The East–West cultural debate is a debate on the similarities and differences, the strengths and weaknesses, and the trade-offs between Eastern culture and Western culture during the mainland period of the Republic of China. This debate began with the founding of the New Youth magazine in 1915 and ended before the Northern Expedition in 1927. During this period, hundreds of people participated in the debate with over a thousand articles, focusing on Chinese culture and Chinese society.
In 1915, New Youth magazine compared Eastern and Western cultures and criticized Chinese culture with articles such as "Admonishment to Youth", "French and Modern Civilization", and "Differences in the Fundamental Ideology of Eastern and Western Nationalities". Later, the Oriental Magazine compared Eastern and Western cultures, defending traditional Chinese culture. In 1918, Chen Duxiu sent out a series of articles questioning the journalists of the Oriental Magazine, while Du Yaquan responded to the questions in Oriental Magazine. Subsequently, the content and scale of the debate continued to expand, with almost all important scholars at the time participating. Hu Shih, Chen Duxiu, and other Westernized schools criticized and completely rejected Chinese culture. Liang Shuming, Du Yaquan, Zhang Shizhao, and others defended Chinese culture and believed that it was necessary to reconcile Chinese and Western cultures. In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference agreed to transfer Germany's rights and interests in Shandong Problem to Japan, which triggered the May Fourth Movement and the disappointment of Chinese intellectuals with the West. At this time, Zhang Shizhao, Chen Jiayi, and others actively promoted the harmony between Chinese and Western cultures, causing criticism from those who supported Westernization. At this point, the focus of the debate shifted from the previous comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of Eastern and Western cultures, as well as the similarities and differences between Eastern and Western civilizations, to the question of whether Eastern and Western cultures can be reconciled. Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Dongsun, Chen Jiayi, Zhang Shizhao, Jiang Menglin, Chang Naide, and others participated in the debate. Since 1921, works by Liang Qichao and others have transmitted the pessimistic sentiment in Europe after World War I back to China, leading to a reflection on Western civilization in the debate. Liang Shuming's "Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophy" and Liang Qichao's "Record of European Journey" immediately became the focus of discussion, and the practical approach of combining Eastern and Western cultures became the main focus of attention.
The East–West cultural debate provides different interpretations and definitions of the meaning, old and new, advantages, and disadvantages of Chinese culture. Wang Yuanhua believes that the debate between Chen Duxiu and Du Yaquan on Eastern and Western cultures opened up a "pioneer in cultural research" in China. During the debate, socialist ideology was widely spread and recognized in China, and people like Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao switched from supporting Western culture to supporting China on the path of socialism.
This debate did not come to a conclusion, and in the 1930s, there was a resurgence of the debate between the standard culture and overall Westernization. In 1962, young students such as Li Ao launched a cultural debate between China and the West with the opponents of Hu Shi's views from the Chinese Mainland in Taiwan. A similar controversy in the 1980s in the Chinese Mainland was thought by Wang Yuanhua to be still repeating the East–West cultural controversy before and after the May 4th Movement. After 2010, scholars in the Chinese Mainland debated the "subjectivity of Chinese culture".
Background
Learning Western civilization Since the 16th century, Western learning has spread eastward, sparking a dispute between the East and West. During the Ming Dynasty, Xu Guangqi believed that "it is advantageous for the country, regardless of distance" and pointed out that "in order to surpass the West in science and technology, we must first understand it". Mei Wending, Li Zhizao, Fang Yizhi, and others also held similar positions, thus engaging in discussions with Western missionaries. However, most scholar-official regarded Western culture as a "foreign strategy" based on Confucian values and norms, rejecting the introduction of Western culture. For example, Yang Guangxian once said, "It is better to have no good calendar in China than to have Westerners in China. The Qing Dynasty banned Christianity and closed its doors in order to prevent the introduction of Western culture. Since the failure of the First Opium War in 1840, Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan, among others, proposed the ideas of "the more you change the past, the more you facilitate the people" and "learn from the barbarians to control the barbarians", which were the first traditional Chinese intellectuals to transform Western culture into Chinese tradition.
China's response to Western world has gone through three stages: firstly, intellectuals believed that they should learn Western artifacts, and then they realized that they should also learn Western systems and laws. Around the May Fourth Movement, intellectuals realized that they should also learn the ideas that make up the West. After the First Opium War, Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan, and others put forward the ideas of "the more ancient changes, the more convenient for the people" and "to learn the long techniques of the barbarians to control the barbarians". The Westernization Movement of the Qing Dynasty launched the Self-Strengthening Movement in order to learn from Western military equipment. Li Hongzhang said that "everything in the Chinese civil and military system is far above the West, and firearms alone cannot reach", Zhang Zhidong also said, "Chinese academia is refined, with principles, teachings, and great methods of governing the world, all of which are complete. But, it is sufficient for me to learn from the strengths made by Westerners." However, as for Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's Hundred Days' Reform, more people turned to pursue Western democratic politics. At the same time, Yan Fu further pointed out the backwardness of Chinese ideology, believing that the lifeblood of modern Western culture lies in "academic rejection of falsehood and reverence of truth, and in criminal and political justice, bending the private to consider public" rather than "steam engines and weapons" and "heavenly calculation and refinement", and advocating "inspiring people's strength, opening up people's wisdom, and renewing morality". Yan Fu's ideas influenced later generations. For example, Sun Yat-sen, who had met with Yan Fu, believed that national education was the fundamental way to consolidate the republic.
Revitalizing traditional culture Since the late 19th century, the trend of opposing old learning with new learning and opposing middle school with Western learning has caused traditional Chinese culture to lose its status in people's minds. In the earliest days, those who opposed learning from the West tended to have a shallow understanding of the cultural traditions of the East and the West, so their voices were weak. But around the May Fourth Movement, a group of scholars based on the study of Chinese and Western studies raised their voices against this. By the early 20th century, the trend of using national culture to inspire national confidence gradually emerged, advocating for the revival and preservation of Chinese culture to become one of the main issues of social concern. For example, "The Soul of the Nation" published in Zhejiang Tide had the following words: "Today, it is easier for China to know its own disease than to know its own loveliness." Advocating the revival of traditional culture, it is no longer the traditional scholars. However, new intellectuals, mainly from the group of international students, such as Liang Shuming, who had multiple debates with Hu Shih and supported the revival of traditional culture, studied Seohak from a young age, while Hu Shih, who opposed Liang Shuming and supported Westernization, was actually the first to receive private school education from a young age. In addition, active supporters of learning from the West, such as Kang Youwei and Gu Hongming, or scholars with complete Western educational backgrounds, have instead become defenders of traditional Chinese culture.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures was reflected upon, and the extreme Westernization ideology of "being obsessed with Europeanization" and the claim that the Chinese race was inferior to the West was criticized by various circles. The trend of national quintessence and the school of national quintessence have also begun to rise, and the core of traditional culture, Confucianism, has been re-examined - supporters of Confucianism believe that Confucius' true theory has been lost and should be rediscovered and developed. Although traditional customs and beliefs gradually declined with the collapse of imperial power after the Xinhai Revolution, the voice of respecting the restoration of Confucianism remained constant. Kang Youwei, a proponent of Confucianism, criticized "the decline of education since the Republic, and the sweeping of discipline." Supporters believed that "China's new destiny must depend on Confucianism and China cannot be saved without restoration." As the president of the Republic, Yuan Shikai frequently issued orders to respect Confucius, and various organizations were established all over China.
The 1911 Revolution overthrew the rule of the Qing Dynasty and established a republican regime, but the achievements of the revolution soon fell into the hands of warlords such as Yuan Shikai. Democratic republican systems such as parliament, cabinet, and constitution became tools for warlords and politicians to compete for power and profit, which made Chinese intellectuals disappointed. The rise of restoration thinking and the restoration movement led scholars of that time to reflect on the crux of the country's inability to become prosperous and strong, and ideological and cultural values were considered by many scholars to be the crux. For example, the publication of the "Daily Mail" pointed out that the Revolution had been successful in form, but its essence had not yet been successful. Du Yaquan believes that in order for China to change its accumulated drawbacks, it should "change social psychology and shift social habits". In 1915, Chen Duxiu and others founded New Youth magazine, which compared old ideas, concepts, morals, and culture with new ideas, new concepts, new morals, and new culture. During this period, there was a debate between Eastern and Western cultures.
Cultural differences
East–West cultural view of New Youth Magazine