Who are the academic leaders of the Republic of China?

During the Republic of China, social transformation, academic prosperity and method innovation were trinity, which were mutually causal. The multi-level and three-dimensional integration and innovation of academic methods, ancient and modern, and various disciplines is undoubtedly the internal driving force to promote the academic process of the Republic of China and represents the remarkable characteristics of the Republic of China. Judging from the academic research practice in the Republic of China, the mainstream academic methods in this period are scientific empirical methods, explanatory methods, dialectical methods and intuitive methods of Marxist materialism, which are integrated and innovated with China's traditional textual research methods, simple dialectical methods and intuitive cognitive methods. During the Republic of China, many famous scholars devoted their enthusiasm and consciousness to academic methods, made successful attempts and applications, and achieved fruitful academic results. It is the innovation of academic research methods that created the prosperity of Chinese and Western academic convergence and a hundred schools of thought contending during the Republic of China.

The period of the Republic of China is the greatest period of integration, adjustment and innovation of Chinese and Western learning in human history, and the exchange, infiltration and integration of academic methods can also be described as "prosperous Sri Lanka". However, these 38 years of academic research are not satisfactory. Since Liang Qichao and Qian Mu's Academic History of China in the Past 300 Years, there has not been a macroscopic and systematic study of academic research in the Republic of China. However, it is almost rare to highlight the academic achievements in this period from the level of academic prosperity and method innovation. As far as academic methods are concerned, the existing research results can be summarized into two characteristics: first, there are many case studies and few comprehensive studies. There are more researches on positivism and Marxist materialist dialectical methods, but less on academic methods such as explanation of righteousness and intuition. Wang Guowei, Gu Jiegang, Hu Shi, Feng Youlan and others have studied more methods, while other scholars have studied less. Second, there are many studies on the introduction of academic methods, but few studies on the integration and innovation of Chinese and Western academic methods. At present, apart from the similarities and differences between western empirical methods and China's traditional textual research methods, there are few studies on the comparison between Chinese and western methods and their rise to the level of integration and innovation; As for the mutual penetration and influence between methodologies, there is almost no research.

Fundamentally speaking, the development process of human civilization is also a process of alternating evolution of academics, knowledge and methods. Therefore, the study of academic methodology has been an important part of Chinese and western academic research since ancient times.

In the west, Aristotle, the representative of ancient Greek philosophy and science, first established a systematic methodology (instrumentalism) and a classical formal logic system about scientific research methods and principles; Christopher Bacon, the originator of modern empirical science, wrote New Tools and put forward a complete inductive method system. Descartes answered the question of how to use rational methods in Methodology. Hegel created logic and established a systematic dialectical method. On the basis of critically inheriting Hegel's dialectics, Marx and Engels established the scientific methodology system of materialist dialectics. Darwin, the founder of the theory of evolution, not only emphasized and used historical methods, but also widely used specific methods such as induction, deduction, experiment, observation, comparison and classification. Berta Langfield is a famous contemporary systems scientist. He attaches great importance to the innovation and creation of methods, and has established a set of influential systems science methodology. Their great achievements are due to their methods and attention to them.

In China, ancient Confucianism and Mohism had a set of methods to understand and transform the world: Confucius' thought and method of correcting the name and the rich dialectical thought in the Book of Changes were the cornerstones of Confucian methods; As an encyclopedia of common people's philosophy and logic, Mo Bian contains rich inductive and deductive methods. Taoism's rich metaphysical thinking and dialectical thinking methods are the portals of its academic methods; Buddhism, which was later introduced to China, also had its own unique way of understanding the world. To some extent, the dispute between ancient Chinese prose and Sinology and Songxue, which lasted for more than a thousand years, is in the final analysis a dispute over academic methods. Accordingly, textual research and reasoning methods have become the mainstream methods in China's academic tradition for more than 1000 years. Due to the feudal autocracy in politics, academic thoughts were squeezed and imprisoned, and the dispute between schools evolved into a dispute between schools. The academic method of distinguishing between speech and reason has evolved into arbitrariness and dogma similar to "what is ancient must be true and what is Chinese must be good" [1]. Therefore, since the Qin and Han dynasties, Confucianism has been exclusive and arbitrary, and many scientific methods sprouted in the pre-Qin period, such as Mohist methods, have been submerged one after another; What's more, the harsh external academic environment and fierce internal disputes make the original legitimate academic research embark on an evil road of how to seek political asylum and "lead the group". Therefore, the lack of reflection and research on academic methods themselves and the restrictions on the penetration of existing methods to the outside world (for example, scientific textual research methods are limited to the study of classical documents, but have not developed into natural science research methods, etc. ), has become a prominent feature that distinguishes China's traditional academic methods from the West. The direct consequence of this feature is: the backwardness of methods and methodology, and the subsequent academic atrophy and national strength decline. Therefore, advanced scholars since the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China have successively put forward plans such as "saving the country through education", "saving the country through science" and "enlightening the people", all of which are effective ways to save the country after cutting the feet and fitting the shoes. The introduction and innovation of academic research methods is naturally the proper meaning in the title.

two

Every generation has its own culture, and every generation has its own knowledge. During the period of the Republic of China, with the breaking of the regional closed pattern, the transformation of social system and the liberation of ideological bondage, the situation of the convergence of China and the West and the contention of a hundred schools of thought was ushered in academically. The most fundamental change is the change of thinking mode and the innovation of academic research methods.

Among all the methods, the scientific empirical method highlights its extraordinary value because of its unique natural science background and affinity with traditional textual research methods, while the Marxist materialist dialectics highlights its position as a political, philosophical and academic method because it meets the political, ideological and academic needs of China society at that time, while the hermeneutic method and intuitive method are favored by scholars because they suit the taste of China's traditional academic reasoning method and intuitive thinking and are sublimated in theory. Therefore, scientific empirical method, materialistic dialectical method, rational explanation method and intuitive method formed the mainstream of academic methodology in the Republic of China.

Method precedes thought and is a tool to arouse thought. Scholars in the Republic of China attached great importance to this and consciously. Wang Guowei emphasized the logical analysis method and speculative synthesis method of absorbing western learning, which can be either empirical analysis (norm) or theoretical generalization (generalization) in academic research, thus making traditional knowledge reach the status of self-awareness [2]. Liang Qichao believes that "all great scholars in the Enlightenment don't have to be extremely profound in their accomplishments, but they often stipulate the scope of research, innovate research methods, and concentrate on cutting-edge spirit." [3] "If you want an academic development, the first requirement is a precise research method." [4] "The Qing movement is a' learning movement', not an' ideological movement'." [5] In view of this, Liang Qichao also wrote China Historical Research Law and Supplementary China Historical Research Law, which systematically explained the significance, scope and value of historiography and the methods of identifying and collating historical materials. Hu Shi deeply felt that "the development of China's modern philosophy and science suffered greatly from the lack of appropriate methods", so he tried his best to spread and advocate pragmatism, clearly put forward that "pragmatism is just a method" and put forward the slogan of "boldly assuming and carefully verifying". When evaluating the role of western logic in China, Feng Youlan pointed out that the introduction of logical methods was "a really important event". It gave China people a new way of thinking and changed their whole thinking "[6]. Therefore, he thinks that what is important is this method, not the ready-made ideas or concepts of western philosophy. His "positive method" and "negative method" are the most academic features and values in "New Neo-Confucianism". During the Republic of China, not only Yan Fu, Hu Shi, Feng Youlan and others, but almost every successful scholar devoted his enthusiasm and consciousness to academic methods and had his own academic methods. This is the most valuable and meaningful point of the whole Republic of China.

three

Social transformation, academic prosperity and method innovation are trinity, which are mutually causal. During the Republic of China, China was in the process of social change, cultural change and ethos change. The old died of decline, and the new was born of pregnancy. It is against this background that the academic circles of the Republic of China launched a historical process of breaking the shell and breaking the cocoon by integrating the old with the new. The multi-level and three-dimensional integration and innovation of academic methods, ancient and modern, and various disciplines are undoubtedly the internal motivation and remarkable characteristics of this academic process.

(A) from the perspective of social transformation and academic innovation. During the period of the Republic of China, the rapid social transformation blew the main theme of saving the nation from extinction, and the awakening of the nation inspired the renewal of ideas, and the extreme publicity of subject and instrumental rationality created a hundred schools of thought and a hundred flowers in the ideological and cultural field. All kinds of doctrines and ideological trends are higher and higher, inspiring people's strength, enlightening people's wisdom and promoting new people's morality. The debate between science and metaphysics, standard culture and social history is shocking, and the literary revolution (vernacular movement), historical revolution (new historiography) and Buddhist revolution (three revolutions of teaching theory, teaching system and teaching production) resounded around the world. Social transformation and ideological and cultural evolution go hand in hand, turning a dazzling page in China's ideological and cultural history. The formation of this brand-new academic situation is attributed to the rapid changes and transformation of society and to the integration and innovation of vertical (ancient and modern) and horizontal (Chinese and foreign) academics.

(B) from the spread of Western learning to the east, to establish a new academic paradigm. During the period of the Republic of China, especially around the May 4th Movement, various theories and methods developed in the West in the past hundred years were introduced into China in different directions and ways, which constituted an unprecedented grand occasion of academic diversity and cultural prosperity. Coexisting with all kinds of academic input and dissemination are the adoption and application of various methods. During the transitional period, the spread of western learning to the east, the deconstruction of tradition and the change of thinking mode complement each other and are mutually causal. Social transformation and traditional deconstruction have stimulated the change of thinking mode and further promoted the process and scale of western learning spreading to the east; On the other hand, the spread of western learning has accelerated the modernization of thinking mode and the establishment of a new academic paradigm. Its symbol is the establishment of new discourse mode, new thinking mode, new academic spirit and method.

(3) From the main academic methods and their characteristics in the Republic of China. During the Republic of China, the academic performance was the multi-level integration and innovation between ancient and modern Chinese and western (Indian) academics, disciplines and schools of the same clan, and the integration and innovation of academic research methods was the most typical performance: the traditional textual research methods were integrated with the western empirical methods to form a scientific empirical method; The traditional justice method is combined with western hermeneutics to form a justice interpretation method; The combination of traditional simple dialectical method and Marxist materialist dialectical method forms Marxist materialist dialectical method; The traditional intuitive method is combined with the intuitive methods of Western Europe and India. Among them, scientific empirical method and Marxist materialist dialectics had the greatest influence in the Republic of China. (4) From the perspective of scientific empirical methods and academic research in the Republic of China. As a method (according to positivism, philosophy is just a method), positivism has a universal influence on the academic circles in China. As far as scholars are concerned, almost every successful scholar is directly or indirectly influenced by it. Traditional academics have also taken this opportunity to flourish: Mohism has been re-valued, and textual research in Ganjia has once again prevailed; Feng Youlan and the Financial Association established a complete academic system by introducing the old and bringing forth the new. Wang Guowei, Chen Yinque and others have made remarkable achievements in their respective academic fields by using empirical methods and traditional textual research methods. (5) From the method and theory of explaining justice, the same was true in the Republic of China. The interpretation method of meaning is the fusion and innovation of western hermeneutics with theoretical color and China's method with practical color. This method focuses on understanding and explanation, and explains many problems in the meaning world and the value world with a dynamic and open methodology system and a two-way backflow thinking mode. This method broadens the horizons of scholars in the Republic of China, removes the obstacles of academic innovation, and promotes the mutual interpretation and interpretation of Chinese and Western ancient and modern academics at a new level and in a wider scope.

four

For a long time, the theory of "Chinese style and western use" has prevailed in academic circles. However, from the academic reality of the Republic of China, the intersection, infiltration and development of Chinese and western cultures are only problems of integration and innovation, and there is no problem of who uses whom. On the positive side, there is a process of introduction, digestion, integration and innovation when local culture meets foreign culture; On the negative side, there is a process of rejecting collision and being forced to absorb. During the Republic of China, the introduction of western academic methods was active and innovative on the basis of introduction and digestion. Because: first, Chinese and western academics and methods are interlinked in many aspects; Second, during the Republic of China, most scholars studied Chinese and Western cultures, with broad academic horizons and great academic ambitions. As far as methods and methodology are concerned, there is also a problem of mutual connection and integration.

First of all, as far as scholars are concerned, scholars in the Republic of China attach great importance to and consciously innovate academic methodology. On the one hand, Wang Guowei criticized the traditional scholarship and methods of feuding between Han and Song Dynasties, on the other hand, he advocated the theory of "learning without the dynamic combination of old and new Chinese and western". It is believed that the integration of Chinese and Western cultures and the mutual progress of * * * are the inevitable trend of human culture and the only way for China's academic innovation and development. It can be seen that Wang Guowei's attitude of "learning from Bo Gu", his academic spirit of "seeking truth from facts" and "double certificate method" are undoubtedly the ways and means to achieve a generation of masters. Guided by scientific positivism, Yan Fu, Hu Shi, Feng Youlan, Jin and others have made corresponding efforts in integrating Chinese and Western cultures, innovating local cultures and building a unique academic system. Yan Fu and Hu Shi saw the consistency between Gan Jia's textual research method and western empirical method, and also saw its defects, and tried to make up for them. Feng Youlan and Jin got rid of the emotional confrontation in culture and tried to integrate and innovate Chinese and Western cultures. On the one hand, Feng Youlan reconstructed Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism with new realism and logical positivism, and developed Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties into a new neo-Confucianism. On the one hand, it criticizes the Vienna School's practice of "rejecting metaphysics" and holds that "metaphysics is the most important part of philosophy", and points out two methods of real metaphysics: "positive bottom method" and "negative bottom method". On the one hand, Jin constructed his epistemological system-epistemology by positivism; On the one hand, it constructs a metaphysical system-On Tao, which is closely related to Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism and rejected by the Vienna School. Their academic style and methods undoubtedly have the characteristics of combining Chinese and western.

Secondly, as far as the relationship between Chinese and western academic methods is concerned. In essence, this is a question of introducing and integrating innovation. The decline of traditional academic culture is the premise of the introduction of other cultures, and the introduction of other cultures will inevitably lead to the transformation and reform of traditional academic culture. Yu Yingshi once pointed out: "I think all scholars since the late Qing Dynasty have been influenced by western methodology, but the so-called' western methodology' is still too vague. There are thousands of scholars, and it is impossible to have a unified method. In some places, the old methods of China and the new methods of the West can also be interlinked. " "Some new theories, such as hermeneutics, can communicate with the tradition of China's classical interpretation in a limited scope." [7] The focus of exegetical research is "things". The so-called Confucian Classics in Qing Dynasty is just the mutual comparison and identification of "things" between Confucian Classics. The focus of reasoning is "meaning", that is, revealing the implied meaning and meaning of the text. These two methods of China's traditional research are intrinsically related to the western empirical methods and interpretation methods. If the traditional textual research methods are close to the western empirical methods, they can be integrated into one method; Then, the traditional deductive interpretation method and the western hermeneutics method can also be combined into a brand-new method. In fact, the methods of "scientific argumentation", "rational explanation", "materialistic dialectical method" and "intuitive method" in the Republic of China were formed on the basis of Chinese and western methods.

Thirdly, as far as methods and methodology are concerned, there is still an interrelated and comprehensive problem. For example, although empirical method and rational explanation method have their own functions and emphases, they are interdependent and interrelated in specific research and application; There are similarities between empirical method and Marxist materialist dialectics. Historical materialism itself originated from Vico's "New Science" [8]. Like empirical methods, it is based on induction. There are more similarities between intuitive method and ontological hermeneutics method. Both of them are developed on the basis of criticizing modern scientism. Both rely on introspection, experience, understanding and explanation. Both of them are based on phenomenological methods and are closely related to phenomenological essential reduction methods and transcendental reduction methods. It is precisely because of the inherent logical connection, overlap and complementarity between methodologies that many scholars often use multiple methods at the same time in academic research and practice. For example, Chen Yinque typically uses scientific empirical methods and rational interpretation methods for academic research; Feng Youlan publicly quoted his own methods as "positive method" (logical empirical method) and "negative method" (intuitive method); Hou Wailu supplemented Marxist materialist dialectics with China's traditional textual research method, and founded the general history of China's ideological history on the basis of their integration. And the list goes on.

In a word, this method changes with each passing day with the development of time, space and content. The academic method of the Republic of China embodies the characteristics of rapid change, integration and innovation.

refer to

[1] [3] [4] [5] Liang Qichao: An Introduction to Academic Research in Qing Dynasty, contained in China's modern academic masterpiece Biography of Liang Qichao, pp. 15 1, 134, 149,/kloc-.

[2] Wang Guowei's "On the Input of Newly Learned Languages" contains Wang Guowei's suicide note, volume 1, Shanghai Bookstore, edition 1983.

[6] Feng Youlan: A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy, Chinese translation, p. 378, Peking University Publishing House, 1985.

[7] Yu Yingshi's "New Western Methods" contains "History of Shi Heng", p. 445th, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1999.

[8] Li's Ontology of China's Philosophy in the 20th Century, p. 275, Changsha: Hunan Education Press, 199 1 version.