Marxist Philosophy in China : From Qu Qiubai to Mao Zedong, 1923-1945

This book recounts the history of Marxist philosophy in China between 1923 and 1945 through the writings and activities of four philosophers: Qu Qiubai, Ai Siqi, Li Da and Mao Zedong. Two of these philosophers – Qu and Mao – were also political activists and leaders, but their contribution to this history is as important, if not more so, than the contribution of Ai and Li who were predominantly philosophers and scholars. The inclusion of Qu and Mao underlines the intimate connection between philosophy and politics in the revolutionary movement in China. It is not possible to speak credibly of Marxist philosophy in China without considering the political context within which its introduction, elaboration and dissemination proceeded. Indeed, each of the philosophers considered in this book repudiated the notion that the study of philosophy was a scholastic intellectual exercise devoid of political significance. Each of these philosophers regarded himself as a revolutionary, and considered philosophy to be useful precisely because it could facilitate a comprehension of the world and so accelerate efforts to change it. By the same token, each of these philosophers took philosophy seriously; each bent his mind to the daunting task of mastering the arcane and labyrinthian philosophical system of dialectical materialism. Philosophy might well be political, they believed, but this was no excuse for philosophical dilettantism. This book examines the introduction of Marxist philosophy to China from the early 1920s to the mid 1940s. It does this through an examination of the philosophical activities and writings of four Chinese Marxist philosophers central to this process. These are Qu Qiubai, Ai Siqi, Li Da and Mao Zedong. The book sets the philosophical writings of these philosophers in the context of the development of Marxist philosophy internationally, and examines particularly the influence on these philosophers of Soviet Marxist philosophy. It argues that these Chinese Marxist philosophers’ interpretations of Marxist philosophy were quite orthodox when judged by the standards of contemporary Soviet Marxism. The book explores core themes in Marxist philosophy in China, including the dilemma of determinism, and investigates the way in which these Chinese Marxist philosophers sought a formula for the ‘Sinification’ of Marxist philosophy that both retained the universal dimensions of Marxism and allowed its application to the Chinese context. The book concludes with analysis of the role of the Yanan New Philosophy Association in developing from Soviet Marxist philosophy the philosophical dimension of Mao Zedong Thought, the official ideology of the Chinese Communist Party after 1945. CONTENTS......Page 7 Preface......Page 9 Introduction......Page 12 Marx, Marxist Philosophy and the Construction of ‘Orthodoxy’......Page 24 Qu Qiubai and the Origins of Marxist Philosophy in China – In defence of materialism......Page 40 Qu Qiubai and the Origins of Marxist Philosophy in China – The dilemma of determinism......Page 64 The New Philosophy and Marxist Philosophy in China......Page 81 Ai Siqi and Mao Zedong – The role of philosopher to the Chinese Communist movement......Page 103 Ai Siqi on the New Philosophy – The laws and logic of dialectical materialism......Page 119 Li Da and Marxist Philosophy in China......Page 138 Mao Zedong and the New Philosophy......Page 157 Mao Zedong on Dialectical Materialism......Page 178 From the New Philosophy to ‘Mao Zedong Thought’ – The role of the Yanan New Philosophy Association......Page 203 Conclusion – Marxist Philosophy in China, 1923–1945......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 229 B......Page 236 C......Page 237 D......Page 238 H......Page 239 K......Page 240 L......Page 241 M......Page 242 N......Page 243 P......Page 244 Q......Page 245 S......Page 246 W......Page 247 Z......Page 248 By Nick Knight. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 225-231) And Index.