything called the Ancient Texts and all the
Ancient Texts had been forged by Liu Hsin. (2) The

book-burning by the Ch'in [in 213 B.C.] had not impaired
the Six Classics, and the ones transmitted by the

9O

Fourteen Erudites Of the Han were all complete texts
of the Confucian school, with nothing missing or omitted.
(3) The written character used at the time of Confucius
was the "seal character" of the Ch'in and Han, and more-
over, as regards the "texts," there had never been the
classifications of "Ancient" or "Modern." (A) Liu Hsin
had tried to cover up the traces of his forgery by
adding glosses and creating confusion among all the
ancient works, while he was collating books in the
imperial library. (5) The reason Liu Hsin had under-
taken forgery Of the Classics was that he wished to

help Wang Mang usurp the Han [throne] by conspiring in
advance to distort and submerge Confucius' great prin-
ciples hidden in esoteric language.

If the introduction of the so—called Old Texts

(i.e., Ancient Texts) into Confucianism was a forgery, and
therefore illegitimate, the later acceptance of these
spurious Classics should also be considered as illegitimate.
Commenting on the historical conflict between the Han
Learning and the Sung Learning, K'ang maintained:

In later times the adherents of the Han and Sung

[schools] of learning have wrangled with one another

[over the Classics] as if they were water and fire.

Thus regarded, what all later generations have pointed
to as the Han Learning, including all the work of

 

ulLiang Ch'i-ch'ao, Intellectual Trends in the
Ch'ipg Period, p. 92. K'ang claimed that the discovery of
the forged Classics had been independently derived from his
study of the history of the Classics. However, according
to Liang Chi-chao's account, K'ang's ideas were actually
derived from Liao P'ing (1852-1932), a contemporary of K'ang.
During his early life K'ang had been very much interested in
the Rites of Chou, one of the forged Classics, and wrote
a book to discuss its principles. Later when he saw Liao's
writings on the forged Classics, he gave up his Old ideas

 

 

 

entirely. Thus, ". . . it is undeniable that he [Liao P'ing]
influenced the thinking of K'ang Yu-wei." (Liang, Op. cit.,

pp. 91-92). For Liao's philOSOphy see Fung Yu-lan, Op. cit.,
II, 705-19. For the adademic controversy between Liao and
K'ang see Ch'ien Mu, History of Chinese Learninnguring the
Last Three-Hundred Years (Chungking: The Commercial Press,

197457 , pp- H93-507-

 

91

Chia, Ma, Hsu, and Cheng, is Hsin and not Han Learning;
the Classics honored and expounded by the Sung scholars ”2
are for the most part forged and not those of Confucius.
It was because of the historical incident that the
esoteric teachings of Confucius, i.e., the Theory Of Three
Ages and the Tao of Great Unity, were lost in the process of
transmittal. It was because of the failure in transmittal
that the rulers and scholars had not held the authentic ver-
sion on Confucius' philOSOphy but only the less important,
rudimentary ideas and institutions. In his annotation Of
the Evolutions of Rites he formally declared:
In the two thousand years of our China, all the dynas-
ties, including Han, T'ang, Sung, and Ming, irrespective
of the circumstances--whether order or chaos prevailed,
whether a regime was rising or declining--constituted
together the Age Of Minor Peace [Small Tranquility]; in
the two thousand years of China, all the utterances of
Confucian scholars, including the sayings of Hsun
Ch'ing, Liu Hsin, and Chu Hsi, irrespective of their
quality--whether these were true or false, refined or
crude, good or bad,-—constituted all together the
way of Minor Peace [Small Tranquility]. 3
Therefore he strongly attacked the Confucian
scholars for clinging to the ideas and institutions Of Small
Tranquility that had resulted in China's stagnation and
backwardness. On the other hand, he declared, if from Han
times onward, every family had practiced the highest ideals

of Confucius, by Sui and T'ang times, China could have

 

u2K'ang, op. cit., (8 vols.; Canton: By the
author, 1891), I Chfian I, 3b. Quoted from Fung Yu-lan,

Op. cit., II, 677.

u3K'ang, Collection of Essays Of K'ang Yu—wei,
VIII, Introduction.p. ia. Quoted from Hsiao's article in

Op. cit., pp. lAA-AS.

92

evolved to the Age of Approaching Peace. "That was a
thousand years before the present time when China should be

"AA In other

the first on earth to achieve Universal Peace.
words, K'ang believed that had the esoteric dicta not been
lost by the forgery, China could have been the culturally
most advanced country in the world long before the Western
invasion of China had ever occurred. It would probably

have been the Chinese nation to which the countries all

over the world would have looked for leadership.

 

uuK'ang, Study Of the Editions, Great Principles
and Esoteric Dicta of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Preface,
po. 11 a-bo

 

CHAPTER V

THE WORLD OF TA'TUNG

Multi—State Rivalry

 

The rediscovered and further develOped Grand Ego
of Confucius'consisted of two parts: the constitution for
all mankind and the reform program for the Chinese nation.
The former was the prospectus and the latter was the path
leading toward its realization.l Both were parts of the
evolutionary Theory of Three Ages (see above). Both rested
upon K'ang's analysis of the Western state system.

Although the contemporary state system which covers
the planet is, in most of its essentials, European in origin,
practices, and motivations,2 for many Confucian intellectuals
Of the nineteenth century this was simply an historical repe-
tition of the pre-Ch'in period in China. They used the tra-

ditional term lieh kuo (multi—states) to describe the present

 

lLiang Ch'i-ch'ao, K'ang Yu-wei, pp. Al-A2.

2Frederick L. Schuman, International Politics: The
Western State System and the World Community (6th edition;
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958), pp. 55-56. In my opinion, if
K'ang were called upon to examine Schuman's theory of the
Western state system, he would probably agree with all of
Schuman's points except that World Government is unlikely in
the years to come (p. 679). K'ang later came to the belief
that complete political union would be achieved within one
hundred years.

 

93

9A

state system in which the big powers would be comparable to
those of the Ch'un Ch'iu period (722-A8l B.C.) or the period
of Warring States (u03-221 B.C.).3 K'ang's Observation of
the Western state system, or the state system into which the
Chinese Empire had entered after 18A0, was similar to that
of his predecessors and contemporaries. To him the present-
day relations among states were essentially identical to
those during Confucius' time and thereafter.“ Thus it was
possible to rediscover the esoteric dicta reposited by Con—
fucius, and further, to predict the future development of
the Western state system through the Confucian holy writs
which contained knowledge about this system.

It should be noted that K'ang's analysis of the

present state system ran along two different lines. On the

one hand, he maintained that the sharp contrast and

 

3For instance, Feng Kuei—feng considered that the
Western states corresponded to the lieh kuo of the Ch'un
Ch'iu period; see Ksiao Kung-Ch'uan, History of Chinese Po-
litical Philosoppy, VI, 782. A foreword to the Chinese trans-
lation Of Wheaton's Elements of International Law (186A) com-
pares modern EurOpe to the China of the pre-Ch'in period; see
Immanuel C. Y. Hsfi, China's Entrance into the Family of Nations,
p. 135. Wang T'ao compares the world powers to the lieh kuo
of the Ch'un Ch'iu period; see Wang T'ao, Sppplement to T'ao—
yfian Wen-lu (5 vols.; Shanghai: 1897), I, Chuan II, 9a; afid
II, Chfian IV, 2Ab-26a. Peng Yfi-lin in his preface to Cheng
Kuan-Yin, Warnings in Time of Peace (8 vols.; rev.; n.p.:
Tai HO Tsai, 1900), compares the world situation with that
of the Warring States period. For a general description of
the multi—state system of ancient China see Richard L. Walker,
The Multi-State System Of Ancient China (Hamden, Conn.: Shoe
String Press, 1953). Walker's study covers mainly the Ch'un
Ch'iu period. ,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“K'ang, "Fourth Memorial" in The 1898 Reform, IV,
177. See also K'ang, Study of the Eggtions, Great Principles
and Esoteric Dicta of the Spying and Autumn Annals, I, Chuan
I, p. 7.

 

 

 

95

competition among states would result in elimination and
coalescence Of individual states. Therefore, he prOposed
institutional reforms which would help strengthen the
Chinese nation in its competition for survival among the
world powers. (I shall analyze this in the following
chapter.) On the other hand, he contended that the state
system covering the world would eventually lead to the
final coalescence of all nations, which would not neces—
sarily be disastrous. In fact, it should be encouraged
and would be morally justifiable. Supporting the second
theme, he maintained first that from an historical point Of
view, the process of coalescence had already taken place in
China and in all nations. He said:
The process [of coalescing and forming fewer, larger
units] has all taken place among the ten thousand
countries over [a period of] several thousand years.
The progression from dispersion to union among men,
and the principle [whereby] the world is [generally]
progressing from being partitioned off to being Opened

up, is a spontaneous [working] of the Way of Heaven
[or Nature] and human affairs.

 

SK'ang, Ta T'ung Shu, trans. Laurence G. Thompson,
p. 79. Hereafter I shall refEr to it as the English edition.
I find Thompson's translation to be a very competent render-
ing of the Chinese text. But unfortunately many Of K'ang's
interesting discussions were summarily cut out Of the English
translation, thus Western readers were deprived from fully
knowing the great Confucian thinker's image of the future
world order. Occasionally the English text also makes serious
mistakes, such as rendering two important Buddhist concepts,
wu-t'ung (the Five Supernatural‘ Powers) and san—ming (Three
Insights) into Confucian Five Elements (metal, wood, water,
fire and earth) and Three Brilliants (sun, moon and star).
See Op. cit., p. 277, footnotes 15 and 16. For the meanings
of the two Buddhist terms see William Edward Soothill and
Lewis Hodous (compilers), A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist
Terms (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., 1937),

 

 

96

Secondly, he contended that the coalescing into
large states was accompanied by a grinding down of the
people. He pointed out that in a single war the dead had
numbered in the thousands and ten thousands. Even righteous
men always considered fighting for territories and killing
other people to be an important duty. His moral argument
was that the present state boundaries must be abolished in
order to save mankind from becoming savage beasts and ban-
dits.6

The unification of contemporary sovereign states,
following K'ang's prediction, would have to pass through
the stage of voluntary association by a few powerful "im-
perialist-democracies," most of which presumably would be
the Western nations. For this there were two reasons.
First, present world politics was essentially dominated by
the European and American powerS“and they had been responsible
for the partition of Africa, Asia, and the rest of the world.

As a consequence, after a process of partition and coalescence

 

p. 123 and p. 66. The confusion may exist because K'ang de—
parted from the traditional usage and changed wu—t'ung into
wu-sheng; the latter literally means Five Superiors. (It
should be noted that the Chinese pronunciation of Five
Superiors are wu-Sheng, while those of Five Elements are
wu—hsing.) In memory of K'ang, Chang Po—cheng in his Bio -
{apgy_<>- the Gentleman from Nanhai (Peking: 1930), p. 3b,
continued the same usage but apparently without a clear under-
standing Of its meaning. If he had had a clear knowledge of
its meaning, he could have cast serious doubt on his master's
pseudo—mysticism. The difficulty in understanding K'ang's
writings indicates that the study of religious syncretism,
particularly one of grand synthesis, is essentially a group
endeavor.

 

6K'ang, Ta T'ung Shu, English edition, pp. 81-82.

97

there would be only a handful of major powers remaining on

7

the world scene. Secondly, because of the change in the
pattern of leadership, these few powerful survivors would
tend to unite themselves into a world state rather than re-
sorting to conquest by sheer force. The rise of "democra—
cies" in place of the traditional autocracies had changed
the minds of peOple with regard to the uniting of states.
K'ang contended:
Now when states are autocracies, it is natural that
they are self-centered, and it is difficult to unite
them [with other states]. But if they are democracies,
then federation is easy. This is because people only
seek profit and benefit for themselves, and so when
Good men advocate the pleasure and progits of Ta T'ung
it naturally accords with men's minds.
Students of international relations may criticize
K'ang's prediction as to which states would survive. It had
appeared very likely at the end of the nineteenth century
that a handful Of EurOpean and American powers might gain
domination over the whole world. But after the turn of the

century, particularly after the Second World War, this

 

7In Ta T'ung Shu K'ang was ambiguous in his pre-
dictions about which states would survive the multi-state
rivalry. In 1902, refuting his revolutionary Opponents,
K'ang stated that in the coming one hundred years or more
the states that would surely survive would be England, the
United States, Russia, Germany, France, and China. Con-
cerning smaller states, K'ang maintained that their destiny
would remain to be seen. For K'ang's article see Hsin-Ming
ChungrPao no. 16 (1902); or Chang Nan and Wang Jen-chi (eds),
A Selection of Essgys During_the Ten Years Period Before
the 1911 Revolution, (2 vols.; Peking: San Lien Book Store,
1960 , I, 212-13.

 

8K'ang, TaTWung Shu, English edition, p. 86.
Quoted with a slight modification.

 

98

tendency was checked or Offset by the rising tide of national-
ism throughout Asia and Africa. There has been a sudden
emergence of many former colonies, protectorates, and depend-
ent territories 111 this area as independent states coexisting
with the dominant EurOpean and American powers. There is no
strong indication that the present trend will be reversed to
the extent that the EurOpean and American powers will restore
their authority over their former colonies. Thus a great
change has occurred and the number of states has increased
rather than decreased. For the present the complete domi—
nance by a few European and American states as imperialist
[powers has given way to the coexistence of a multitude of
sovereign states. Therefore, unification into a world—wide
community will depend upon more than the consensus Of a few
dominant powers. A universal consensus must include members
of most sovereign states: large and small, strong and weak,
autocratic and democratic, Western and non-Western. K'ang's
failure to anticipate the rise of anti—colonialism in Asia
and Africa and the role it has played in shaping the destiny
of mankind weakened his claim for the inevitability of his-
torical progress, and his seemingly realistic planning for
the future of the whole world. It also belied his status as
a man of knowledge in the Confucian sacred school. As a
matter of fact, many of his predictions and plans can be

dismissed as erroneous and wishful thinking.

99

Long-Rango Evolutionary Desigp:
the Statelesoy_Classless, and
Racially-Mixed World Community

 

 

 

K'ang's Observation of the multi—state rivalry led
him to believe that national boundaries, which politically
divide mankind, would have to be eliminated, in the prepara-
tions for world-wide government. One may question what
would become of the social and political institutions in the
few surviving states, as well as to those in the vanquished
ones. The answer K'ang provides is simple and straight-
forward. For mankind to achieve universal equality he pro-
posed the abolition of all the boundaries or barriers that
had divided mankind. These would include not only nation,
but also class, race, sex, family, occupation, disorder,
kind and finally suffering itself. To attain all these,
he urged every nation in the world to prepare itself for a
long-range evolution that would bring mankind from the Age
Of Disorder through the Age of Approaching Peace, and

9

eventually to the Age of Universal Peace. In support of

 

9Reference has already been made as to K'ang's
discovery of Confucius' teachings, i.e., the Theory of
Three Ages as evolutionary. It may be interesting to note
K'ang's reaction toward Darwinism. There is no question
that the Chinese trgnslation of T. H. Huxley's Evolution
and Ethics by Yen Fu, a contemporary of K'ang, had been
seen by K'ang before it went to press, as some historians
have recently discovered. See T'ang Chi-chun, Collection
of Essgys on the 1898 Reform, pp. 112-13. But the important
fact is that upon reading the manuscript K'ang told his
disciples that it was not a new theory and that Westerners
had studied science of biological evolution for many years.
Liang Ch'i-ch'ao reported that he ahd previously heard of
part of the evolutionary theory from K'ang. See Liang's

 

 

 

 

100

the over-all abolition, K'ang strongly claimed that Confucius
had taken thought of the universal suffering of all mankind
and set up laws and institutions for the subsequent ages.
However, because K'ang regarded EurOpe and America as nearing
the Age of Approaching Peace,lO the institutions and ideas
he proposed were in fact modeled after or taken from those
existing in the West, but were supplemented by Oriental
religious values. In general, he urged the non-Western
world to mix with the West both culturally and ethnically,
and the Western nations to continue toward a higher stage
of develOpment, Universal Peace.

According to K'ang's prOposal, the abolition of
the first barrier and the uniting of states would occur in
three stages: the alliance of old states in which each in-
dividual state would still retain its sovereignty; then the
creation of a new "public state" with the individual states

retaining limited sovereignty; and finally, the abolition of

all states following the emergence of a world government.

 

letter to Yen Fu, in Liang, Collection of Essays of Liang “
Ch'i—ch'ao (80 vols.; Shanghai: Chung Hwa Book Store, 1926),
IV, Chuan IV, 29a. I have found that the Bibliograppy Of
Japanese Books lists under the heading of biology eight
works, six of which bear the title of evolution. It is pos-
sible that the concept of evolution had already come to his
attention in his study of the Western learning through the
Japanese books; but the Chinese translation of Huxley's work
served as a stimulant later. He used the concept of the
survival of the fittest, but he strongly Opposed Darwin's
concept of evolution as ridiculous and worse than flooding
waters, good only for the Age of Disorder. See Ta T'ung Shu,
English edition, p. 258.

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

K'ang, Ta T'ung Shu, English edition, p. 72.

101

The first stage,when the foundation of Ta T'ung would be
laid, K'ang called the Age Of Disorder. The second stage,
the Age of Approaching Peace, occurred when Ta T'ung would
be generally developed. At the time when Ta T'ung would be
achieved on earth, there would exist the Age of Universal
Peace. K'ang discussed many details of this evolutionary
process, trying to anticipate and facilitate the step by
step transition toward Ta T'ung. Underlining this grand,
detailed design was his strong contention that the lofty
ideals that had long been dreamt of by philosophers of the
East and West would become realities after the abolition of
state boundaries.ll

As far as social class is concerned, K'ang main-
tained that America was most tranquil, strong, prosperous,
and happy, resulting from the extreme equality of her
ordinary citizens. Even though Negroes were still not
treated equally with the whites after the emancipation, the
United States was still the harbinger of the Age of Approach-
ing Peace. But K'ang quickly turned to Chinese history
claiming that Confucius was the first one to prOpose an end
to slavery, and had done so two thousand years before its
abolition in EurOpe. Furthermore, the Emperor Kwang Wu of
the later Han period was the first man who applied this
teaching Of Confucius in abolishing the slavery system in

China; thus,compared with the emancipation of slaves in

 

11Ibid., p. 8A.

102

China, President Lincoln was a mere "follower" Of Emperor
Kwang Wu.12
K'ang went on to maintain that slavery in China
was originally a Mongolian institution re—established in
China by conquest. Unfortunately Liu Hsin had forged the
Classics, falsely attributing the slave laws to Chou Kung,
and peOple had forgotton Inna true teaching of Confucius.
As a result, the slavery system became popular again during
the Ming period and thereafter. Thus he declared:
Now it is time to illuminate the universal principles,
to employ the teaching of Confucius, to pattern after
the system established by Emperor Kwang Wu, to abolish
all the slavery records, and to let [the slaves] become
men of good standing. 1
As for other nations, K'ang suggested that the
caste systems of India, Turkey, Egypt and Persia should be
abolished in favor of equality. After several hundred years,
more countries would become democracies, and would inevitably
follow the example of the United States in abolishing heredi—
tary nobility. Eventually all the great priests and imperial
families would disappear. "Mankind throughout the world will

be perfectly equal."lLl

 

12K'ang, Egjrung Shu (ed.), Ch'ien Tin-an (Shanghai:
Chung Hwa Book Store, 1935), pp. 170—71. For convenience it
is designated hereafter as the Chinese edition. The English
edition is an abridged form; thus, it is frequently necessary
to quote from the Chinese edition.

13

 

Ibid., p. 173.

1“K'ang, Op. cit., English edition, p. 138.

103

To achieve universal equality among men, the unit-
ing of states and the uniting of social classes must be
coupled with the uniting of all the races in the world. For_
mankind to merge into a Single race producing individuals
with like complexions and features, K'ang strongly recom-
mended that racial equality could be achieved by changing
the non-white peOples into white by means of migration,
mixed marriages, nutritious improvement, etc. According to
him, it would not be too difficult to join the most numerous
yellow race with the superior white race. He believed that
if the yellow race could adOpt the Western methods of living
which were conducive to good health, within a hundred years
they would gradually become white, with inter-marriage com-
pleting this trend before the perfection of Ta T'ung. The
difficulty, claimed K'ang, would be in transforming the
brown and the black races, which would require a longer
period prior to their entry into the Age of Ta T'ung. He
predicted:

Generally speaking, the extremely black Africans will
advance to [the stage of] the brown people after another
several hundred years; within less than two or three
hundred years [the brown peOple] may advance to the
yellow peOple; within less than a hundred years [the
yellow peOple] may become white.l

According to his grand evolutionary design, the
final goal of racial equality would be accomplished in the

following three stages. In the Age of Disorder there would

 

15K'ang, op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 188.

10A

be inequality in social status, intelligence, physical ap-
pearance and inter-marriage among the different races. In
the Age Of Approaching Peace, with the gradual disappearance
of the brown and black peOples, only the white and yellow
races would remain in the world scene. There would be little
discrepancy between these two races in their social status,
complexion, intelligence, and bodily sizes. Inter-marriage
among different races would become popular. As the Age of
Universal Peace approached, there would be neither a yellow
nor a white race; there would be no difference among the
peoples of the world in their social status, complexion,

intelligence and bodily size.l6

Lonngange Evolutionary Design:
the Sexually Promiscuous,
Familyless, and Communistic
World Community

 

 

 

 

Coupled with the abolition of state, social class,
and racial distinction there would be a universal abolition
of sex barriers, family ties, and private prOperty. In so
doing K'ang was suggesting a world community of sexual pro—
miscuity, a world community without family institution, and,
most importantly, a world community of outright communism.

From his survey of the universal suffering of
women under the male dominance, K'ang declared that he had
a great wish: to bring all the women in the world, of the

future, to complete equality with an independence from men.

 

16Ibid., p. 191.

105

He attacked the founders of Buddhism, Brahmanism, Christianity,
and Islam for their failure to look into the suffering Of the

other half of humanity.17

He was particularly critical Of
the Sung Confucians for their "high principles" which had
caused countless numbers of widows to grieve in wretched
alleys, and be harassed by cold and hunger,18 and of foot-
binding which had resulted in the injuries of billions of
women.19 According to him, the equality between husband and

wife had been the wish of Confucius.20

Confucius had created
the institution that the bridegroom should receive his bride
in person to indicate the mutual respect between husband and
wife; he had authoredno principle requiring that a wife should
be treated as a slave.21 Above all, divorce had been insti—
tuted in ancient times and had been practiced widely, including
the family of Confucius.22
Concerning Western women, K'ang noted that in
EurOpe and America they were generally free in studying,
talking, entertaining, travelling about, and sightseeing,
choosing their husbands, and obtaining divorces. However,

he was dissatisfied with the inequality between men and

 

17K,

18Ibid., p. 157.
19

20Ibid., p. 232.

ang, op. cit., English edition, p. 150.

K'ang, Op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 21A.

21Ibid., p. 216.

22Ibid., p. 250.

106

23

women in other areas, particularly because education for

women was not successful and women's political rights were
not sufficiently developed.2l4

He prOposed to emancipate the women of the world
through the following three stages. First, imprisonment and
slavery, punishment and restriction would be discontinued.
Then the prohibition against social intercourse, entertaining,
freely going out and coming in, and sightseeing would be dis-
carded, as in EurOpean and American custom. Then women all
over the world would be entitled to hold political office,
vote, become members of parliament and hold citizenship as
men do.25 This would be the progress of women from the Age
Of Disorder, through the Age of Approaching Peace, to the
Age of Universal Peace.

Finally, K'ang suggested, in order to achieve com—
plete equality of women with men in the Age of Universal
Peace, there should be no husband and wife, but only free
partners bound by a "love contract"; the minimum time for
this contractwould be only one month, subject to renewal if
both parties so desired.26 "Therefore, the more we try"
declared K'ang, "to prevent lust, the more it arises. Why

should we not get rid of both the embankment and water [sic]:

 

23
2A

K'ang, op. cit., English edition, p. 153.
Ibid., pp. 15A-55; p. 152.
25Ibid., p. 159.

26Ibid., pp. 163-66.

107

there will be no danger of being flooded."27 Following

K'ang's suggestion the future world Of Ta T'ung would indeed

be a sexually promiscuous community.28

 

27

28In a letter to K'ang in 1896, Liang Ch'i-ch'ao
reminded K'ang of the latter's inadequate knowledge of Bud—
dhism. He said that after having read a few scriptures in
Hinayana he was surprised to notice that K'ang's teachings
of Universal Peace and Great Unity had already been rejected
by the Buddha. See "Liang's Letter to K'ang" in Su Yfi (ed.),
Defending Confucianism: A Collection of Rebuttals (3 vols.;
By the editor, 1898), III, Appendixes. I have attempted
painstakingly to trace Liang's assertion to the Buddhist
sources. Due to the pressure of time, I was unable to locate
all the sources, thus unable to validate Liang's Observation.
In my opinion, K'ang's proposal to abolish marriage ties was,
on the surface, in anticipation of the increasing instability
of marriage life in the West. In reality, his ideas of racial
equality and sexual freedom were partly taken from the Bud-
dhist myth which he found in Buddhist literature. As told by
the Hinayana scriptures, in this solar universe north of the
Mount Sumeru there exists a world called Uttarakura. Although
the civilization there has not been highly develOped, its in-
habitants do enjoy the highest degree of equality among their
fellow human beings, as compared with their counterparts on
other planets. There, all human beings are of the same race,
possess the same form of physical appearance, and bear the
same kind of complexion. There is no way to mark difference
except of sex. It is interesting to note that both men and
women enjoy "free love" for which trees will bend down to
make covers and flowers will come into bloom to make beddings.
To avoid incest in case that the two parties are parent and
child, or two immediate relatives, trees will not bend, leaves
will 'Wither away, and flowers will not come into bloom.
Furthermore, born as good natured people, they are sexually
not lustful as are their counterparts on earth where only sky
is the ceiling. Ordinarily, for the most sexually lustful
ones the occasions of physical union for men and women in
ones's lifetime probably will not exceed five. Three or four
occasions would be the norm. Therefore the "sexual freedom"
which they have enjoyed is not without limitation; it is
innately checked by the composition of their nature. For a
general description of Uttarakura see Ch'i-shih ching in
The Tripitaka, 1, 310-65. Also see Ta 10 t'an chigg, ibid.,
227—309; Ch'i-shihmyinepen ching, ibid., 365-A20. ‘ —*_—

K'ang, op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 252.

 

 

 

108

The abolition of the sex barrier would not be com—
plete if the family barrier remained, and K'ang proposed to
do away with this too. He maintained that the Chinese
family system, though it provides for effective reproduction
and encourages honoring parents, (especially when compared
with the Western counterpart) it was still narrower in its
practice of Egg because of the barrier of the clan system.
But he quickly pointed out that it was impossible for the
Western family system to achieve complete equality for all
mankind because there too each one would look after his own
children.29 According to his Theory of Three Ages, to have
peOple educated entirely by the family would be the system
of the Age of Disorder, to have schools and also to have
family to educate peOple would be the system of the Age of
Approaching Peace, and to abolish family, to leave education
entirely to the schools would be the system Of the Age Of

Universal Peace.3O

Therefore, he suggested that mankind do
away with their families and live in schools, or public
institutions. To uproot the family barrier K'ang designed
a series of public institutions that would take care of all
human beings from the pre-natal education to the disposal of
the dead by electrical machines.31 He said:
29K'
30

31Liang Ch'i—ch'ao mentioned that one of the main
ideas in Ta T'ung_Shu was the cremation of the dead for ferti-
lizer factories; see Liang, Intellectual Trends in the Ch'ing
Period, p. 97. This indicates that the electrification of
the dead was a later revision. Probably K'ang thought that
the dead were useless for making fertilizers.

 

ang, Op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 285.

K'ang, Op. cit., English edition, p. 181.

 

 

109

Now the way Of life is not otherwise to be born,
to be nurtured, to be educated, to be supported, and
[to encounter] Old age, sickness, suffering, and death.
These matters will all belong to the public [domain]:
for, from begetting to burying, all will be managed by
the [public] government, and will not be provided for
by the individual's parents or children. The parents
will not have the toil of nurturing and caring for the
children, [n]or the expense of educating them. More-
over, the children will be cut off from the father and
mother and will not see them very often, for being re-
moved to distant places. Yet again, [because of]
moving gbout, they will not be acquainted with each
other.

In his suggestion to abolish the boundary of live—
lihood, i.e., the private property, K'ang showed a strong
dissatisfaction with the stupendous progress in science and
technology. It had failed to improve the living of the
peOple, or to meet the deficiencies of public spirit. He
repudiated socialism, communism, trade unionism, as well as
capitalism,holding that they were unable to COpe with the
economic situations of the world. According to K'ang, the

phalangps suggested by the Englishman Fourier [sic] were

 

impractical because they allowed transactions in property.
In communism, the existence of family and state would defeat
the purpose of the economic system. Moreover, he noted the
sharp conflict among the capitalists and the acute struggle
between labor and capital, which would tend to result in

disaster and bloodshed. But he quickly dismissed socialism

 

32K'ang, Op. cit., English edition, p. 186. K'ang
fails to make any provision to prevent world-wide sexual in-
cest. For if the parent and the child are separated and not
acquainted with each other, the father and daughter, or the
mother and the son, may enter into "a love contract" by ig-
norance after the removal of the sex barrier.

110

and trade unionism for their failure to do away with family
and private property, contending that they were in no position
to solve the unusual great struggle. As for the theory of
free competition, namely, the free enterprise system, K'ang
maintained that it would be suitable to the Age of Disorder
only, for men would never attain equality while deceit and
corruption resulted from free competition. Above all, the
very existence of family and private prOperty would generate
competition, which in return would reSult in corruption and
deceit. Therefore, he strongly suggested that if men wished
to attain universal equality, all commerce, industry and
agriculture should be transferred to and owned by the world
community. The world government should set up individual
departments, whose functions Would be to plan, supervise and
carry out economic activities for the entire world popula—
tion.33

A critical question arises from K'ang's communistic
suggestion. How would this be fitted into his grand evolu-
tionary design? K'ang seems to have presented two supple-
mentary answers. First, the taking-away of private property
should pass through the following three stages. In the Age
of Disorder, the peOple should be allowed to have private
prOperty and if it were taken for official use, it must be
paid for. In the Age of Approaching Peace, private property
should not be taken away without great cause. Finally, upon

entering the Age of Universal Peace, all peOple in the world

 

33K'ang, Op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 362.

111

have given up their private property.3u

In other words, all
mankind would live under a world—wide, planned communistic
economic system.

But how is the abolition Of private property re-
lated to the doing-away of family and state? K'ang main-
tained that the key to the public ownership of the means of
production would be the adoption of the love contract based
upon the principle of natural right. He proposed:

Do we wish to abolish the family? Merely [to]
bring about that the principle of natural right is
clearly understood. Men and women are all equal and
independent. [In] marriage, we will not again use the
terms "husband" and "wife," we will only permit the
signing Of a contract of union for [a number of] months
and years, and that is all. Carry these [measures] out
for sixty years, and then the peOples Of all the world
will no [longer have] families.35

Without the burdensome family ties, K'ang Optimis—
tically predicted that there would be no problem of inheri-
tance. By then all means of production would be easily
transferred to the world community.

LongeRange Evolutionarpresign:

the Disorderless, Animal-Lovipg,
and Painless World Community

 

 

The questions arise from K'ang's prOposal are:
How is the stateless, classless, racially—mixed (or all

white), sexually promiscuous, familyless (or parentless),

 

BuK'ang, op. cit., English edition, p. 125.

35Ibid., p. 2261-1 have changed "heaven-conferred
human rights" in Thompson's text to"natural rightJ‘ The Chinese
term t'ien-fu jen—ch'fian, namely,"heaven—conferred human rights,"
was a5 early Chinese translation Of'hatural right."

 

112

and communistic world community to be governed? Will the
peOples of the world then stand in need Of any governmental
organizations? K'ang's grand design indicated that an all—
inclusive totalitarian world government would be needed.

The institutions would be composed of three levels: the
local, the degree, and the public. K'ang anticipated that
when men entered the Age of Ta T'ung, because of the tremen-
dous progress in transportation and communication, travel
around the world would take only several days or perhaps
less. By then the earth would seem comparable in size to a

36 With the disappearance of state and

big county in China.
racial barriers, mankind would then stand in no need of
using geographical considerations in dividing administrative
responsibilities. They should set up no continental sub—
governments to continue discrimination and hatred. Thus to
uproot the selfishness of mankind the future world govern-
ment, namely, the Public Government, should be subdivided
into several thousand governments of degree, whose size
would be comparable to a village of today. Each degree
government would consist of a number of self-governing,

local units, such as nurseries, hospitals, schools, farms,

shops, and factories.

 

36K'ang, Op. cit., Chinese edition, p. 388. Un—
doubtedly this is a very prophetic insight. If K'ang were
alive today, probably he would claim that the world trans-
portation had already entered the Age of Ta T'ung; in the
meantime he might deplore over the slow progress in man's
abolition of the nine boundaries or barriers.

113

The Operation of the three levels of governmental
organizations should be highly democratic. Public Officials
would Usable-minded sages possessing high morality and
character. They should be elected by public vote on tele-
phones. Being very modest, the elected candidates would
decline twice or thrice before accepting governmental posi-
tions. There would be no misconduct, nor any competing,
clamoring, or assassination among party politicians as
there is under the present constitutional governments.
People of that age would look back at the political behavior
of today and consider it barbaric and absurd.37

However, in a world Of Ta T'ung in which every-
thing would be owned by the governments, men would stand in
need of incentives and prohibitions to ensure continuing
progress, while guarding against any reversion to decadence
and stupidity. Thus he further suggested that measures
should be taken to encourage people's efforts in their
striving for excellence, knowledge and benevolence. By then,
the world order and human nature would become so perfect that
there would be neither crime, nor litigation. There might
be mistakes or faults and these could be easily prevented by
instituting the following four prohibitions: against lazi—
ness, against idolizing an individual, against competition,

and against abortion.38

 

37K'ang, op. cit., English edition, pp. 23A-35.

38Ibid., pp. 25A-60.

11A

Furthermore, the equality and happiness of mankind
would not be advanced if these virtues were not extended to
the animal world. Therefore K'ang prOposed to abolish the
"kind" barrier that separated man from other species. In so
doing, he was contemptuous of Moses and Mohammed for their
"leading men to devour men" in the course of building their
own states. He was also critical of some Chinese sages,
Jesus, Zoroaster, and Socrates for their selfishness towards
their own kind, i.e., mankind only.39 However, he noted
that had mankind not been able to destroy the animals the
human species could not have survived, and the past several
thousand years of Disorder would have been utterly impos-

sible.”0

Therefore, he equally rejected the prohibitions
against killing animals by Buddhism and Hinduism as impracti-
cal for the Age of Disorder, despite their being the most
benevolent of humanity.”1
According to K'ang, the Ego Of Confucius consisted
of three stages. In the Age of Disorder people loved their
kin only. In the Age Of Approaching Peace they would extend
their love to other peOple. Finally, in the Age of Universal
Peace they would extend their love to all creatures (literally,

things). These three stages constituted an inevitable natural

 

39K.
no
Al

ang, Op. cit., Chinese edition, p. A32.
Ibid., p. A33.

Ibid., p. A3A.

115

order in the progress of mankind.“2

Thus he suggested that
in the Age of Disorder, eating of flesh and killing of living
creatures would still be allowed. Moving toward the Age of
Approaching Peace men would use electric machines to slaughter
animals so that they would not suffer. Eventually both killing
and the desire for killing would come to an end in the Age of
Universal Peace. By then new devices would emerge and men
would eat substitutes for animal meat. There would be no harm-
ful animals. All animals would be tamed and would become pets
of mankind living happily and peacefully in well-furnizhed zoos.l43
Lastly, the universal happiness of all men and all
animals would be incomplete if suffering itself were not up-
rooted. Therefore he prOposed to abolish the suffering
barrier in order to help mankind Obtain utmost happiness.
According to him, the purpose of creating social and political
institutions was to seek happiness and avoid suffering. Every
social and political institution should be judged by the ex-

tent to which it had increased human happiness and decreased

human suffering. He also applied this to his future work of

Ta T'ung.

 

u2K'ang, op. cit., English edition, p. 266. The
idea of extending one's compassion from kinsmen to include
people, then to all creatures, was directly taken from
Mencius; see K'ang, The Esoteric Meaningo Of Mencius, I,
Chuan I, A. K'ang in his Study of the Editions, Great Princi-
ples and Esoteric Dicta Of the Spring and Autumn Annals, X,
Chfian XI, 2lb-2Aa, offered a detailed presentation regarding
Confucius' compassion for animals. According to him, that
the Annals concluded with the capture of a unicorn indicated
that Confucius had reposited his Way of Animals, as a matter
of fact, the Ego for all sentiment beings, in the Ch'un Ch'iu.

A3K,

 

 

 

 

 

ang, op. cit., Chinese edition, pp. A32-37.

116

As a result of the long evolution of "material
culture," K'ang predicted that the future world would be full
of material abundance and men would enjoy their happiness in
dwelling, eating and clothing, etc., as they never had before.
But in addition to material well—being, K'ang seems to regard
the spiritual well—being as an inalienable part Of the uni-
versal happiness of mankind. Thus he gave due emphasis to
the happiness of the soul and expressed great dissatisfaction
with the Western religions of Christianity and Islam. In his
estimation both religions would be extinct in the Age of Eg
EEppg_because of their theological shallowness and practical
inadequacy. The only major religions that would satisfy
man's want for happiness of soul would be Taoism and Buddhism.
The former would provide man with the art of achieving im—
mortality; the latter, the teaching of buddhahood.uu

However, according to his evolutionary design,
religious life in the Age Of Ta T'ung would not be exclusively
dominated by Taoism and Buddhism. Essentially it would take
the form of a New Religion embracing the strong points of all
the world religions as a result of public discussion and
universal consensus. In other words, it would be a syncretic
religious system. According to K'ang's projection, conceptions

of gods and heaven would cease to command reverence; peOple

would only revere the former philOSOphers and the soul of

 

uuK'ang, Op. cit., English edition, pp. 27A475q

117

every man.145 Translated into plain language, K'ang's New

Religion would be a Confucian syncretism based upon the
universal equality Of soul among all men, an integralist
system of knowledge composed of Various aspects or levels
of truth.

With material abundance, physical longevity and
spiritual power men would further devote themselves to the
study of the roaming through heavens. K'ang declared that,
in his estimation, there were two hundred forty-two different
heavens existing in this universe beyond the knowledge of
European astronomers. The total number of heavens he claimed
to know also superseded the twenty—five revealed by Buddhism

and the eighteen by Taoism.”6

 

u5Ibid., pp. 126-27. Following the sacred School
approach, probably there will be no inter—religious discus—
sion as K'ang has suggested, nor can inter-religious discus-
sion reach any universal agreement upon which a new religion
can be formed. In my Opinion due to the great encounter of
all kinds of knowledge, the religious scholars of each major
religion have already begun to syncretize the strong points
Of others. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, side by
side with the common ground they have gained through syncre-
tization each major religion will tend to retain its own
distinctive identity. It is very possible that in anticipa-
tion of the possible emergence of a One—World, the most im-
aginative scholars of each religion are beginning to draft
constitutions based upon One-World Philosophy, the difference
of which is only subject to the cross-pressure of the opposing
ideas as well as to the theological uniqueness of each credo.

“6K'ang, All Heavens, II, Chfian IX, 8a. The names
of each heaven and its respective number of peOple were
given in II, Chfian X.

 

118

Ideology or UtOpia?

 

K'ang's deep reverence for Confucius, his life-
long devotion to the rediscovery of Confucius' teachings by
means of the method of containment, the eliciting revelation,
even by means of apocrypha, hisre—interpretation of Confucian-
ism as an integral unity on a basis Of grand synthesis, his
strong contention on the cause of China's backwardness and
particularly his further develOpment of the Theory of Three
Ages into the philosophy of Ta T'ung, a constitution for all
mankind as well as animals, give rise to the question as to
whether he intended to apply them to the social and political
situations in China and the world. If he did, the next ques-
tion is: To what extent did he apply his entire system Of
syncretic philosophy to the social and political order which
he had been confronting? A careful study of K'ang's political
and social application Of his rediscovery of the authentic
version of Confucianism indicates that K'ang's political
philosophy was a strange mixture of ideology and utopia.
Generally speaking, his universal constitution, or the phil-
OSOphy of Ta T'ung, was, in actuality, an outright ideological
syncretism despite its strong radical contention, while its
reform program for the Chinese nation was originally a dis-
tinctive system of utOpia but was rendered completely Obsolete
due to the change of events. The Obsolescence of the reform
program further rendered the philOSOphy of Ta T'ung more

ideological in its articulation.

119

The reason why TaT”ung Shu was essentially an ideo-

 

logical syncretism lies first in that its author never intended
its realization. This has been explained by K'ang's disciple
Liang Ch'i-ch'ao when he related that K'ang had written his
work but kept it secret from other men except for two leading
disciples including Liang himself and never taught its ideas
to his students. In accordance with the iron law of histori-
cal progress K'ang considered the mentioning Of the doctrine
of Ta T'ung as committing mankind to flood and ravening beasts.
According to Liang:
Nevertheless, K'ang from beginning to end advocated sal-
vation of the present world by the principle of "partial
security" [Small Tranquility] alone; in regard to the
problems of politics as well as social ethics, he con-
sidered it his duty to maintain the status quO [sic].
He had formulated a new ideal which he considered most
worthy and most perfect, yet he did not desire its reali-
zation and even fought with all his might to suppress it.
I suppose the strangeness and prredictability of human
nature can hardly exceed this.

The exact reason why K'ang did not desire the reali-
zation of Ta T'ung is that, in his own theory, the present age
being one of Disorder, and Multi-state Rivalry, the very
practice of the doctrine would inevitably result in disaster
and confusion. Probably in K'ang's estimation the final reali-
zation of the world-wide perspective was too remote to be re-
garded as desirable and practicable. It was obvious that K'ang
originally intended only to elaborate a theory and reposited

it just as Confucius had done waiting for another sage to put

 

“7Liang, Intellectual Trends in the Ch'ing Period,

 

p. 98.

120

it into practice. Thus the very concept, the Multi-state
Rivalry, which K'ang used as a theoretical foundation for
predicting the coming world events forbade him from taking
consideration of the early realization of the doctrine of

Ta T'ung.
That Ta T'ung Shu was ideological in K'ang's sys-

 

tem of political thinking lies further in that the doctrine
of Ta T'ung was used by K'ang, after the 1898 coup d'étgt,
and particularly after 1911, as a shield against his Repub-
lican Opponents in the defense of his obsolete constitutional
monarchism. Although the draft was first written in 188A,
the whole manuscript was not completed until 1902 when K'ang
was living in exile in India. Then the book was subjected

to a process of constant revision and enlargement.’48 It was
only after the 1911 Republican Revolution that K'ang, being
forced to defend his unsuccessful constitutional monarchism,
gave permission for the publication of the first two parts
concerning the universal suffering of all human beings and
the way to abolish national barriers. The purpose of the
publication was to refute republicanism and the concomitant
new thoughts by claiming that they had already been contained
in K'ang's thinking, but that they were not ripe for adoption.

In so doing, K'ang unwittingly contradicted himselfi contending

 

r—

u8The fact that K'ang mentioned China's adOption
of the Western calendar in Ta T'ung Shu, Chinese edition,
p. 129, indicates that the manuscript was revised after
1911, the year when China formally adopted the solar calendar.

 

121

that now it was close tc> the age divinely prophesied by
Confucius; in the meantime, as Liang well put it, he fought
with all his might to suppress the realization of this ideal.
Thus this inconsistency helped transform K'ang's seemingly
radical political philOSOphy into an ideological tool serving
the obsolete monarchical cause. Concerning this, I shall have

more to say in the second half of the next chapter.

CHAPTER VI

THE 1898 REFORM AND THEREAFTER

Institutional Reform of 1898

 

K'ang's proposal for institutional reform made him
the most important and also the most influential Confucian
religious scholar in the last century. Many of the tradi-
tional and obsolete institutions, such as the selection of
administraotrs based upon their knowledge of the Four Books,
had been in Operation for a thousand years, and the trans-
portation of grain by the canal system had gone on for two
thousand years. These came to an abrupt end during the One
Hundred Days Reform in 1898. In fact, if the comp d'état
had not occurred, the entire framework Of the Confucian
sacred school, including its knowledge and social and poli-
tical structure, would have undergone a radical transfor-
mation.

The main theme of this broad and historically
unprecedented program of reform was that the Chinese nation,
upon entering the Age of Multi-state Rivalry, should be
adapted to the new situation by replacing her Obsolete ideas
and institutions with those of the West. Provisions for
these changes were contained in Confucius' teachings, or

at least, had been anticipated by the Sage. In other words,

122

123

the reform program was intended to syncretize Western ideas
and institutions into the Chinese system in order to save
the Chinese nation and its Confucian sacred knowledge by
means of a massive and complete social and political change.
Although these changes would accomplish an ideological Ob-
jective, i.e., the preservation of the Manchu ruling house,
the social and political revolution was essentially a
utOpian syncretism.

I referred earlier to K'ang's attempts to convince
his fellow religious scholars to rediscover and restore the
authentic Confucianism. These endeavors can be seen in his

various publications, such as the Study of Forged Classics

 

During the Hsin Period, Confucius as a Reformer, and Biblio-

 

graphy of Japanese Books, etc. In 1888, four years after
the Sino-French War over Vietnam, or four years after he

had begun drafting the constitution for all mankind, K'ang
strove to present his discovery to the Son of Heaven, Kwang
Hsu, who was the center of the power structure of the Con-
fucian sacred school. It was a long, persistent, lone, and
hard political fight. Incessantly and repeatedly he memorial-
ized the Throne. In 1895, when the Chinese Empire was de—
feated by Japan, he submitted a joint petition to the Throne
signed by hundreds of examination candidates. ‘In 1898,
after ten years' tenacious struggle, K'ang finally succeeded
in breaking through the Opposition of the conservative court

Officials and won the confidence of the young emperor Kwang

12A

Hsu. His memorials were adOpted by the Emperor as the basis
for reform and renovation.1

K'ang attempted to convince the Emperor of his
basic premise: that the world situation had fundamentally
changed as a result of the Western invasion. He pointed
out that the main force bringing about the great change was
the modern EurOpean nations, which came across the globe
with their steamships, telephone lines, railroads, etc.,
very much like a galaxy of stars descending from the sky.
"Since then, our country has no longer lived in the age of

great unification (ta-i-t'ung) and isolation; on the contrary,

 

she has entered the Age Of Multi-state Rivalry [similar to
that of the pre-Ch'in period."2 Therefore, he contended
that the Occidental nations should not be looked upon with
contempt by China the way she had previously viewed the
neighboring peoples. "Nowadays the Occidental nations are
competing with one another in the betterment Of political
institutions and in the progress of learning, which the

ancient barbarian tribes had never achieved."3

 

lK'ang followed the usual procedure of the literati,
taking examinations and entering the officialdom. In 1895 he
passed the metrOpOlitan examination and was granted a chin-
shih degree. But realizing that he was not much of a bureau-
crat, he declined to accept an appointment from the ministry
of public works. K'ang's success in bidding for imperial at-
tention, therefore, was due completely to his direct approach
to the issue in the capacity of a religious scholar.

2K'ang, "Memorial on Translation of Japanese Books
and Sending Students to Japan to Study," in The 1898 Reform,
IV, 222. See also the section on Multi-state Rivalry in the
preceeding chapter.

 

3K'ang, "Fourth Memorial," ibid” II, 175.

125

Furthermore, K'ang reminded the Throne that the
basic characteristic Of the rivalry among states was that of
contrast and contest in social and political institutions.
He said that in the present world in international confer-
ences, diplomacy and frequent international communication,
the contestants were obliged to compete with one another in
terms of their political institutions, social customs, edu-

5 religion,6 as well

cation, technology,“ military science,
as their physical fitness.7 To K'ang, the rivalry among
nations was essentially an all-out contest of strength among
contestants in every Sphere of their national lives. Sur-
vival would be of the fittest; the inferior nations would
quickly be eliminated or would merge with the superior ones.
For the sake of national survival, the adOption of the ad-
vanced Western institutions and ideas was not only desirable,
but basically irresistible. Whoever adopted the new politi-
cal institutions, new laws, new learning and new technology

of Europe and America, declared K'ang, would become strong

(such as the small country Japanlsthose who failed to do SO

 

”K'ang, "Memorial on Encouraging Industrial Arts"
in Memorials in 1898.

5Kvang, "Memorial on Reforming Military Examination,"
ibid.

6K'ang, "Memorial on Establishing Confucianism as
a State Religionfl ibid.

7K'ang, "Memorial on Forbidding Feet-binding,"
ibid.

126

would become weak (such as the large but conservative Tur-
key).8
The crucial question that arose from the necessity

of adopting Western ideas and institutions was: In a world-
of Multi-state Rivalry in which there were a number of lead—
ing states, all of which seemed to have exerted a consider—
able amount of influence upon the Chinese nation, which
state should the Chinese nation look upon as a model state
in her search for Westernization? In his memorials to the
Throne, K'ang recommended three states as models of reform:
Prussia of Bismark, Russia of Peter the Great, and Japan of
the Meiji Restoration. According to K'ang, these three
states best demonstrated the process Of rapid develOpment.
But especially impressed by the success Of Japan after the
restoration of Emperor Meiji, K'ang suggested that the
Chinese nation should look upon Japan as the outstanding
example in reform and renovation. As early as 1896 in his
suggestion on translating Japanese books K'ang had noticed
that Japan's tempo of Westernization had offered the world
a living example Of how a backward nation could develOp at
a more rapid rate than the advanced states. He observed:

It is the Way of Heaven that the last should be superior

to the first; it is the Way of Man that it is easier for

the follower than for the predecessor. Reform in the

Occident was the slowest. From Bacon up to now it has
taken five hundred years [sic] for political institutions

 

f

8K'ang, "Preface to the Study of Meiji Restoration
and Reform in Japan," ibid.

127

and industrial technology [finally] to arrive at the
stage of success. However, Japan's imitation of the
West was the fastest. She has succeeded in adopting
Western political institutions and industrial tech-
nology within thirty years after the Meiji Reform.9
Encouraged by the success Of Japan's Westernization,
K'ang presented the same argument in his memorials. He con-
tended that if the Emperor would follow his suggestion and
take Emperor Meiji's courage and determination as his own,
the declining Chinese Empire would be transformed into a
powerful nation within ten years.10
To vindicate the necessity of establishing a state
religion and the necessity Of reform, K'ang also presented

the Throne his academic works: Study of the Classics Forged

 

During the Hsin Period, Confucius as a Reformer, and Tung

 

Chung-shu's Study of the Spring and Autumn Annals. He main-

 

tained that he had discovered the real version of Confucius'
teachings which had been lost for many centuries. Just as
the scholar—officials had been reminded, now the Emperor
was reminded that Confucius was the founder of a religion;
that Confucius actually wrote all of the Six Classics; that
Confucius' teachings, compared with other schools Of thought
in ancient China, were not only all-embracing but also more

practical and humane.

 

9K'ang, Bibliography of Japanese Books, Preface,

 

p. iib.

10K'ang, "Preface to the Study of Meiji Restoration
and Reform in Japan" in Memorials in 1898.

 

128

Deeply impressed by the Christian religious wor—
ship, K'ang contended that the teachings of Confucius and
Mencius had contained the worship of God, which was lost
because of ignorance. According to his interpretation, the
peOple, no matter how humble, were also the sons of God,
therefore, they were entitled to worship God, as the Son of
Heaven. Furthermore, K'ang saw the pOpular pantheistic
practice in China as non-Confucian in character and viewed
by Westerners as a symbol of barbarism and a target Of ridi-
cule. Therefore, he suggested that the worship of Confucius
as a founder of a religion should officially be recognized
by the Court and promoted to replace those heresies.11

In persuading the Emperor to adopt a constitutional
form Of government, K'ang appealed to the principle laid
down in the Annals that after the Age of Disorder, the world
would enter the Age of Approaching Peace; that the Western
constitutional parliamentary system was, in fact, supported
by the very Classical principles created by the ancient
sages.l2 In a word, the adoption Of Western ideas and in-
stitutions was not only desirable, but essentially foreseen

and sanctioned by the spiritual ancester of the Confucian

sacred school.

 

llK'ang, "Memorial on Establishing Confucianism
as a State Religion," ibid.

l2K'ang, "Memorial on Constitutional Monarchism,"
ibid.'. This memorial was submitted to the Emperor in the
name of a Manchu minister.

129

With these convictions regarding reform, K'ang

presented to the Emperor sixty-three memorials within a
period of only a few months in 1898. Unfortunately, two-

thirds of them were lost in the political chaos Of the oogp
I d'état. The remaining memorials bear the same characteris-
tics. In each Of them K'ang singled out the ideas and in-
stitutions that had made the Western nations, or the nations
in the process of Westernization, strong and powerful and
then prOposed that the emperor adOpt them. Taken as a whole,
this was a scheme of over-all transplantation parallel to
K'ang's theory of grand synthesis. Its vast SOOpe encom—
passed railroad construction; agricultural, commercial and
industrial develOpment; military, educational and examina-
tion reform; prohibition of foot—binding; establishment of
Confucianism as a state religion; re—allocation of the Em-
pire's capital; and the adOption of Western styles of clothes
and hair. K'ang attempted to arrange a "telescoped revolu-
tion," expecting his grand scheme to be carried out in the
span Of a few decades, or even a few years. Some parts of
this scheme, such as the changes of national uniform and
hair-do, could be completed in a few days.

Following K'ang's memorials the young Emperor

Kwang Hsfi issued a number of decrees between June 11 and
September 20 of 1898 calling for national reform. But the
progress Of reform was quickly halted when the Emperor was
imprisoned on September 21, by order of the Empress Dowager.

The whole movement of reform was radically reversed. Six

130

of the reformers were beheaded. K'ang was rescued by the
British in Shanghai harbor and subsequently went into exile.13
Historians may blame both the Emperor and K'ang
as unfit to serve as leaders in a movement they strongly
desired.lu Even K'ang himself confessed after the coup d'

état that some reform reasures, including the adOption of

Western uniform, were economically too expensive and

 

13It may be interesting to note that K'ang wrote
a will before attempting to commit suicide. Translated into
English it reads: "For the sole purpose of saving the
Middle Kingdom and delivering her four hundred millions of
population from misery, I have ventured to reform the insti-
tutions. As a consequence, I suffer and die. My incarnation
into this world was mainly for the sake of bringing salvation
to mankind so that everyone on earth would live in the Age
of Ta T'ung and Universal Peace. In the future in the course
of bringing salvation to the sentient beings, I will never be
tired out, nor will I change my mind, through age after age,
life after life, even for an infinite number Of kalpas, no
matter how many dangers and hardships will befall upon me.
It is my hope that my disciples and followers will follow my
ambition, take salvation as their concern, and never change
their minds in time of danger and distress. Wherever I wish,
I will appear on earth, or in heavens. Therefore, there is
no death. Even after an infinite number of kalpas, I will
still reappear on earth to save mankind. Meeting and part-
ing, life and death, are all of the necessary aspects of
Reason, in which there is nothing strange when one comes and
goes. At this juncture I have nothing in mind as everything
has been set aside. The only thing that I regret is that I
have failed to return the grace that my mother and my prince

 

have shown to me." Translated from the Chinese text in The
1898 Reform, 1, A09.
1A

Meribeth E. Cameron, Tho_Reform Movement in

China, 1898-1912, (Stanford University, California: Stanford
- University Press, 1931), p. A9. T'ang Chi—chun in his Essays
on the 1898 Reform Offers a keen observation on the Emperor
Kwang Hsfi. After a comparative analysis of K'ang's memorials
with the royal decrees, T'ang points out the "contradiction"
between K'ang's proposals and the Emperor's response. As he
observes, on the fundamental, political issues, such as the
instituting of parliament, the adoption of a constitution,

 

131

15 This was true to a certain extent.

politically too drastic.
But taking the Confucian sacred school as a whole, the cen-
turies-old conservative sacred complex of the literati class,
deeply entrenched in the maintenance of status quo would
be regarded as the main impediment causing the reform to col-
lapse. This can be analyzed from the intellectual level as
well as from the level Of social situation.

Generally speaking, the literati took notice of
K'ang's new interpretation of Confucius' teachings, and were
not slow in understanding the nature of K'ang's attempt to
incorporate the Western learning and institutions, but they

were slow to appreciate it. Ever since the publication of

the Forged Classics the literati reacted violently toward

 

K'ang and the book was suppressed by Imperial Order in 189A
as a result of the conservative scholar-Officials' protest.
In-1896 K'ang, supported by a group of far-sighted scholars,

organized the Ch'iang-hsfieh Hui (Society for the Study Of

 

National Rejuvenation) in Peking. It was opposed by the
conservative scholar-Officials and sealed up by the govern-
ment. Again early in 1898, after the loss of Kiaochew to

Germany and Port Arthur to Russia, K'ang established the

 

and the equality between Manchus and Hans, etc., the Emperor
either merely showed "preparation," or never made any public
proclamation. According to his observation, in addition to
the possible impediments from the Empress Dowager, it was
not possible for Kwang Hsu, a feudal emperor, to follow com-
pletely K'ang's democratic ideas. Therefore both men should
be treated separately. See T'ang, Op. cit., p. 218.

15K'ang, "Postscript to Memorial on Cutting Hair,
Changing Uniforms and Recording New Era," in Memorials in 1898.

 

132

PaO-kuo Hui (National Protection Society) in Peking, which

 

was attacked by the conservatives as an open rebellion.
K'ang was saved from punishment only when the Emperor dis—
missed the charges.

The SCOpe of the conservatives' attack on K'ang,
his disciples and supporters was vast. The issues involved
ranged through the following: (1) whether the Classics had
been lost; (2) whether Confucianism was similar to other
schools of thought, particularly to the Western ideas and
institutions; (3) whether K'ang's faction remained loyal to
the ruling Manchu dynasty; (A) whether the Chinese nation
could still be considered to be in the middle position of
the earth after recent geographic discoveries. These wide
ranging accusations and attacks were compiled by Su Yfi in

a book entitled Defending Confucianism: A Collection of Re-

 

buttals.l6 In summary, all Of the conservatives' attacks
were centered around the dominant issue: the alleged ille-

gitimate incorporation of barbarian ideas and system into

 

16The wood blockSEH‘the book were about nearing
completion when the coup d'etat took place. Here it may be
interesting to point out the controversy over the middle
position of China. One of the conservatives conceded that
because the earth was round one could not point to a place
as its middle position. But he quickly contended that China
remained in the middle of the earth by virtue of its racial
complexion. "Among the five colors," he declared, "the
yellow belongs to the earth. Each is located in the middle.
Westerners regarded the Chinese as the yellow race. This
indicates that in the very beginning when the universe was
being opened up, the Chinese were secretly given the middle
position. .Westerners laughed at our superiority complex,
why did you refute them with such anidea?" See Op. cit., III,
Chuan VI, 20b.

 

133

Confucianism. For example, Chu I-hsin, a respected friend
Of K'ang, accused him of attempting to smuggle barbarisms
into Confucianism in the name of Confucius. In a letter to
K'ang he said:

Now you call the uncrowned prince [Confucius] a
reformer in order to facilitate the promotion Of your
own reform movement. Even though the sage Confucius
really had a reform intention, he only desired
to restore the ancient systems of the Sage Kings of
the Three Dynasties; he had no intention of replacing
Chinese institutions with barbarian systems.17

Chu's contention that Confucius had no intention

of replacing Chinese institutions with barbarian systems
represented the general reaction by the ultra-conservative
Confucian religious scholars. The more sophisticated re-
action came from Chang Chih—tung, the Viceroy of Hupeh and
Hunan. Formerly a supporter of K'ang's reform efforts,

Chang later became an arch enemy. In his Exhortation to Study,
first printed in 1898, Chang Chih-tung strongly attacked

K'ang's re-interpretation of the Classics as well as his

reform prOposals.18 According to Chang Chih—tung, the

 

17Su Yu, Op. cit., I, Chuan I, 11a. Quoted from
Li Chien-nung, Op. cit., p. 161.

18K'ang's name was not explicitly mentioned by

Chang but the target of the rebuttal was clearly understood
by the literati. See Su Yu's Preface to Defending Confucian-
ism: A Collection of Rebuttals. Some chapters of ChangTs
Exhortation-toStugy were contained in Su Yu's book. Also see
Ku Hung—ming's work in Chinese Historiography Society (ed.),
The 1898 Reform, IV, p. 279. It is interesting to note that
Exhortation toStudywas presented during the climax of the re-
form days by a member of the Hanlin Academy to the Emperor
who, in turn, decreed its nation-wide publication. One may
wonder whether the young, enthusiastic Emperor had a clear

 

 

 

13A

contentions that modern international law was contained in

the Spring and Autumn Annals, and that Confucius was com-

 

parable to Jesus, were utter "self-confusions."19 To
Chang Chih-tung, the discovery of Confucius as an uncrowned
prince was not only non-Confucian in character but also

20

poisonous. He particularly rejected as an evil thing any

attempt to introduce the doctrine of peOple's rights and a

parliamentary system.21

Above all, he claimed, the Western-
ers, despite their varied political institutions, had also
the three bonds: i.e., the relationships between prince

22 What

and subject, father and son, and husband and wife.
Chang Chi-tung advocated was a synthesis of Confucianism as
its inner learning to govern one's body and mind, and the
Western learning as the outer learning to tackle social
affairs.23 The former was essentially Neo-Confucianism,

while the latter, the adoption of the Western learning, was

limited only to technology and governmental methods as

 

understanding of Chang's work. For the Emperor's decree
see Chang, Op. cit., 1898, reprinted by the Chekiang pro-
vincial authority. For English translation see China's
Only Hope, trans. S. I. Woodbridge, (New York: Young
PeOple's Missionary Movement, 1907). Because the English
rendering was not an exact translation, I’am obliged to re—
fer directly the the Chinese text.

19Chang, Op. cit., Part II, p. A7a.

2OIbid., Part I, p. 20a-b.

21Ibid., Part I, pp. 2la-2Ab.

22Ibid., Part I, pp. l3a-1Ab.

23Ibid., Part II, p. A7a.

135

Opposed to governmental institutions. In other words, Chang
Chih-tung's approach to the issue was merely a continuation
of the old utilitarian approach, which had been severely
attacked by K'ang. To justify his refutation of K'ang's
school of thought as well as his own version of reform,
Chang Chih-tung claimed that the Middle Kingdom had been
the original home for the Western culture. He maintained:
Should one say that our holy writs had already
illustrated the [Western] ideas and regulations, he
would be right. But if one should say that our holy
writs had already taught Westerner's technology, con-
tained the [knowledge] of Westerner's machinery, and
had the same lagfi with those of the Westerner, he
would be wrong.
The reason why Westerners shared the same ideas
and regulations with the Confucian scholars, according to
Chang Chih-tung's historical study, was that the Chinese
culture spread Westward, first to India, and then to EurOpe.
The Westerners, after adopting the Chinese culture, had
modified and perfected it, eventually superseded the Chinese.
It follows that Western technology, machinery and laws should
have been zealously studied by the Confucian scholars re-
gardless of whether or not they had been mentioned in the
Classics.25
Chung Chih-tung's persuasion was an ideological

syncretism. For he was Opposed to any attempt to change the

Manchu royal house as well as the Confucian social structure.

 

2"Ibid., Part II, p. A5b.

25Ibid., Part II, p. A6b.

136

The nature of the conservatives'attack on K'ang
cantxaunderstood in connection with the mode of living of
the religious scholars in the entire Confucian sacred school.
Generally speaking, K'ang's over—allznklspeedy reform pro-
gram would call for a complete alteration not only of the
governmental struoture but of the recruiting process which,
in turn, would affect almost every member of the literati
class. The scholar-Officials who already held appointments
were afraid that the new emphasis on Western sciences in
the reform movement would break their traditional means of
livelihood based upon their knowledge Of Confucian Classics.26
Among the students who hOped to receive governmental posts,
many were angry at the reformers. They feared that changes
in the civil-service examination system and the abolition of
the eight-legged essay would block their Opportunities to
enter the officialdom. "They had no hope for the traditional

recompense in return for the energy and time they had spent

imitating traditional essays and memorizing the Classics."27
According to Liang Ch'i-chao:
The conservatives . . . had previously relied upon

the eight-legged essay to pass the civil-service exami-
nation, and now they were to be tested on their practi-
cal knowledge; that meant that the steppingstone for
their advancement was blocked. What they had formerly
depended upon to secure high position was their academic
degrees and careers; but now this was changed to the
emphasis on real abilities, and the instrument support-
ing their pride was broken. Graft was the means by

 

26
27

Li Chien-nung, Op. cit., p. 162.

Ibid.

137

which they enriched themselves in former times, but the
new reforms required that all accounts be checked very

carefully, thus cutting off the resources which used to
provide for the comfort of their descendants.

K'ang Yu-wei's reforms hurt the feelings of several
hundred members of the Hanlin academy, several thousand
chin-shin, several scores of thousands of chfi-jen, and
several millions of hsiu-ts'ai and licentiates Those
people joined together to attack the reforms.28

 

Liang's striking analysis is indicative of the ex-
tent to which the introduction of new knowledge tended to
affect the social situation of the Confucian religious
scholars. Almost all of the means of livelihood which the
Confucian scholar-Officials had previously relied upon were
swiftly wiped out. In this environment of Opposition the
speedy,over-a11 reform was doomed to failure. By and large
the local Officials, who adopted a wait-and—see policy,
realized that the Emperor was in no position to promote re-
forms. They could see no need to incorporate so many foreign
ideas and institutions into actual practice. AS a result,
the mass of decrees that came forth from Peking were, with
few exceptions, not put into effect. NO positive cooperation
came from the mandarin class.

The failure of the 1898 Reform indicated the extent
to which K'ang had failed to pass his version of authentic
Confucianism through the Confucian sacred school. His later
political activities in the Emperor Protection Society and

his attempt at a restoration were merely minor swells after

 

28Liang, Collection Of Essays of Liang Chi'ch'ao,

I, 3. Quoted from Li Chien-nung, Op. cit., p. 510.

138

the high waves of the great reform. The events had develOped
so rapidly that K'ang found it increasingly necessary to with-
draw from his radical position. As a result, his continuing
effort to rediscover the authenticity of Confucius' teachings
by varied methods was transformed into an ultra-conservatism,

in other words, an ideological syncretism.

Political Thinkinngfter the Coup d'Etat

 

K'ang's surprising retreat to ideological syncre—

tism after the coup d'etat in 1898 resulted from two impor-

 

tant historical events. The first was the rising Republican
revolutionary movement and its final success in 1911 when the
Manchu government was totally overthrown. As a religious
scholar he found the political views of his Opponents utterly
unacceptable to the course which he had charted for the'
nation. He was alarmed not only that the Manchu government
was being wiped out by the swollen tide of anti—Manchu racial—
sim and republicanism; but more importantly about the decline
of the traditional monarchical system. This system provides
the basic framework of the Confucian sacred school which he
had been struggling to preserve by incorporating into it
numerous foreign elements. Now that system appeared to be

on the brink of total extinction. To combat his radical op-
ponents, K'ang was increasingly forced, in this situation, to
defend the Manchu regime which was dominated by the conserva—
tives. K'ang was in the ironic circumstance of having to

defend the conservative factions which he had sworn to Oppose.

139

The other event was a personal one. K'ang's polit-
ical attitudes were strongly influenced during a prolonged
period of exile outside China. He experienced a first-hand,
personal contact with the world situation, particularly the
socio-political institutions of the West. Although he was

criticized by a commentator for his "sailor's tourism,"29

3O offered him ample

his tour of Europe, Asia and the Americas
opportunity to compare the usefulness of the traditional
customs, values and institutions that were still effective
to the new ones he saw in the West. The discovery of
"Western traditionalism," so to speak, probably convinced
him that his reform program in 1898 had been too radical
and impractical; the adOption of Western uniform was such

31

an example. He gradually came to the realization that
the continuing maintenance of certain traditional values,
customs and institutions is essential to, or the necessary
evil for, an orderly political transformation in search of

Westernization.32 As a result, he was obliged to defend his

 

29Sung Yun-pin, K'ang Yu-wei, (Shanghai: The Com-
mercial Press, 1951), 117. Sung is a left—wing writer.

30There are about twenty-eight or so travelogues
listed in the catologue compiled by his disciple Chang Pei-
cheng. Most of them are about European countries and many
were unpublished manuscripts. See The 1898 Reform, IV, 39-A0.

31K'ang, "Postscript to Memorial on Cutting Hair,
Changing Uniforms and Recording New Era" in Memorials in 1898.

 

 

 

32See K'ang, "Preface to Turkey Travelogue" in
K'ang, Collected Essays Of K'ang Yu-wei (6 vols.; Shanghai:
Kuo Hua Book Store, 191A). VI, 3b-Aa. K'ang was particularly
critical of Turkey's rapid imitation of France in constitu—
tional reform.

 

1A0

theory of constitutional monarchism in terms of Western tra-
ditionalism.

Thus, K'ang drastically altered the political ap-
plication of his religious syncretism. He continued to seek
support for the claim that Confucianism offered a basis to
republicanism and democracy through the rediscovering of
authentic truths. But he gradually withdrew from his radi—
cal position until his contentions approximated the old
utilitarian approach. He was defending a conservative and
dying: regime and even tried to restore the dethroned
Emperor P'u—yi.

Generally speaking, the fundamental theme in K'ang's

post coup d'etat political writings was that constitutional

 

monarchism was the only effective form of government that
would deliver the Chinese nation from the crises of multi-
state rivalry. Republicanism, on the other hand, though
clearly contained in the holy writs Of Confucius, would not
suit the prevailing conditions in China. Therefore, if
China tried to follow the patterns of the United States and
France by adopting the republican form of government, the
result would be a national disunity and political chaos.

To vindicate the indispensability of the monarchical
form of government headed by a Manchu emperor, K'ang strongly
attacked the racial nationalism advanced by his revolutionary

Opponents. He contended that, according to the Spring and

 

Autumn Annals, the demarcation line between the historical

 

Middle Kingdoms and the barbarian tribes depended on whether

1A1

the barbarian tribes were in conformity with the Chinese cul-
ture (literally, propriety); not in that they were of dif-
ferent races. He maintained that the idea of the pure or
authentic Chinese race was only a myth, for historically
there were many barbarian tribes who were mixed with and
finally assimilated into the Chinese. In fact, all of the
Chinese families, which claimed to be the descendents of the
Three Dynasties, were tainted by the blood of the northern
barbarians. Furthermore, according to his study, the Manchus
were also direct descendents of the Yellow Emperor; in other
words, belonging to the great Chinese family. It follows
that the spread of revolutionary racialism against the Manchu
government was not only historically biased but would also
divide the nation by excluding the minority peOples from the
Chinese, and eventually give territories away.33
In addition to historical argument, K'ang argued

that the Manchu Court was proceeding along the line of re-

form; therefore, a Manchu regime basing upon constitutional

 

33This was clearly a rebuttal or a rejoinder to
Chang Ping—ling (1868—1936). Chang, a Buddhist—Confucianist
(Old Text) scholar, derived his anti-Manchu racialism from
the Springmand Autumn Annals but with a different approach.
Like K'ang, Chang also outlined an ideal world for mankind.
In his famous essay "Wu wu lun" (Theory of Five Voidnesses)
Chang prOposed to make void of the following five "barriers":
governments, geographic divisions, the way of humanity, the
way of sentient beings as well as the physical universe.
See Hsiao Kung-Ch'uan, History of Chinese Political Thought,
VI, 867-70. ‘

For K'ang's rebuttal see K'ang, "On Revolution"
in Chang Nan and Wong Jen-chih (eds), A Selection of Essayo
During_the Ten Years Period Before ope 1911 Revolution, I,
212-13;' also see "On Salvation" in KTang,-Collected Essays
of K'ang Yu—wei, I, A0b-A2b.

 

 

 

 

 

1A2

monarchism could and would grant freedom to its subjects and
there would be no need to resort to revolution. To support
his thesis, K'ang pointed out that some new institutions that

had been abolished after the coup d'etat in 1898 were re-

 

instituted in 1901, and that the Court had recently allowed
inter-marriage between the Manchu and the Chinese. These
positive developments served notice that even the die-
hard officials were willing to submit themselves to
change. "Therefore, our four hundred millions of people
will obtain political liberty without resorting to revolu—
tion."3u 9
The most eloquent argument in defense of the
monarchical form of government was his analysis of the Euro-
pean monarchical system, particularly of the constitutional
monarchy models in EurOpe. In reaction toward the 1911
Republican Revolution, K'ang develOped this into a theory Of
public ownership. First, he claimed that Europeans in adopt-
ing the constitutional form of government were bound to adopt
the monarchy. In so doing they were bound to adopt an alien,
especially an alien of a different raca to be their monarch.
K'ang cited England as an example, for that country had
adOpted Henry II from France, William III from Holland, and
George I from Germany as its monarchs. He went on to point
out that this was not only the most civilized and ancient

constitutional state, but it was true for the more recently

 

3”See K'ang, "On Revolution" in Op. cit., I, 215.

1A3

independent states, such as Belgium, Rumania, Greece, Bulgaria,
and Norway. Upon becoming independent of their mother coun-
tries each had adopted the monarchy and an alien of a dif-
ferent race as its ruler. The reason why an alien instead of
a national was adopted, reasoned K'ang, was that the alien
was entrusted with an empty position only. Actually he was
divorced of any domestic partisan support and, therefore, the
disaster of conflict and usurpation could be well avoided.
Furthermore, K'ang contended that the very existence of this
empty position could be used as a means to divert political
strife from competition for presidency to competition for
premiership. Men would compete with one another by peaceful
means. "This is a fine institution," K'ang declared, "which
the European states have founded after hundreds of trials
and errors."35
Secondly, K'ang maintained that a constitutional
monarchy was, in fact, a republic in disguise. According
to his observation, the dominant political doctrine in the
last three hundred years in Europe was that the state should
be owned by the public (gupg). He said:

. to Obtain this, peOple would struggle with all
their efforts even at the cost of their lives. Once
the state has been converted into a public ownership,
the people are not so much concerned with whether the
state shall be monarchical or democratic; whether in-
dependent or semi- -independent; whether governed by the

same race or by a different one; whethgr by the same
religion or by a different one.

 

35K'ang "On Salvation" ibid., I, 36b-37b

36K'ang, "On Saving China" ibid., 29a-b; also .
see "An Introduction to a Draft- ConstitutionI fOr the Republic
of China" ibid., III, 3Ab— 35a.

1AA

Then he went on to claim that this dominant prin-
ciple was contained in the teachings of Confucius. He said:

The principle that the state shall be owned by the
public was first propounded in our Middle Kingdom. In
recording Confucius' teachings of Ta T'ung, the Evolu—
tion of Rites stated that "When the Grand Ego was pur-
sued, a public and common spirit ruled all under the
sky." The Analects recorded Confucius as havingusaid:
"How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yu held
possession Of the empire, they did not interfere with
[it]." Confucius further said, [as recorded in the
Analects], that Shun did nothing but gravely and
reverently occupy his royal seat. These illustrate
that if a state is owned by the public, the monarch
will not interfere with [the Operation Of the state];
what he does is to occupy his royal seat reverently
and gravely, doing nothing. The ideal is that.in the
Age of Disorder or Small Tranquility, the state is
owned by the monarch, while in the Age of Universal
Peace or Ta T'ung, the state becomes a possession Of
the public. In anticipating the necessity of change 37
Confucius had prOpounded the Principle of Three Ages.

However, K'ang admitted that the great principle

of public ownership of the state prOpounded by Confucius was
only empty words. In actuality, China had stayed for several
thousand years in the Age of Disorder in which the state was
a monarchical possession. In other words, the Chinese state
was a tyranny. The publicly owned state was a European in-
vention. He said:

Europeans termed the public ownership of a state "con-

stitutionfi'which was derived from Greece and corres-

pondent to the propriety of our Middle Kingdon but

without involving ghosts and gods. It was the Greeks

who had first invented the concept. The Japanese trans-

lated it into li-hsien (literally, to set up law) to
indicate both the monarch and his subjects are subject

 

37K'ang, "0n Salvation" ibid., I, 29a-b. ~The~
Chinese text Pu-yfi was interpreted By Chu Hsi "as if they
were nothing to him." I have ventured to change it to "not
to interfere with" to suit K'ang's interpretation.

1A5

to the rule of law. Fundamentally speaking, a consti-
tutional state is one which is owned by the public,
i.e., shared by both the monarch and the peOple; a
tyrannical state is one which is privately owned by
the monarch only. That a tyrannical state should be
the private property of the monarch was the doctrine
for the Old epoch, while that a constitutional state
shall be the public possession is the doctrine for the
new epoch.3

Following this argument K'ang suggested that the
best candidate for the constitutional monarch would be the 2
Holy Duke--the descendent of Confucius, since the family of '
Confucius had commanded the popular respect among the Chinese
people. However, K'ang pleaded that since the court had
already agreed to convene a parliament and allowed the

National Assembly (Tzu-cheng Yfian) to draft a conStitution,39

 

the Chinese nation had already become a constitutional state.
Nominally China had a monarch; in reality, she was a repub-
lic with a monarch occupying an empty throne. In other
words, the state was already converted into a public owner—
ship system and, therefore, there was no need to abolish
the Manchu royal house which was also part of the Chinese
race in favor of a republican regime.“O
If the Manchu government had already been in es-

sence a republic and its institutions sanctioned by Confucius

and generally practiced by the European states, it follows

 

38

39This referred to the concession made by the ‘
Manchu rulers to the revolutionists, militarists and constitu—
tionists at the peak of the October Revolution in 1911. For a
detailed account see Li Chien—nung, Op. cit., pp. 2A9-55..

A0

Ibid., 1, 29b.

 

K'ang, "On Salvation," Op cit., I, 39b-A2b.

1A6

that the 1911 Republican Revolution and the republican form
of government with its widespread radical tendency was not

an urgent necessity for the Chinese nation, nor would it

suit the general conditions in China. Therefore, any attempt
to set up a republican form of government in place of the
constitutional monarchical system, which was the Manchu royal
house, would be an outright crime.

It is interesting to note that K'ang in his all-out
attack on republicanism first made claims for it. He contended
that Confucius' teachings had contained republicanism; that
Confucius had anticipated the forthcoming of the republican
era; and that it was he who had first unveiled this long for-

gotten truth. "I formerly wrote Ta T'ung Shu," he declared,
Al

 

"which had illuminated it [republicanism] a long time ago."
According to him, Confucius had made a prophecy about the
coming events within the next one hundred generations. He
said:

A generation consists of thirty years; a hundred
generations consist of three thousand years. Now it is
close to the end of the three thousand years. Confucius
had expected that the institutions for the Age of Dis-
order or Small Tranquility would last three thousand
years; after that the institutions for the Age of Apr
proaching Peace would be in Operation. . . . Now the
Republic has been founded, the monarch has abdicated.

We are in the transitional age from Disorder to Approach-
ing Peace. Confucius had already prepared the Tao of
Approaching Peace, Universal Peace and Ta T' ung, which
would be applicable all over the four seas. . . . Now
Confucius had the Tao of Ta T' ung to govern the age of
republicanism, my fellow countrymen should be happy and

 

ulK'ang, "On Saving China," Op cit., 1, 1b.

1A7

respectful. We should study it and further illuminate .
it, so as to let our four hundred millions of peOple
first enjoy the happiness of Ta T'ung, the extend this
happiness to all the nations of the world.

If the time (1911) had been so close to the prOphesy
Confucius, and Confucius had had the Ego of Universal Peace
and Ta T'ung to govern the age of republicanism, it follows
that the republican form of government should be considered
the correct political system for the Chinese nation. However,
K'ang's contention pointed in the Opposite direction. As he
mentioned elsewhere, "Linens for summer; furs for winter: to
everything its appointed time."“3 K'ang contended that re-
publicanism would not suit the demand in China just as linens
would not suit winter and furs would be inappropriate for
summer. In an Age of Multi—state Rivalry republicanism
would be unsuitable for the state,for in competition with
other nations the interests of the state would have to be
put first. Republicanism, however, tends to be responsive
to the interests of the people. According to him, after the
French Revolution with its major emphasis upon natural right

and individual liberty, the leading trend in Europe and

America was the doctrine of imperialism (pa-kuo chu-i) in—

 

itiated by Germany with a strong emphasis upon governmental

regimentation and outward territorial expansion. He said:

 

u2Ibid., 1, 20b.

“3For instance, see Ta T'ung Shu, English edition,

 

p. 167.

1A8

When the world has not arrived at a grand unification,
when we are still in the Age of Multi-state Rivalry,
the doctrine of imperialism ifiucertainly the most ap-
propriate theory of our time.
He meant that for the sake of national survival, the weak
states were left no choice except to imitate the big powers
by strengthening governmental regimentation and subjecting
the individual interests to those of the state. For this
reason, the doctrine of natural right and individualism
stood in sharp contrast with other current trends. If in-
dividualism prevailed, it would tend to foster parochialism,
partisan politics, and militarism, which would eventually
lead the nation to complete disunity, such as occurred in
the states of Central and South America.)45
K'ang's bitter opposition to republicanism was not
limited to republicanism per se and its side effects. He
was most critical of the seemingly all-out imitation of
Europe and America, especially of France and the United
States, and the tendency to quickly abandon the Confucian

essentials. He was particularly critical of the parliament

and the government for their worship of the West. He said:

 

uuK'ang, "On Saving China," 0 . cit., I, 3a;
also see K'ang, "The Way to Save China,"ibid; ‘I, A5a—
53b, particularly 52a.

uSK'ang, "China Will Not Be Able to Escape the
Situation in Central and South Americas,"'ibid{, I, A3a-A5a.

 

1A9

They do not know how to imitate and cannot imitate the
learning, armaments, and material things from Europe
and America; what they have imfigated are the social
customs of Europe and America.

According to K'ang's observation, the all-out super-
ficial imitation of Europe and America was the direct result
of the import of the theories of liberty, self-government,
equality, revolution, republicanism, and democracy from Europe
and America. The acceptance and attempted practice Of these
theories resulted in the complete abandonment of the national
essentials and the decline of Confucianism. Thus he formally
declared:

There are things which we are desperately in need of

learning from Europe and America. The most important

are the material things; economics, philosophy and

other learnings that are attached to the material things.
. . If we had had all these, our four hundred millions

of people would have become rich and strong. There is

no need for equality, liberty, self-government, republi-

canism, political parties, shaking hands, bowing, taking

off one's hat, and change of uniform.

In attacking the republican regime, K'ang deplored
the degeneration of social ethics. He criticized the revolu-
tionary opponents for not having patterned themselves after
Han, Sung and Ming scholars in moral cultivation. The tra-
ditional scholars which he had vigorously attacked now turned

out to be t'ienejen (gods).u8 The Confucian Classics of the

 

Old Text version which he earlier had refuted as forgery,

 

l‘6K'ang, "The Crisis Of China Lies in Her All-out
Imitation of Europe-America and Complete Abandonment of Our
National Essentials, ibid.,‘II,I1Ab.'

“71bid., II, 15b—l6a.

u81bid., II, 1Ab-15a.

150

had now become, together with the New Text classics, the

most valuable repository of China's best tradition, and
should be zealously preserved and widely read.“9 He admitted
that gambling, prostitution, and slavery were necessary evils
for the maintenance of livelihood of the people and that the
government was not supposed to intervene, as it did in the

50

Western countries. He even confessed that he was the lead-

ing criminal for having pioneered the reform, thus, should
be held responsible for the disaster of the nation.51
In summary, in his combat with the republican
"heretics" K'ang came full circle in his relationships with
the conservative Confucianists. His refutation of liberty,
equality, self-government, and political parties fundamentally
weakened his position as a constitutional monarchist; most
importantly, his underlying emphasis on the "material things,"
as seen in EurOpe and America, put him in the category of the
utilitarian approach. Consequently, not only his claim to

republicanism became a tool for defending a collapsed status

quo, the grand Tao (Ta T'ung Shu) which he had discovered

 

 

through varied means including apocrypha was also revealed
as a nakedly ideological syncretism. This was clear after

K'ang printed the first two parts, formally declaring that

 

ugHsiao Kung-dfuan, "K'ang Yu-wei and Confucianism,"

Op. cit., p. 138.

50K'ang, "Legislatures and Governments Shall Not
Interfere with Social Customs," Op. cit., II, 22b-27b.

51K'ang, "O Come Back, Spirit of China!" ibid.,
1, 55b.

151

52 As a matter of

the time was not ripe for its realization.
fact, K'ang seemed to have no intention of approaching the
final and complete union of mankind. On the one hand he
strongly predicted that monarchy would cease to exist on
earth within a hundred years;53 if the principle Of natural
right could be carried out for sixty years, the Age of Eg
5A

T'ung would befall upon earth. In the meantime, however,

he was attacking the principle of natural right and main-
taining that only a monarchical system could be the panacea
to save the Chinese nation. K'ang's inconsistency indicated

the nature of the later phase of his religious syncretism.

52See also K'ang, General Discussion on Republican—
ism, (Shanghai: Chang Shen Book Store, 1918), pp. 31-3A.

53K'ang, Ta T'ung Shu, English edition, p. 10A.

51‘Ibid., p. 226. In his preface to the 1919
edition Of Ta T'ung Shu, K'ang declared that originally he
had anticipated that the Age of Ta T'ung would come within
a period of one hundred years; that to his surprise the
League Of Nations had come into being within a period of
only thirty-five years, thus he personally witnessed the
beginning of the era of Ta T'ung.

CHAPTER VII
CONCLUSION

Following the sacred school approach, as develOped
in Chapter II, this study has examined K'ang's rediscovering
Confucianism in the light Of the Western impact in the nine-
teenth century. The study has presented K'ang's universal
claim on world cultures, particularly on the Western culture,
as well as the authentic version of Confucianism which he
painstakingly rediscovered. It also has indicated how K'ang
tried to apply this discovery to China either by reforming
the Chinese nation or by efforts to stave Off the social and
political progress in China. After a thorough examination
of K'ang's claims and contentions one may dismiss their
truth and validity on the grounds that they are in general
self-evidently untenable. (I have refuted his pseudo-mysticism
in Chapter III, as this is an issue which is likely to be
ignored by commentators.)

However, two things must be borne in mind in under-
standing the uniqueness of K'ang's political philosophy.

First is the extreme character of K'ang's universal
claim on world cultures. The study has shown the world-wide
SOOpe Of new elements incorporated into Confucianism on the

one hand and the extent to which K'ang has enlarged the

152

153

traditional framework on the other. To make both ends meet
K'ang was first obliged to invalidate most of the traditional
holy writs, contending either that they did not go back to
Confucius or that they had been outmoded by the changing
situatiOn. Furthermore, in order to allow for novel ideas
K'ang found it necessary to dilute or stretch the text, de-
parting radically from the traditionally accepted interpre-
tation. In the meantime, he showed strong, yet mixed, feel-
ings toward the new knowledge and institutions which he had
encountered. He laid claims on them; on many occasions,
however, he was critical of their partiality and inaccuracy.
The new knowledge was diluted or twisted to suit the Confu-
cian framework.

This extreme character was also clearly shown in
his social and political application of such rediscovered
truth. After having devoted decades for study and contem-
plation he produced an elaborate blueprint for reconstructing
the world community; however, he also shunned its publication
and availed himself of no practical application of it. Most
interesting is the fact that he had tried vigorously to
transform the Confucian institutions on an over-all basis;
yet soon afterward he fought with almost the same amount of
enthusiasm for:finsover—all preservation. Hence, K'ang's
religious syncretism can be considered a strange mixture Of

the most extreme, both ideological and utOpian, syncretisms.

15A

Needless to say, K'ang's new version of Confucian-
ism is most extreme when compared with the Neo-Confucianists'
attempt to incorporate Taoism and Buddhism. In my opinion,
this extremism was a result of the wider scope and greater
variety of the Western learning. The varied kinds of know-
ledge which K'ang encountered consisted not only of meta-
physics but also of Scientific and social knowledge. Much
of this new knowledge was not only fundamentally dissimilar
in kind from that of Confucianism but also enormous in
quantity. Furthermore, the adoption of new knowledge, par-
ticularly of the social knowledge of the utopian type, would
inevitably demand corresponding change in social and political
organizations for its accomodation. All of these constituted
an historically unprecedented challenge to the very existence
of Confucianism. Hence it resulted in the emergence of a
most extreme syncretism.

Historians may well depict the late nineteenth
century as a period in which Confucianism was constantly on
trial, its aftermath as a time of rapid and complete collapse
of Confucianism. Socio—historically K'ang's drastic syncre-
tism may be viewed as an attempt to head Off the historically
unprecedented Western impact by means of the breakdown from
within (as I have indicated in Chapter II). That is to say,
if K'ang's political philosophy had successfully captured the
approval of the literati, few Confucian essentials would have
been left unaltered. Particularly if his reform proposals

had been pushed through, the social and political structure

155

of the Confucian sacred school would have been radically
changed; Confucianism as a system of sacred knowledge and

the literati as a sacred school might have survived, even
though the central elements would have been replaced. The
tragedy of Confucianism lies in that the majority of the
literati refused an earlier acceptance of the fate of the
breakdown from within; as a consequence, the devastating
process Of the breakdown from without (see the last section
of ChapterIEI)took place after the turn of this century.

The 1911 Republican Revolution, the May Fourth New Cultural
Movement, and finally the importation of Marxism from Russia,
each dealt a severe blow to the very rationale of the Confu-
cian sacred system of knowledge and its institutions. K'ang's
deep apprehensions about the total extinction Of Confucianism
were justified. In this sense, tragic though it may seen,
K'ang should be regarded as the foremost prophetic religious

scholar that Confucianism had ever produced.

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