The Tongcheng School and the social thought of the late Qing dynasty

Abstract

From the perspective of social thought, the Tongcheng School was consistently involved in ideological developments in late Qing society; the silhouette of the Tongcheng School can be seen in each of the iterations of social thought that successively emerged during the late Qing dynasty. During each period in the late Qing dynasty, the principal members of the Tongcheng School were often representatives of or active participants in the new intellectuals trends of contemporary society, including Yao Ying in relation to the trend of practical statecraft; Zeng Guofan and Li Shuchang in relation to the Self-Strengthening Movement; Guo Songtao and Xue Fucheng in the early stages of the Reform and Modernization efforts; and Wu Rulun in the Hundred Days Reform. On the one hand, it is evident that the Tongcheng School of the late Qing dynasty pandered to the Qing court, while on the other hand it sought to adapt to developments in social thought, and progress with the times. We ought not to wholly reject the Tongcheng School because it ultimately fell behind its times, nor should we regard the Tongcheng School as synonymous with literary conservatism and political reactionarism.