A Discussion of the Idea of the Warrior Way in Modern China

Title

A Discussion of the Idea of the Warrior Way in Modern China

Author

Chen-Feng TSAI

Page

198-228

DOI

Abstract

In 1904 Liang Qichao (梁啟超, 1873-1929) published The Chinese Warrior Way in which he argued that Japan had become a strong country because it gave prominence to the role of the warrior, while China had grown weak because it did not. To rectify that situation, Liang expressed his hope to awaken the warrior spirit of the Chinese people and thus see the country on the road to strength and prosperity. In this paper, we review the influence and impact of Liang's idea of the "Chinese warrior way." We conclude that China does not have the cultural conditions like those found in Japan that gave rise to the notion of bushido (武士道). Furthermore, we note that since the love of life and pleasure associated with the thought of Yang Zhu (楊朱) has become an important cultural substratum, Liang's attempts to import the Japanese idea of bushido ultimately did not result in strengthening the nation as he had hoped. At most, it resulted in the alternate discourses of "strengthening the race through exercise" and "restoring a warrior spirit to compete with European nations."

Keyword

Bushido, Chinese way of the warrior, Chin Woo Athletic Association , Liang Qichao, Yang Du

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