Renxue 仁學

Renxue 仁學 "The teachings of benevolence" is a philosophical treatise written by the reformist politician Tan Sitong 譚嗣同 (1865-1898) as an appeal to return to the roots of a Confucian society in order to strengthen China after the devastating defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895-1895.

The book is part of his attempt to bolster China's resilience through political reform, but the origins of the text go back to the years 1896 and 1897. The manuscript came into the hands of Liang Qichao 梁啟超 (1873-1929) and Tang Caichang 唐才常 (1867-1900), who organised – after Tan Sitong's execution by the Qing government – the publication of the text, first in the Japan-based Chinese newspaper Qingyibao 清議報, and then in the Dongya shibao 亞東時報 in Shanghai. Thereafter, the text was several times published as a monography. In 1981, the Zhonghua Shuju 中華書局 published a modern edition as part of the collected writings of Tan, Tan Sitong quanji 譚嗣同全集.

The book is divided into 50 chapters and 2 juan or fascicles. The book begins with a preface and an introduction (Renxue jieshuo 仁學界說). The preface places the book in a triangle of Buddhist, Western (mostly technology and social science), and traditional Chinese teachings, an approach which reflects the heterogenous, and often contradictory, nature of Tan Sitong's thoughts. The text recognises on the one hand the material "ether" (yitai 以太) as the foundation of all things in the universe, and on the other hand confuses the boundary between matter (wuzhi 物質) and spirit (jingshen 精神), describing the "ether" as identical to the Confucian concept of "benevolence" (ren 仁), holding that "benevolence was the source of all things in heaven and earth" and creating a system of transubstantial idealism with benevolence at its core. In addition to the metaphysical function of benevolence (similar to the notion of the "universal principle" li 理 in Neo-Confucian thought), Tan Sitong brings forward a concept of equality, advocating that China and the West had commonalities (Zhong-wai tong 中外通), just as the upper and lower social strata (shangxia tong 上下通), men and women were equal (nannü neiwai tong 男女内外通), and individual persons had common desires, beliefs and needs as all other persons (ren wo tong 人我通).

The second part of the book deals with the political consequences of these propositions. Tan reveals the problems of the traditional political and societal system and puts forward suggestions for changing the political system and reforming society. Tan keeps, however, the Confucian concept of the "force of the heart" (xinli 心力) of a superior individual that surpasses the common people and guides them towards the "society of great unity" (datong shehui 大同社會). This superior individual was elevated as a ruler by the people, and he ruled on behalf of the people. Tan Sitong perceived the traditional "teaching of designations" (ming jiao 名教) as the root of all evil in traditional society. With the help of "designations" (ming 名), allegedly embedded into the system of nature, structures of power could be secured and perpetuated. These were to be broken if China wanted to be reformed.