Who was Liang Qichao?

Ideas, like seeds, when sowed to the ground, it will take root then grow into trees. Liang Qichao’s ideas on reforming China became the seeds from which the root Mao Zedong appeared and finally grew to the tree in form of the People’s Republic of China.

A Young Student from Southern China

Born on February 23, 1873, Liang Qichao came from Xinhuai, Guangdong Province to a family of farmers and intellectuals. In 1887, he enrolled in the Xuehaitang Academy, founded by Ruan Yuan, a prominent Chinese renaissance man with exalted exploits as an official and scholar. Like all sons from a family with a scholarly background, Liang focused his attention on passing the civil service exams. He devoted his efforts in studying the main subject of the exams - Confucian classics. His efforts bared fruit when at the age of 11 years old he passed the local civil service exams and after 5 years, he also scored well in the provincial exams.

In 1890, Liang set his sights on the national civil service exams and went to Beijing for it. The national exam proved to be a tougher nut to break than the provincial and local exams and ultimately failed. Nonetheless while in Peking he met one of the greatest influence in his life, the famous reformist scholar Kang Youwei. Liang admired Kang and sought to become the latter’s protégé joining the fight for reforms in the decaying China.

Liang’s China

China during Liang’s time suffered from decades of humiliation in the hands of western imperialism as well as conservatism and corruption. The country boasted a civilization more than a millennium old under the direction of several dynasties. During the 17th century, the Manchus established their rule under the dynastic name of Qing – meaning the pure. Succeeding competent Emperors consolidated the power of the Qing Dynasty and brought about 2 centuries of peace and prosperity. However, corruption took its root during the last years of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor which grew to cancer that brought the empire into a weak state. So much so it stood feebly against the ensuing incursions of the west in the mid-18th century. Opium worsened the situation, however, actions against this highly addictive hallucinogen resulted in war with the west. The Empire suffered defeats damaging the country's pride and prestige. Unequal treaties with western countries and rebellions seemed to signal the Qing’s loss of the mandate of heaven. Some scholars began to look for ways to rejuvenate China and in this setting appeared Liang and his mentor Kang Youwei.

Kang Youwei

Liang and the Reformist Movement

Liang devoted himself to the reform movement becoming an avid demonstrator and journalist. An opportunity came for the reformists including Liang to realize their desired objectives, but China’s age-old imperial system seemed to be well-entrenched. Kang and Liang had no choice but to direct their campaign from afar.

In 1895, Liang with 8,000 other disillusioned youth organized China’s first student demonstration calling for changes in state affairs. A campaign similar to the lines “Make China Great Again” rang in the air and such calls came when the Empire faced another perilous chapter. China just suffered another defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. The Treaty of Shimonoseki led to further loss of land and face for the Qing Dynasty and China itself. Liang even said to have described the country as the Sick Man of Asia. Defeated by a fellow Asian country greatly convinced the arguments on China’s backwardness and the need for modernization.

In 1896, Liang accepted the position of editor in a Shanghai paper the Chinese Progress. Despite leaving the paper shortly afterward, the experience convinced him of the press’ capability to reach wider audiences and the potential to mobilize the people.

At the same time, Liang improved his ideas and reviewed his beliefs. He realized that technological advances contributed to the West’s victories against an Empire more than its size. He contemplated the power of democracy and its possible effects in China. 

In 1897, he moved to Hunan Province to recruit his own disciples teaching modernization with Chinese characteristics. He also worked with Yan Fu, the first Chinese student to study at the Greenwich Naval College, to get insight into the western psyche and developments for possible applications to China. He studied western thinking such as utilitarianism and social Darwinism, in particular survival of the fittest. Liang turned into an energetic idealist hell-bent in making his mark as a contributor to China’s rebirth.

In 1898, Liang and his mentor Kang found a young, excited, and prominent ear from which they voiced their ideas of reform. This ear belonged to the Guangxu Emperor and together they laid out an extensive and ambitious reform program aimed at modernizing China. The reform covered various fields, from government, education, press, economy, and military. This, however, horrified the conservatives in the court. Energy ran high among the reformist for about 100 days until tragically the conservatives staged a coup, stripped the Emperor of authority, and left him a puppet with his voice coming from behind him and a silkscreen. His aunt that led the coup, the powerful Empress Dowager Cixi, became the voice and the de facto ruler of the Empire. With the conservatives back in the helm of the sinking ship, Liang and Kang fled the middle kingdom as arrest warrants for them had been issued and death loomed over the horizon.

Guangxu Emperor

Life in Exile

Liang and Kang found their way to Japan where they lived in exile after the Hundred Days Reform. From Japan, Liang continued to champion reforms and took the opportunity to travel and see the west for himself. This allowed him to develop his ideas further resulting in the most radical thought that influenced the future of China for the next century.

Liang and Kang settled in Yokohama’s Chinatown where they also found a growing community of exiled Chinese dissidents. Despite being exiled, they continued to fight for reforms in China through the publication of the journal Remonstrance. Their journal lasted until 1901 when the publishing house went up in flames. Liang then started his new journal the New Citizens which found a wide audience reaching a peak of 200,000 readers.

At this time, Liang began to lose faith in the traditional Chinese imperial system. He began to promote an idea that came to be known as pohuai zhuyi or destructivism. It called for the destruction of old cultural backward traditions to build a new and better nation. Such an idea of destruction influenced many radicals in the future, and none more so than the founder of the People’s Republic of China Mao Zedong. Mao embraced this through his notoriously turbulent Cultural Revolution which targeted the destruction of the old bourgeoisie culture to build a new communist utopia. As one documentary said, Mao, destroyed China to save China.

In 1903, Liang took the opportunity to see much of the world for himself. He traveled to the Philippines, Singapore, and then Australia. After which he crossed the Pacific and into Canada before finally reaching the United States. Here industries and technology amazed Liang. He also visited various Chinatowns in the United States – specifically the one in San Francisco and New York. He also managed to speak to several prominent Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan.

During his visit to America, he noticed the problems of the country especially the unequal and unfair serving of justice towards African-Americans. He heard the news of extrajudicial killings of African-Americans based on prejudices, racial profile, and biases. He said:

“…why does the government allow wanton lynchings to go unpunished even though there is a judiciary? The reason is none other than preconceived opinions about race. The American Declaration of Independence says that people are all born free and equal. Are blacks alone not people? Alas, I now understand what it is that is called ‘civilization’ these days!”

He also questioned the suitability of democracy in China. In his assessment of the Chinese people of his time, the the imperial autocratic rule took deep root in his people’s psyche and a democracy would be national suicide. Thus, he concluded, “To put it in a word, the Chinese people of today can only be governed autocratically.”

In-Service of the Chinese Republic

After decades of living overseas, Liang Qichao successfully returned home, excited and enthusiastic in serving a new China that emerged. His jubilation, however, turned sour over the years as the Republic progressed. Eventually, he decided to settle down.

The nail in the coffin of the Qing Dynasty finally struck down in 1911 and along with it the end of imperial rule and the dawn of the Republic of China. In this atmosphere of change and hope for a better future, Liang Qichao returned to China in 1912. He returned ready, willing, and able to contribute to the success of the new China. Settling in the new political scene he favored the more authoritarian rule of Yuan Shikai, becoming true to his assessment, than Sun Yatsen and the Guomindang party. Later on, however, he also opposed the idea of Yuan Shikai to re-establish the imperial system with himself as the new Emperor and founder of a new dynasty. He also voiced his opposition to the 21 Demands of Japan.

Yuan Shikai

In 1917, he served an important role as part of the Chinese delegation sent in the Paris Peace Conference that led to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. During his visit, he witnessed the devastation that technological advances and industrial warfare brought and worried about the same path for China in its quest for modernization. In the negotiation table, however, Liang fell into disappointment and could only observe as Japan made further gains than China, especially as the East Asian Island country gained control of the Shandong Peninsula from the Germans for its contribution to neutralizing the Central Power’s navy in the Far East. He further went furious when he discovered that President Feng Guozhang knew about Japan’s intention and the deal beforehand. Outraged, he spread this information back home helping to spark the May Fourth Movement.

Later Life

Suffering yet another disillusionment, disheartened Liang returned to China and left the government. He took the position as Head Librarian of Beijing Library and remained active as a journalist working as an editor for the publication Emancipation and Reconstruction that promoted western economic ideas in China.

As Liang aged, he suddenly rekindled interest in Chinese Confucianism and Buddhism, leaving behind his prior idea of destroying such beliefs for the sake of modernization. Liang lived for another decade until passing away in 1929. He became an internationally recognized with the publication of his works in English beginning with History of Chinese Political Thought During the Early Tsin Period (1930) and then the Intellectual Trends in the Chi’ing Period (1959).

Summing Up

Liang Qichao was a visionary and an idealist. He lived in a turbulent time and used his intellect to be an active Chinese dedicated to China. He saw great value in technological advancement and even proposed radical ideas that inspired many including Chairman Mao. Eventually, even the The Republic of China where he pegged his hope brought him another disillusionment. He continued to witness China’s chaotic situation until his passing in 1929.

See also:
Yuan Shikai

Xinhai Revolution

Bibliography:

“Liang Qichao: China’s First Democrat.” Asia for Educators. Accessed on July 23, 2020. URL: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1950_democratic.htm

“New Citizen: Liang Quichao, 1873 – 1929.” Wealth and Power. Accessed on July 19, 2020. URL: http://sites.asiasociety.org/chinawealthpower/chapters/liang-qichao/ 

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Liang Qichao.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on July 18, 2020. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Liang-Qichao