Author ｜
Kaibin Ouyang
Abstract ｜
During the late Qing period, revolution, xia 俠 and qing 情 began to form a closely related conceptual tripod. This article, using the example of da xiahun 大俠魂 advocated by An Ruoding (安若定, 1900-1978) during the 1920-30s, to show the three’s paralleled evolution yet mutual permeation in the “age of ism” (主義時代). Da xiahun, intoxicated with revolution, was self-empowered by its being a special theory of qing. As a creative translation of Zhu Qianzhi (朱謙之, 1899-1972)’s philosophy of revolution and affect (唯情/革命哲學), da xiahun was given its cosmic birth with all-compassing power in the human world, promising an ideal lifeoutlook, recasting of the national soul and the “new man” for the world of datong 大同. In addition, An composed his experience of overcoming nihilism to be his “path to the faith of da xiahun” (大俠魂起信論), which was in sync with the revolutionary lyricism of his contemporaries, such as the early creationists and the affect-worshippers (唯情論者). Together, they revealed an alternative path to revolution in the name of qing of the May Forth radical youth. Noteworthily, An’s devotion to the cause of da xiahun was strongly motivated and inspired by his “pure love” with his revolutionary soulmate zhuhun nvxia 鑄魂女俠, thus presenting a multifaceted case of qing made of rupture, continuation and hybridity. From the angle of xia discourse, da xiahun, rising in the Eurasia trend of anti-enlightenment of the May Forth, claimed a unprecedented high status for it as “the ism of ism.” Ironically, it planted also a serious paradox, for its organizational theory and new man discourse expressed a strong tendency of totalitarianism.
keywords ｜
zhenqing, revolution, da xiahun, the age of ism, paralleled evolution