Eastward spread of Western learning
The eastward spread of Western learning (simplified Chinese: 西学东渐; traditional Chinese: 西學東漸) refers to the spread of Western technologies and ideologies in China since the late Ming dynasty, which is contrast with the westward spread of Eastern learning (simplified Chinese: 东学西传; traditional Chinese: 東學西傳) that introduced Chinese technologies and ideologies to the West.[1][2][3]
Naming
The term "Western learning" (
History
Jesuit China missions
Before the
With the popularization of Christianity in China, the increasing Western knowledge in China contributed to the rise of Shixue (simplified Chinese: 实学; traditional Chinese: 實學), which focused more on practice and evidence. The scholars of Shixue reshaped the school education with the introduction of mathematics in addition to the traditional Four Books and Five Classics.[10] However, this trend was halted when Kangxi Emperor of Qing decided to ban the religion due to the religion's lack of respect to Chinese rites in 1717.[11] Subsequently, the Roman Catholic Church canceled the Jesuit mission to China in 1773.[10]
Late Qing period and Republican era
New Culture Movement |
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The British invasion of China in the 1840s forced China to open up to the world, which led to the second wave of the eastward spread of Western learning. The failures of two Opium Wars stimulated the Chinese government to absorb Western learning. During the process, the Chinese gradually reduced their resistance the Western learning and gradually adopted the Western learning, with the principle of "Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application." Under this principle, more focus was given to the Western weapon and machine. Meanwhile, missionaries in China continued to spread Western ideologies in China.
As China was defeated by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1897, Chinese thought leaders began to seek ways to save China from elimination, which drove them to active seek and absorb Western knowledge and demanded political reforms. Japan became a new source of Western learning during the time.
Since the late Qing dynasty, government-funded overseas Chinese students contributed to this movement, contributing to the criticism of traditional Chinese culture and the modernization of China,[12] especially during the New Culture Movement.[13][14][15] One of the result of the movement is the Sinicization of Western ideologies including Marxism.[16] As a reflection on the century of humiliation that China had undergone, which was characterized by foreign concessions in China, and the success of Meiji Restoration of Japan, the Chinese people began calling for a full-scale westernization of China and debated with those who defended the traditional Chinese culture.[7]
See also
References
- OCLC 1089442491.
- S2CID 152205041.
- ISBN 978-1-4020-4425-0, retrieved 2022-06-14
- ^ OCLC 834558621.
- OCLC 23471698.
- ^ Lu, Di (2017). ""西学东渐"一词始于清末而非民初". China Terminology (1).
- ^ a b Li, Yining (2016-05-06). "新文化运动与西学东渐". Guangming Daily – via Peking University.
- S2CID 142991146.
- ISBN 978-1-317-51931-7.
- ^ .
- ^ Carter, James (2021-02-10). "The Yongzheng Emperor and Christianity in China". SupChina. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
- S2CID 147793292.
- S2CID 211429408.
- ^ Sturniolo, Anthony (2016-08-01). "Influences of Western Philosophy and Educational Thought in China and their Effects on the New Culture Movement". History Theses.
- ISSN 1870-6800.
- S2CID 145333912.