«DATONGISM» AS THE SOURCE OF «SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS» (SOME TOPICAL ASPECTS OF KANG YOUWEI'S POLITICAL THEORY)

Abstract

The article analyzes the social theory of the famous Chinese thinker Kang Youwei from the point of view of the ideological origins of the doctrine of "socialism with Chinese characteristics". The author shows that in the context of the discussion between Chinese and foreign scientists about the beginning of the Chinese socialist tradition, both the utopian status of Kang Youwei's ideas and their belonging to the theory of socialism remain controversial. According to the author, the beginning of the political theory of Chinese socialism should be considered "Datongism" as a set of ideas in which the ancient Confucian concept of "Great Unity" (Datong) is modernized in the spirit of other schools of Chinese philosophical and political thought and, at the same time, contemporary European ideas. The author argues that the image of the Datong era drawn by Kang Youwei reveals similarities with later European and Chinese (including Marxist) concepts of socialism (communism). At the same time, Kang's Datongism differs significantly from them, acting as an ideological matrix for a wider range of political views.