Comment: Kang Youwei - thinker behind modern China鈥檚 transformation Published on: 5 July 2024 Writing for The Conversation, Daniel Hutton Ferris discusses the revolutionary thinker who has had a profound influence on modern-day China. Kang Youwei (1858鈥�1927) has had a profound influence on modern-day China. He imagined a future society in which war had ended and nation-states had disappeared, to be replaced by a single socialist and democratic world state. His work popularised the idea of historical progress in China, inspired the founder of the People鈥檚 Republic, Mao Zedong, and continues to influence China鈥檚 political elite today. It is for this reason that republican-era politician, writer and Kang鈥檚 most influential student, , him China鈥檚 equivalent to . Luther was a German theologian whose writings popularised in the 16th century, sparking a revolutionary movement that many Europeans鈥� understanding of themselves and their world. Yet, surprisingly, Kang鈥檚 work is barely known outside of east Asia. His radical philosophy deserves to be much better know by anyone seeking to understand China, its history and the possible future of our humanity. Kang was born into a world in turmoil. In the mid-19th century, the (1644鈥�1911) was being rocked by invasion and a civil war that killed tens of millions. After a traditional education spent studying the work of China鈥檚 most influential philosopher, , Kang spent time living in meditation in a cave. There, a spiritual awakening convinced him that he was destined to serve humanity as a kind of prophet or sage. When he was in his 20s, Kang threw himself into political activities. He set up the first Chinese-led anti-footbinding society, which campaigned against the practice of breaking and tightly wrapping young girl鈥檚 feet to compress them into a shape considered aesthetically and sexually appealing. Qing dynasty in 1820, including provincial boundaries and the boundaries of modern China. , He even won the ear of the emperor who let him launch an ambitious programme of reforms aimed at modernising and democratising the empire. Empress , who was the real power behind the throne, was alarmed by the pace of change and promptly put the emperor under house arrest. She chased Kang into exile and executed his fellow reformers, which included his younger brother. Despite this traumatic event, Kang seems to have mostly enjoyed his exile. By the time it was finally safe to return home, Kang had toured the world and had written one of the most important texts in modern philosophy: the . In his book, Kang set out a Chinese utopian vision of the world in which everyone and everything is at peace. He argued that the boundaries we construct for ourselves 鈥� class, race and sex, for instance 鈥� are the cause of most of our suffering. In his view, humans should extend their care and concern for others more impartially across the world. The book also argues for the abolition of private industry (to be replaced by socialism) and private families (to be replaced by free love and collective child-rearing). With the exception of Kang鈥檚 lamentable embrace of the racial pseudoscience of his day, the book鈥檚 vision of an ideal future society seems blisteringly radical, even today. Kang鈥檚 revolution Kang鈥檚 greatest contribution to Chinese culture is arguably his re-imagination of historical time. Earlier educated Chinese had often imagined social and political change by analogy to natural cycles. For instance, just as the weather becomes cooler and then hotter as the seasons change, wise governments slowly become corrupt, which triggers rebellions that install new and more appealing leaders, whose virtue then inevitably also starts to decline. Others imagined history as a process of decline. Confucius, for example, is portrayed in one influential text his own era some 2,500 years ago as one of only 鈥渕oderate prosperity鈥�. He pined for the lost golden age of 鈥済reat unity鈥� in which 鈥渢he world was shared by all鈥�. Kang is the person who . He confidently predicted rapid progress through a period of moderate prosperity towards an age of great unity. This 鈥渋nvention鈥� of the idea of historical progress had a profound effect on later generations. China鈥檚 recent history begins to look different once we recognise Kang鈥檚 place within it. Chinese elites, in short, have framed their actions in terms that owe perhaps as much to Kang Youwei as they do to Karl Marx. Mao Zedong once that Kang 鈥渃ould not find a way of achieving great unity鈥� because he lacked a theory of working-class revolution. And in 2021, on the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese president Xi Jinping that the party鈥檚 primary goal over its 100 years had been the building of a 鈥渕oderately prosperous鈥� society. He argued that this had now been achieved with the elimination of extreme poverty in China. People walk along a busy shopping street in Shanghai, China. Understanding Kang will become increasingly important as the 21st century progresses. Over the past decade or so, ordinary people in China have become in Confucianism and . Kang鈥檚 interpretation of Confucius as a communist progressive looks more appealing, to more people, than ever before. He has become perhaps the , after Confucius himself, in debates among public intellectuals interested in reviving some aspects of traditional culture. Our 鈥淐hinese century鈥� may well be the century of Kang Youwei. Kang鈥檚 work deserves a wider audience in the west for another reason too: he is one of the most radical and creative philosophers to ever write on world peace and of transnational democracy. In our globalising world, his work is by no means of . Reading Kang Youwei can help us understand what world peace might look like and how it might happen. , Lecturer in Political Theory and Philosophy, This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the . Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 recognised with geography award 缅北禁地 has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK鈥檚 open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 缅北禁地 historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners鈥� lock-out of 1926, historians at 缅北禁地 are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can鈥檛 adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures
![缅北禁地 logo](/gomobileassets/img/logo.svg" "缅北禁地"){kind=logo}