Li Dazhao and the rise of modern Chinese radicalism.

摘要

This study examines the intellectual transformation of Li Dazhao (1889--1927) from his early years to his conversion to Marxism in the context of the crisis of order in modern China. This inquiry focuses on Li's preoccupation with time, death, and history. It aims to shed light on how Li's conception of time, in particular his philosophy of now, was related to his acceptance of a Marxist political solution and to his significant departure from a Marxist historical outlook. This study also attempts to provide an avenue to understanding why and how modern Chinese radicalism arose in response to the temporal crises of order. Li was a man of careful contemplation; he took seriously the ideologies of his time, including reformism, constitutionalism, and finally, communism. But the dormant radical elements in his conception of time did not awake until World War I and the rise of the Russian Revolution. Li's conception of time, which was derived from the traditional Chinese idea of the unity of Heaven and man, became in the historical context of the late May Fourth period an activistic concept imbued with revolutionary, utopian energy. It gave meaning, direction, and a sense of hope to the Chinese who wandered in obscurity during the turbulent years of fragmented, warlord rule of 1920s China. Li's ideas and writings inspired many members of the new generation of young Communist intellectuals, among them Mao Zedong. Li's conception of time opened up infinite possibilities of "leaps" and "breaks" for China but the ambiguities and problems inherent in this concept could also lead to a politics of no restraint.