Yan Fu and the Cross-Cultural Diffusion of Liberalism

• In Event: Comparative Political Theory: Northeast Asia

Abstract

This article examines the cross-cultural diffusion of liberalism by looking into political thoughts of the first Chinese liberal Yan Fu (1854-1921). By tracing the process of Yan’s reception and conception of liberalism in the turn of twentieth-century, I argue that liberalism could be upheld both universally valid and culturally distinctive. As a Chinese intellectual, Yan was receptive to universal liberal ideas of individual liberty and constitutional democracy, whereas his (trans)formation of liberalism is also characterized by Chinese traditions. In Yan’s conception of liberty as a triadic conceptual framework of agent, restriction and ends, he stresses more on the significance of individuals as moral agents who is active in terms of pursuing moral ends, along with a strong focus on the ends which potentially overwhelms the restrictions. The examination of Yan’s Chinese liberalism also serves as a poignant reminder of the dynamic nature of liberalism as an ideology, shaped by historical development and societal changes. It underscores the historical complexity and practical challenges encountered in translating liberal principles into practical implementations, a concern that lasts until now.

Author

• SHIYU ZHANG