I. Zeng Guofan (1811–1872)

Zeng Guofan (1811–1872) was the most respected scholar-official in 19th-century China, though he was later vilified by the Communist Party as a traitor and executioner. Liang Qichao praised him for achieving the “three imperishables” in life: moral virtue, merit, and literary contribution.

Zeng Guofan was born in Xiangxiang County, Hunan, in 1811. At 22, he passed the provincial examination, at 23 the metropolitan examination, and at 27 the imperial examination, ranking second by imperial selection under Emperor Daoguang. He held positions including Grand Secretary, Vice Minister of Rites, and Right Vice Minister of War.

By 1852, the Taiping army under Hong Xiuquan had invaded Hunan. In 1853, following imperial orders to organize local militias, Zeng returned to his hometown to train militia, relying on local farmers to build forces, and integrated regional troops to form the Xiang Army. He trained troops in Hengzhou, dispatched personnel to Guangdong to purchase Western cannons, and prepared a naval force. After regrouping, he captured Yuezhou and Wuchang. The Xianfeng Emperor was pleased, appointing him acting Governor of Hubei. Zeng then led campaigns in Jiangxi and Anhui.

In 1854, Zeng commanded 240 vessels and 17,000 troops to Yuezhou, but suffered defeats. In April, the Xiang Army was defeated at the Jinggang naval battle. By July, Zeng regrouped, captured Yuezhou, and in December took Tianjia Town, killing tens of thousands of enemies and burning 5,000 vessels, then advanced on Jiujiang. In February 1855, during a major Taiping assault at Hukou, over 100 Xiang Army ships were destroyed. Zeng, enraged, considered charging the enemy to die together, but was restrained by his subordinates. In September, he recaptured Hukou.

In 1857, following his father’s death, Zeng returned home to mourn. In 1858, the Xiang Army captured Jiujiang; in 1860, Zeng defeated the Taiping forces at Taihu; in 1861, Xiang Army took Anqing. In 1862, they besieged Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan gathered 200,000 troops for a forty-day battle, but failed to break through. In 1864, the Xiang Army again besieged Nanjing, capturing Tianjing in July and crushing the Taiping Rebellion, eliminating the internal threat to the Qing dynasty. Zeng then demobilized most of the Xiang Army in August. In 1868, he became Governor-General of Zhili.

Through ten years of arduous effort, Zeng built the Xiang Army, overcoming numerous bloody battles. He achieved victory with fewer troops against the fierce Taiping forces, relying on solid military skills and personal loyalty and courage. In selecting officers, he prioritized both virtue and talent, intelligence and bravery, loyalty and courage, willingness to die, disregard for personal fame or gain, and endurance of hardship. He especially recruited scholars and literati: of 179 Xiang Army officers, 104 were literati, a rare phenomenon in military history.

Zeng implemented a recruitment system focusing on local farmers, selecting robust and loyal men capable of enduring harsh campaigns. Only those with guarantors were accepted, excluding rogues. Officers were personally selected by Zeng, soldiers were recruited step by step, and command was centralized under him. There were no officers above the battalion level except Zeng. He balanced benevolence and discipline in command: “Among methods of favor, none surpass benevolence; among methods of authority, none surpass ritual.”

He insisted that military strength lay not in numbers but in quality, cultivating troops through benevolence, ritual, loyalty, and faith to maintain morale. He believed a smaller, disciplined army made a stronger nation, while larger armies drained resources and impoverished the state. His elite forces were equipped with Western guns, cannons, and ships.

Zeng’s military principles influenced generations of Chinese commanders. Huang Xing and Cai E admired him greatly; Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai applied his methods when training the New Army. Military scholar Jiang Fangzhen praised Zeng as a military genius in On National Defense, and Chiang Kai-shek stated he intended to follow Zeng’s example. Zeng emphasized the welfare of soldiers, treating them as his own children, a tradition remembered for generations.

In June 1870, a rumor in Tianjin claimed that a French church was harming Chinese orphans, leading to riots. Crowds attacked churches, tearing flags, capturing ten nuns, assaulting them, and committing murders and arson across six Christian establishments, including foreign missions. Over thirty Chinese converts, two priests, two French consulate staff, two French citizens, three Russians, and others were killed in three hours.

On June 24, foreign powers—France, Britain, the US, Germany, and Italy—assembled warships near Tianjin, and seven nations’ envoys issued an ultimatum demanding punishment and reparations.

Cixi sent Zeng Guofan to handle the “Tianjin Massacre” crisis. Understanding the gravity and the presence of pro-foreign conservative forces, Zeng went despite illness, aware of the risks, and left instructions in his will.

Upon arrival, Zeng personally investigated the churches, examining cellars and confirming the rumors were false: the churches were not abducting children, seducing women, or committing murders. The riots were caused by ignorant citizens misled by false rumors.

To satisfy foreign demands, Zeng apprehended over 80 perpetrators. Before Mid-Autumn Festival, he recommended execution for seven to eight ringleaders and punishment for 20 others. Cixi deemed this too lenient, instructing Zeng to act more decisively. He negotiated with France, executing 18 ringleaders (later reduced to 16 by Li Hongzhang), suspending four, exiling 25, removing the Tianjin governor and county magistrate, paying 500,000 taels of silver in reparations, and sending imperial physicians to France to apologize.

Zeng handled the crisis impartially, safeguarding the city from foreign military threat and preventing an early “Eight-Nation Alliance” intervention. Nevertheless, he was attacked by xenophobic conservatives, branded a traitor, and his reputation suffered, with the Hunan hometown association destroying his official plaques. The injustice harmed his health, and he died in March 1872 in Nanjing while serving as Governor-General of Liangjiang.

Zeng Guofan, a prominent statesman of late Qing, emphasized self-improvement, governance, and meritocratic talent selection. He advocated putting people before resources, learning from both foreign knowledge and techniques, and understood that political success relies on winning the hearts of the people. He stated: “Poverty of the nation is not the main concern; if the people and army are disorganized, that is the greatest danger.” Governance should “appoint capable and virtuous officials, promote integrity, rule with ritual and benevolence, oppose tyranny and harassment of the people.” For fiscal and economic affairs, he stressed careful management, gradual reforms, prioritizing agriculture, and ensuring prosperous harvests.

Zeng also promoted modernization. In 1861, he established the Anqing Armory, and in 1865 supported Li Hongzhang in purchasing a Western-style iron factory in Shanghai. By 1867, he helped expand the Jiangnan Arsenal, relocating it to Nanchang. In 1868, he inspected Jiangnan Arsenal and its first steamship, later visiting Cixi and the Tongzhi Emperor in Beijing.

He advocated sending students abroad and, in 1872, proposed establishing a “Chinese Students’ Office” in the US, recommending Chen Lanbin and Yung Wing as administrators. In Shanghai, he set up a bureau to select young students for study abroad.

In philosophy, Zeng integrated Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and Lu-Wang Mind School, adopting their strengths, avoiding weaknesses, and formulating a “Qi study” approach, viewing all things as arising from qi. In personal cultivation, he leaned toward Wang Yangming’s Mind School, emphasizing sincere self-cultivation.

His theory of Qi: “The sage receives qi that is pure and thick, while ordinary people’s qi is turbid and thin. The Great Harmony qi circulates endlessly; initially, all things receive the same qi. Differences arise because humans receive complete qi, while things receive partial qi, giving humans intellect and things only their nature.”

Since the Song and Ming dynasties, Neo-Confucianism, Mind School, and Qi study sought to elevate Confucianism metaphysically, competing with Buddhism and Daoism, integrating elements from Buddhist Mind School, and forming a Confucian-dominated synthesis of the three teachings. Differences among these schools were primarily in terminology or approach. However, none provided a deity for popular veneration; Confucianism remained largely philosophical, not widely practiced among the common people.

Zeng was a prolific writer, producing Collected Miscellanies on Classics, History, and Schools, Qiuque Zhai Anthology, Reading Notes, Memorials, Poetry Collection, The Way of Learning, diaries, family letters, and family instructions, compiled in the Complete Works of Zeng Wengong.

He rigorously cultivated himself: first, sincerity—consistency inside and out; second, reverence—upright and dignified; third, tranquility—peace of mind and body; fourth, caution—avoiding empty words; fifth, constancy—disciplined living and careful self-observation.

He kept daily diaries to review conduct and reflect, and maintained five health habits: regular sleep and meals, controlling anger, temperance in desire, foot soaking before bed, and walking three thousand steps after meals.

Zeng lived a life of honesty and openness: “Countless flowers beneath the sky, the heart knows the high mountains and flowing waters.” “The sky” refers to Confucius’ heavens, “the sea” to illuminating China’s history, reflecting his vast mind.

Zeng Guofan’s twelve self-cultivation rules:

Maintain reverence, order, seriousness, and focus.
Meditate anytime, sitting upright and steady.
Rise at dawn, avoid lingering in bed.
Read one book at a time, finish before starting another.
Read ten pages of history daily, marking continuously.
Be careful in speech.
Cultivate qi.
Preserve health, control desires, moderate labor, regulate diet.
Keep a diary.
Practice calligraphy.
Record reflections during tea breaks.
Avoid going out at night.

In his hometown, Zeng’s residence “Fuhou Hall” (originally “Baben Hall”) was spacious and serene. Its name reflected his principles: “Study and interpret texts as the foundation; poetry and prose with attention to tone; filial piety with joy; health with minimal anger; personal conduct without lies; home life rising early; official service without greed; military campaigns without harassing the people.”

His study was named “Qiuque Zhai,” emphasizing self-discipline and introspection. Zeng exemplified moral virtue, merit, and literary contribution, approaching sage-like perfection.

Praise for Zeng Guofan includes:

Zuo Zongtang: “Loyal in planning for the nation, insightful in selecting talent.”

Li Hongzhang: “Deep knowledge and far-reaching strategy, selfless, unmatched by ancient men.”

Yung Wing: “Renowned for eternity, talented yet humble, grand yet composed.”

Cai E: “Leading troops like his own children—most fitting and benevolent.”

Cai Dongfan: “Civilly able to stabilize the country, militarily able to repel invaders; Qing would not have survived without him.”

Chiang Kai-shek: “Zeng Guofan embodies the spirit of the nation.”

Jiang Tingbi: “He practiced both conservative and reformist learning, combining them for national virtue and modernization.”

Hu Zhefu: “In 500 years, only Wang Yangming and Zeng Guofan applied scholarship to action.”

Xu Zhongyue: “Few can match Zeng’s statesmanly demeanor, character, and self-cultivation; he was the most admired scholar-official of 19th-century China.”

Liang Qichao: “He overcame worldly constraints, endured countless hardships, never sought quick success, accumulated effort patiently, and excelled in virtue, merit, and literary contribution—truly three imperishables. Had he been young, China might have been saved by him.”

Zeng Guofan’s sayings:

Govern with great virtue, not minor favors.

Those who achieve great deeds must combine broad vision and meticulous management; neither can be absent.

A scholar must avoid three conflicts: competing for fame with gentlemen, competing for profit with petty men, competing with Heaven and Earth with cleverness.

Reading useless books is mere pastime that wastes one’s will.

Loyalty, faith, and integrity are the foundation of conduct, not tools for fame.

Be cautious beforehand, regret nothing afterward.

The primary duty of a gentleman is understanding destiny.

Speak little to cultivate qi, watch little to cultivate spirit, desire little to cultivate essence.

If the root is corrupt, the branches cannot flourish.

In leading troops, nothing surpasses benevolence in favor and ritual in authority.

Contentment brings happiness; greed brings worry.

Do not exhaust blessings or power.

Evaluate others by integrity rather than rank, clarity over verbosity.

When doing something, devote full attention and do not be distracted.

II. Liang Qichao (1873–1929)

Liang Qichao (1873–1929) was born in Xinhui County, Guangdong, and was also known by the courtesy name Rengong. Both his grandfather and father were Xiucai (provincial-level scholars) in the late Qing, working as teachers and farmers. Liang showed extraordinary intelligence as a child and was called a “prodigy.” He was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics; at age eight he could write essays, at nine he took the county examination and ranked first, and at eleven he placed first again in the provincial examination, becoming a Xiucai. At sixteen, he passed the Guangzhou provincial examination to become a Juren (metropolitan-level scholar) and gained the favor of the examiner Li Duanfen, who arranged the marriage of his cousin Li Huixian to Liang. At eighteen, he joined Kang Youwei’s Wanmucao Hall in Guangzhou, serving as a senior student.

In 1895, Liang traveled north with Kang Youwei to Beijing and gathered 1,300 signatures in the “Memorial of the Public Carriage” petitioning for reforms. In 1898, he participated in the Hundred Days’ Reform. When the reform failed, he fled to Japan.

Textbooks of both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party (CCP) portray Liang as a bourgeois reformist opposed to revolution, contrasting him with Sun Yat-sen and the communists, downplaying his revolutionary significance.

Liang consistently advocated constitutional monarchy and opposed overthrowing the Qing government. He believed that once the Qing fell, warlords would rise and civil war would ensue, making governance impossible. While democracy and republicanism were desirable, Liang considered them premature for China. He had studied Europe and America and concluded that Chinese society was not ready for American-style democracy. Monarchies in Britain, Spain, and Sweden maintained kings or queens while practicing constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, which he considered China’s best option. Overthrowing the empire would inevitably cause chaos. History later proved him correct: the fall of the Qing dynasty led to a century of disasters. However, after the 1911 Revolution, Liang adapted, advocating constitutional democracy rather than monarchy, positively acknowledging the revolution while publicly criticizing Kang Youwei’s monarchist restoration attempts. When Kang died in 1927, impoverished, Liang sent 5,000 yuan to help settle his affairs, honoring his former teacher.

Deng Xiaoping ended Mao’s era of class struggle and implemented reform and opening-up. In essence, Deng’s reforms mirrored Liang Qichao’s approach: gradual, peaceful improvement of the economy and society without violent class struggle. Deng realized Liang’s reformist vision eighty years later. Over forty years, Deng’s reforms achieved tremendous success, proving that incremental reform, step by step, enables societal progress, whereas class struggle and violent rebellion only lead to destruction and regression.

Liang Qichao was a patriotic statesman, dedicating his life to reform without personal ambition or power struggles, serving as a moral exemplar.

He was a thinker who combined tradition and modernity, constructing a “new orthodox thought” to guide the nation and society. Liang revitalized Confucian ideas while integrating modern democratic currents from around the world.

Liang Qichao was an encyclopedic scholar, mastering knowledge both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. He advocated fully exploring traditional Chinese culture while absorbing global civilization, contributing to innovation in Chinese culture.

He was a modern Chinese thinker, politician, educator, historian, and literary figure—a representative of the late Qing reformist movement. After the 1911 Revolution, he briefly served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance but resigned when unable to implement his vision, focusing on education and writing. He advocated the New Culture Movement. Liang is widely regarded as the foremost thinker of modern China, a leader among intellectuals.

Throughout his life, he was passionately patriotic, advocating moderate reform without extremism, unmotivated by power struggles, wielding his pen like a weapon to leave a rich intellectual legacy. He completed the 12-volume Yinbingshi Collection totaling 14 million characters. After the failure of his reform efforts, Liang continued his reformist zeal domestically and abroad.

Traditionally, Chinese culture was represented by Confucius’ “old orthodoxy.” Entering the 20th century, Liang inherited Confucian thought and combined it with modern democratic trends to form a “new orthodoxy.” He was the first in modern China to introduce terms such as nation, state, and citizen, and became an authority on constitutionalism, democracy, and nationalism. He exemplified integrating Confucian tradition with modern global currents and was the foremost thinker of late Qing China.

Regarding national identity, Sun Yat-sen advocated “expelling the Manchus,” while Liang proposed “uniting Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Miao, and Tibetan peoples into one nation.” After the founding of the Republic, Sun shifted from “small nationalism” to Liang’s “great nationalism.” Liang’s “great nation” concept emphasized a “pluralistic unity” forming a Chinese national community. He was the first to use the term “Chinese nation,” regarded as the foundation of modern Chinese nationalism.

Politically, Liang firmly opposed extremism, promoted moderate reform, resisted Yuan Shikai’s imperial ambitions, and opposed Zhang Xun’s restoration, contributing to the republic’s reconstruction.

Mao Zedong criticized Liang as “starting strong but ending weak,” as in his later years, Liang had to leave politics to focus on education and writing. Though many urged him to form a third party, Liang declined, saying party politics was not for him; he could not compete with armed factions. He avoided both the KMT and CCP and taught at Tsinghua University. In politics, he may have appeared to falter late in life, but had he persisted, he might have faced an unfortunate end.

Liang pointed out that China could not leapfrog social stages without industrialization, making socialism impossible at the time. Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in the 1980s followed Liang’s stage-based developmental thinking.

A thinker contemplates life and society broadly, guiding political and social development. A politician organizes, competes for power, and builds institutions to achieve goals. A scholar accumulates and passes on knowledge. Liang Qichao embodied all three roles.

Liang was a master of Chinese and Western knowledge, contributing remarkably in multiple fields. Even after leaving politics, he made significant academic achievements.

Before the 1911 Revolution, he created a new literary style between classical and vernacular Chinese, making it accessible to scholars and ordinary people. He introduced many new terms from Japanese Kanji, such as “economy,” “organization,” and “cadre.” Liang’s academic interests were broad, including philosophy, literature, history, classics, law, ethics, and religion, with history being his most prominent achievement.

Liang was not only a reformist but also contributed greatly to modern Chinese journalism. He worked in the press for 27 years, founding and leading 17 publications, earning the title “pride of the press,” praised as: “The rise of Chinese newspapers and the development of thought all began with Liang Qichao.”

He believed the press should “eliminate barriers and seek understanding,” with two main missions: “supervise the government” and “guide the people.” His four principles for publishing: “clear and high purpose,” “new and correct thought,” “rich and accurate material,” “timely reporting.” He proposed five pillars for public opinion: common sense, sincerity, directness, public-mindedness, and moderation.

Mao Zedong admired Liang in his youth, emulating his writing style. In 1936, Mao told American journalist Edgar Snow in Yan’an: “I admire Liang Qichao.” He described Liang as sharp, organized, passionate, and vivid, whose articles broke from rigid classical writing, becoming widely popular and influential in political commentary.

Huang Zunxian said of Liang: “His writing is thrilling, every word precious, moving even the hardest-hearted. From ancient times, no writing has exerted greater power.”

From 1903–1906, Liang traveled from Japan to the Americas for two years, welcomed everywhere, giving speeches and interviews, documented in Travels in the New World. By contrast, Sun Yat-sen sought revolutionary support in the US but was largely ignored. This illustrates the limited overseas Chinese support for revolution versus constitutional monarchy.

Liang died in 1929 at the age of 56 due to a medical mishap: a Western-style surgery mistakenly removed a healthy kidney, worsening his condition.

Both KMT and CCP labeled Liang a reformist rather than a revolutionary, downplaying him. Liang indeed advocated reform rather than revolution, but he was far more than a conventional reformist; he was a leading thinker of the late Qing. His constitutional monarchy proposals, if implemented a century ago, might have made China a democratic and prosperous nation comparable to the US today. Unfortunately, China remains under the disastrous effects of communism.

In 1925, Liang wrote to Chenbao: “Soviet Russia is a great success for the Communist Party, but a failure for communism. Naive youth idolize Marx, long discarded, as if at a temple fair, serving the Party’s ends. Following them is serving as the Party’s hounds.”

On May 5, 1927, Liang wrote to his children, condemning the Communist Party’s crimes: “Where the Party rules, the people suffer. They place the lowest at the highest power; those in power are the cruelest, most cunning, and corrupt. They claim to ‘overthrow landlords,’ but the real landlords have become Party members. The Communist Party has become a malignant tumor of the KMT. Under the Comintern, its sole purpose is to sacrifice China to revolutionize the world. Sun Wen in his later years became a Soviet puppet, taking orders from Russia; all slogans were dictated by Moscow.”

Liang condemned the killings by both KMT and CCP factions, nearly ten thousand innocent youth died. He cautioned his children against mistaking harmful ideologies for remedies.

In the late Qing, Liang inherited Confucian tradition. In 1902, he published On the Preservation of Teaching, Not Only for the Respect of Confucius, praising Confucius as timeless, adaptable, illuminating, and unmatched in moral education. Liang valued Confucius’ rationality, free thought, and openness to external ideas, and urged Chinese people to carry forward Confucius’ legacy.

Throughout the late Qing, Liang advocated a Confucian-based approach to constitutional reform, initially emphasizing filial piety over loyalty to the emperor, promoting civic education, and abolishing imperial examinations. After the 1911 Revolution, he adapted to republicanism, retaining a Confucian cultural foundation. In Xinmin Shu (1902), he revised “Chinese learning as essence, Western learning as application” to a more practical division of public and private spheres: public principles and virtues (universal values), private reason and ethics (Confucian tradition).

American journalist Edgar Snow called Liang “Father of the Chinese Spirit.” Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi praised him as “China’s precious soul.”

Cai E said: “Following the Master for years, I found his virtue unwavering, his scholarship profound, his sense of righteousness steady, and patriotism sincere; truly he stands alone.”

Xiao Gongquan said: “Liang is famed for adaptability, inheriting Confucian practical scholarship while transforming into a new ideal for individuals and society; methods may change, but purpose and patriotism remain constant.”

Zheng Zhenfeng said: “Had he been stubborn, he would have fallen behind; Liang’s constant adaptation reflects a luminous and upright character.”

Chang Yansheng said: “In undeveloped nations, thinkers are needed more than scholars. A hundred Wang Guowei cannot replace the loss of one Liang Qichao.”

Hu Shi praised Liang: “His literary achievements are unmatched; without Liang’s pen, even hundreds of Sun Yat-sen or Huang Xing could not have succeeded so quickly.”

Chen Shaobai: “Saving the nation was his principle.”
Yan Fu: “His essays swept across the nation like a storm.”
Liang Shuming: “Quick to respond, with a childlike heart—lovable and great in this.”

Liang’s life exemplified adaptability and progress with the times, yet always anchored in Confucian tradition, resisting communism.

Liang Qichao’s sayings:

When success is near, difficulties are greatest. One who walks a hundred miles is only halfway at ninety. The ambitious must be vigilant and diligent.

Adversity is the highest school for character.

Upright, independent, and resolute—that is a true man’s ambition and action.

Life is a hundred years; learning begins in childhood.

When will clarity reign, easing people’s hardships?

Art produces science by the concept of “truth and beauty united.” True is beauty; seek truth to seek beauty.

Integrity of heart and speech marks a man of brightness and rectitude.

If the Six Classics cannot teach, teach through novels; if official histories cannot enter, use novels; if sayings fail, use novels; if law fails, use novels.

Peace of mind leads to limitless freedom.

A man’s ambition is to advance the world, never to stop; once the goal is reached, ambition remains.

A tree may bear love-fruits, but is it for a departing lover?

Success comes from moral and natural power, not birth.

Success is easy to achieve, yet rarely matches deep expectations; the shallow rejoice, the wise lament.

The world progresses from chaos to order; victory derives from intelligence, not just force. Strengthen the people’s knowledge today as the first principle. Education forms the root.

In short: reform depends on cultivating talent; talent depends on schools.

Students studying practical social matters ensures progress; schools and society cannot be separated. Cultivate independent abilities for future self-reliance.

Life and beauty are not monotone; love of beauty is part of life’s purpose. Conveying suffering or darkness still requires beauty.

Democracy is universal justice.

The essence of science is developing observational skills.

Books should be divided: some for careful study, some for browsing.

Cultivate meticulous reading habits and quick vision. Slow eyes or inattentive mind gain nothing.

The masters of a nation are its people.

Aesthetic education develops emotion and complements moral and intellectual education.

Normal schools establish the foundation of learning.

Learning must produce practical results.

Agricultural development forms the basis of national industry.

Japan’s rapid strength stems from thriving schools.

Machines enhance human power.

Democracy in capitalist society is incomplete.

Without depth and breadth, one cannot understand or simplify truth.

Society respects those fulfilling responsibilities.

Poetry and music are essential for moral cultivation.

Elderly are like evening sun; youth like morning sun. Elderly like emaciated ox; youth like young tiger.

Confidence differs from pride: confidence is calm; pride is inflated.

Youth’s wisdom, wealth, strength, independence, freedom, progress, superiority over Europe—determines national destiny.

The rising sun illuminates; rivers surge; dragons ascend; young tigers roar; eagles test wings; flowers bloom; swords are sharpened; heaven vast, earth stable. Despite eternity, the future is vast and the coming days long.

III. Hu Shi (1891–1962)

In the 1950s, on the Chinese mainland, there was a massive nationwide campaign specifically targeting Hu Shi. The peak of this campaign occurred in 1954, aiming to denounce Hu Shi’s bourgeois philosophical ideas and require all intellectuals to publicly distance themselves from him. At the time, Hu Shi was in the United States and therefore absent from the campaign. Mao Zedong felt the target was missing and less satisfying, even sending a message to Hu Shi, asking him to return, emphasizing that the criticism was aimed at his ideas, not his person, and that he was free to come and go. Hu Shi replied, “Besides my ideas, what else is Hu Shi?”

In 1949, Hu Shi was trapped in Beijing, barely escaping. Having fled, how could he return to an “iron bucket” city? At the time, the People’s Liberation Army broadcast daily over loudspeakers in Beijing, urging Hu Shi to stay and continue as president of Peking University. Hu Shi had barely escaped and was now free in the United States.

Hu Shi (1891–1962), born Hu Sih-hsian in Jixi, Anhui Province, later changed his name to Shi (Shi Zhi) inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution and “survival of the fittest,” and became known as Hu Shi. He served as president of Peking University and ambassador to the United States, and was a leading figure in the New Culture Movement of the 1910s–1920s, making significant contributions in literature, philosophy, history, education, and ethics. Hu Shi was two years older than Mao Zedong but died earlier, passing away in 1962 at age 71.

In 1920, Mao Zedong drafted the “Hunan First Self-Study University Charter” in Beijing, based on a speech by Hu Shi. He brought it to Hu Shi for review and correction. Hu Shi carefully examined it, and Mao adopted his revisions. Mao then returned to Changsha to establish the self-study university. In 1936, in Yan’an, Mao personally told Edgar Snow: “I am a devoted reader and admirer of Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi.”

By 1945, after Japan’s defeat, the situation had changed. Hu Shi, in the United States, sent Mao Zedong a telegram, naively yet sincerely urging: “Now that Japan has surrendered, the CCP no longer needs to maintain a large private army. The CCP should emulate the British Labour Party, which holds power without a single soldier yet won a decisive victory in the election, securing governance for the next five years.” Hu Shi never received a reply. Mao, now the leader of a powerful armed party, no longer regarded the unarmed scholar.

On March 9, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek sent his son Chiang Ching-kuo to Shanghai to meet Hu Shi, asking him to go to the U.S. as an envoy to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the civil war and seek American intervention. Hu Shi arrived in San Francisco on April 21, learning that on April 19 Chiang had rejected the CCP’s 24 demands, and the PLA had crossed the Yangtze; the situation was settled. Hu Shi was powerless to change events. On June 19, the newly appointed premier Yan Xishan asked Hu Shi to serve as foreign minister; Hu Shi declined.

While in the U.S., Hu Shi needed employment to support himself. In 1950, he became director of the East Asian Library at Princeton University. On June 23, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Affairs met Hu Shi, hoping to persuade him to lead exiled anti-communist and pro-American groups to replace the Chiang regime. Hu Shi expressed no interest in politics. At the time, the U.S. had lost confidence in Chiang and hoped to establish a third force against communist expansion. Since Hu Shi was uninterested, the plan was abandoned. In the following years, Hu Shi spent considerable time discussing the past with historian Tang Degang and writing memoirs. During the peak of the campaign against Hu Shi in 1954, Tang regularly showed him stacks of Chinese newspapers, which they read together while joking.

Mao had told someone to convey to Hu Shi: “Our criticism is of your ideas, not you personally. I respect your character. Criticizing ideas is necessary; without it, your thoughts would spread unchecked among intellectuals, making my situation difficult to maintain.” Hu Shi advocated independence and freedom in scholarship, always starting with skepticism, and was famous during the May Fourth Movement for promoting “more research, less ideology,” refusing to be led by any single doctrine. This put him in opposition to the CCP, which only promoted Marxist ideology. Mao sought total compliance from intellectuals, making it necessary to denounce Hu Shi publicly. In fact, criticism of Hu Shi’s ideas began gradually in 1951, peaked in 1954, and continued until 1958.

Mao’s campaign was essentially a purge of intellectuals, forcing self-criticism and ideological reform under Marxist-Leninist indoctrination, eliminating dissent and consolidating power. Intellectuals, for survival, had no choice but to obey. Criticism became a duty; each person echoed the official line like a dog barking at shadows.

In 1934, Hu Shi published On Confucianism, tracing the origin of Confucianism. He argued that Confucians were descendants of the Shang dynasty, serving as ritual specialists conducting sacrifices. Confucians were teachers of Shang rites. Confucius and his disciples inherited Shang Confucian traditions. Laozi was also a Confucian—though conservative—while Confucius was reformist. Confucius transformed the weak Shang Confucians into proactive ones, elevating ritual-focused Shang Confucians to embrace benevolence as a personal duty.

Hu Shi noted that Confucian teachings emphasized “rectifying names” and established standards for judging right and wrong. Confucians valued ritual and music, aligning with religion and educational psychology, ensuring everyone followed proper conduct. Filial piety and ritual became major forces in Chinese society. Confucius’ Spring and Autumn Annals recorded facts while emphasizing historical judgment.

In practice, Hu Shi contributed less to modernizing Confucianism than to “Westernization.” In 1929, he advocated “complete Westernization,” sparking controversy. In 1935, he published Full Globalization and Complete Westernization, favoring “full globalization” as a more precise term. He strongly promoted American pragmatism, giving an impression of “anti-Confucian Westernization.” However, Hu Shi never opposed Confucian tradition. During the May Fourth “Ideology vs. Problem” debates, he opposed communism. In 1930, he published Which Way Shall We Go, explicitly rejecting communist violence and blind revolution, advocating peaceful progress. Hu Shi’s political philosophy centered on liberalism. Naturally, he opposed the CCP’s authoritarian violence; even Chiang opposed “liberalism and communism.” Hu Shi championed freedom, democracy, and gradual peaceful reform.

From the 1920s, with Soviet influence entering China and the CCP expanding, communism became a “red line,” dividing the political spectrum. The West and Confucian tradition stood on the anti-communist side. Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, and before 1927 Sun Yat-sen, Wang Jingwei, and Chiang aligned with communism, whereas Hu Shi remained steadfast with Western and Confucian values.

The CCP accused Hu Shi of “worshiping foreigners” and being an “American imperialist lackey.” Historian Tang Degang, however, said: “Hu Shi is 70% native, 30% foreign.” At heart, Hu Shi adhered to Confucian tradition. He never sought to “destroy Confucianism,” and claims he prioritized America were misunderstandings. Tang Degang praised Hu Shi: “He pioneered the New Culture Movement. After fifty years of scrutiny, he was neither extreme nor outdated. Consistently, he remained a balanced pillar, leading intellectual trends and guiding our ancient civilization toward modernization.”

Hu Shi resembled 18th-century philosophers Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire—enlightenment thinkers blending philosopher, scholar, practical worker, and intellectual qualities. Their writings displayed optimism and confidence, tackling worldly issues with clear, authoritative prose.

In 1949, Hu Shi refused the CCP’s loudspeaker “appeal,” unlike many scholars who “crossed north,” choosing instead to escape in practical opposition to communism. His misguided son, wanting to “make a difference” in Beijing, was forced to publicly “sever father-son relations” and was later labeled a rightist in 1957, ultimately committing suicide. Hu Shi’s actions exemplified Confucian public virtue. As a modern scholar and ambassador, while maintaining a lifelong marriage to his mother-given small-footed wife, he embodied private virtue.

Hu Shi, a U.S.-trained scholar, lifelong disciple of new thought, nevertheless adhered to his elderly mother’s arranged small-footed wife until death. His wife, one year older, a tiger by Chinese zodiac, studied briefly in a private school, could read and write, managed household and children efficiently. Hu Shi felt secure, at peace, and free with her. During WWII, as U.S. ambassador, he collected stories of countries where husbands feared their wives and found that only Germany, Japan, and Russia lacked such tales. He concluded that countries with “husband-fears-wife” stories were free democracies, while those without were authoritarian. He joked: “Even if your wife is fashionable, don’t blindly follow fashion; better to respect her a little. Hence, after ‘cannot be overpowered by force, cannot be corrupted by wealth, cannot be moved by poverty,’ I added: ‘cannot blindly follow fashion.’”

Hu Shi died in Taipei in 1962. Chiang Kai-shek sent a eulogy: “Model of old morality in new culture; exemplar of new thought in old ethics.” These two sentences summarize his life.

Liang Qichao (1873–1929) was the preeminent thinker of the late Qing and early Republican era. Hu Shi, 18 years younger, belonged to the next generation of enlightenment thinkers. With Liang Qichao, he was the foremost thinker of his time. After Liang, Hu Shi became the leading Chinese thinker. From the late Qing through the Republican era, China did not follow the directions proposed by Liang Qichao and Hu Shi, instead veering toward Russian influence—a national tragedy.

Hu Shi’s sayings:

Speak only as much as evidence supports; with seven parts evidence, do not claim eight.

History is not a doll to dress up at will.

Speak less empty words, do more practical work.

The spirit of science is to seek facts and truth.

Some say: “Sacrifice personal freedom for national freedom.” I say: “Fighting for personal freedom is fighting for national freedom. Upholding personal dignity is upholding social dignity. True freedom and equality cannot be founded by slaves.”

Research problems more; talk less ideology.

Forge yourself into a capable person to benefit society. By being genuinely yourself, you best serve others. A free and independent character allows you to honestly critique the status quo.

There are many ways to decline, roughly two: first, abandoning the desire for knowledge cultivated in youth; second, abandoning youthful ideals in life.

To assess a nation’s civilization, examine three things: how they treat children, how they treat women, and how they use leisure.