FENG YU-LAN DISCUSSES RESULTS OF A YEAR'S LEARING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300223-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 7, 2011
• Sequence Number: 223
• Publication Date: April 14, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300223-0
Ca,ASSIF0TI6% 16611m". ONFIDEN r IAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS'OR RADIO BROADCXSSS CD?NO.
SUBJECT Political
HOW
PUBLISHED 'Daily newspaper
WHERE
PURI (SHED New York
DATE
PUBLISHED 21 Feb 1950
LANGUAGE Chinese
OI 7111 ?1.11511*7*1111111111. .pas... ....v.... ... ..
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1111711 h Kr: 1/101YCT0. OI iYl1 IC.Y II I.OYI11TID.
. OURCE Hua??ch'iao Jih-pao.
DATE DIST. \' ? Apr`l950.
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
FENG YD-LAN DISCUSSES
RESULTS OF A YEAR'S LEARNING
(Chinese Editor's Note: Feng Yu-lan is a famous professor' of.Ih1losopby
in Ch'ing-hua University, author of well-known works on history of Ch ese
philosophy, etc. During the war an ardent supporter of Chiang,'be bas now
changed).
Pei-p'ing was liberated'a year ago, and during this time China has
undergone a tremendous transformation. Both society and the individuals
are in' the process of change and. progress. Looking back iver r-my experience
in learning this year, I feel that I have made a little progress, ns elj*.
in recognizing th.:.t before this I was not wing progites.
A month ago, some visitors from Ronan were discussing a' lace where no
land reform had occurred and where there were still some perldns who did aq
work, life going on comfr:tably as usual. It was not at ease over this in-
justice. Afterwards I mused that this is probably the beginning of a change
in viewpoint. When I visited that part of the country on the occasion of
my mother's death, (I had been away 20 years), my friends and relatives were
still a part of the landlord class with no basic change in all these years.
The standard of living of those landlords, while lover because-'of the war,
was still that of income without labor. But at that time I ha. no impression
of injustice. It is evident that then, although I had lived?by teaching for
more than 20 years, yet because of my birth my feelings still Ldaded toward
the landlord class.
Before the liberation I did not know there was such a thing $a class
feeling. Only later did I discover It and come to believe that one gust ,
have definite feelings toward a certain class before he can adopt the view-
point of that class. Although before this I did not consider myself parv
ticularly unintelligent, and had at times considered myst f "leftist," yet
in real feeling I still leaned toward the landlords. This was the baoid?of
my former viewpoint.
CONFIDENTIAL
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C.amRNTTAT. COIF; IDENTIAL
This viewpoint determined my actions. Luring the war of resistance to
Japan, when the Kuomintang was calling re so that I could not flatly refuse,
I took an equivocal attitude, thinking to stay out of politics and stick to
seaming and education as such. As I see it now, all that was self-deception.
truth not to stay out wen to stay in. In the revolutionary period after
the war, I thought earnestly about changing my former incorrect line, but
failed to take a definite stand. Of course that was determined. by m view-
poipt as mentioned above.
2bre than a month ago, in a philosophical gathering the discussion
centered around the idea that when a society approaches a point where it
must change, those who do not wish to change will clutch at something in
the realm of ideas as a refuge. In America, the Heo-Thomist school in the
~ooitn Catholic Church is an example. Then I suddenly thought of my own
position on the battle line of ideas in China. Before the war, did not
my ritings on the new learning have a rather wide circulation? Those
boots of mine all had the word "new" in the title. As I see it now, the
reason for saying new was only in relation to China's old philosophy. What
I spoke of as the new learning was a reflection of the old philosophy of
China, just as the Western Neo-Thomism is a reflection of the Thomism of
the )Biddle Ages in the West. While it is a reflection, yet, sociologically.
speaking, it can be a sort of refuge for those who do not wish to change,ibe-
cause its social influence is to retard revolution.
Recently, I have come to think of truth as a system of living ideas.
This truth can change its function according to the time and place, and
still within each time and place remain truth. Truth is also growing; the
fact that it is alive infers growth. When I really grasped this doctrine,
I suddenly felt myself isolated, with nothing to rest upon. This feeling
bears testimony to my former habit of thinking, which led me to believe that
there must be an eternal unchangeable refuge. While I recognized that con-
crete things were changing, I dared not make a genuine change in my views.
Of course, this harks back to the question of the viewpoint mentioned above.
The reason I was able to write books which served as a support to those who
were unwilling to change was that while I said I did not fear change
intellectually, yet, emotionally, I also was unwilli one to change. Thus my
"writing of books and propounding of theories" hindered not merely my ova
progress but also that of others.
These matters must have been observed by others long ago, and led to
sone'diacussion. But I used to think that I was above class dad that. my
,deep were abcve class, and I reckoned such discussion as not worth ot
rebuttal. In the spring of this year (1949), a Communist comrade said to
me: "You are a student of philosophy, it is not easy..-for you to realize
that the world is changing." At the time I felt this was quite untrue,
for in my writings I had often spoken of changes. As I see it now, these
criticisms were quite correct. Long before Pei-p'ing was liberated, I had
determined to stay and wait for the turnover. Having determined to stay,
I still did not look through some Communist books, to make some prepara-
tion is my ideas. As I see it now, that was very strange. Of course, this
evil r"osult stemmed from my still change-resistant psychology.
. Formerly, I did not knov that Communists had the practice of criticism
and self-criticism; nor did I yet understand why this method would become
a revolutionary weapon. Later, having llsrticipated in several initiations
and having passed from the probationary to the regular member stage, I see
that;a; member, before being admitted, must first successively be criticised
and criticize himself. Only thus can he avoid carrying his "former ataind"
into-the party. In'the past few months, I have indulged in a little self-
criticism, and come to see that the process is endless. People used to say:
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C01VIDENTlAND MIAC
"Correcting books is like sweeping up leaves; it must be done over an' over
again. A person's faults are like errors in a book; as soon as dibcovereO.
they must be eliminated; and each time the leaves are swept, a nice clean
place is left."
Two students in the Ch'ing-hua philosophy department heard me say I
was going to do some self-criticism and were so delighted they could not
sleep, discussing how they would present their views to me. When they
found out I was merely planning to write an article on self-criticism, not
to practice it, they left without even discussing their ideas with me,
another student told me. I must have had an attitude of "keeping aloof
from folks." I thought I was very humble, but I was really very proud.
I now see that one who does not "practice" self-criticism, but only "talki
about" it, is quite ridiculous. How can one discuss self-criticism with-
out practicing it first?
My view of philosophy has changed too. I used to think it had no
concern with politics and society. The further it was from these subjects,
the "purer" it was. It must have a purely theoretical system; the more
"abstruse," the more "specialized." Because of this way of looking at
things, I used to feel that from the philosophical standpoint, Marxism-
Leninism was not "specialized" enough in its theory, and was too mixed up
with politics and society. I now feel that this was looking through the
little end of the horn, and that social changes have enabled me to bore my
way out. Now I feel that philosophy's chief function is to change persons
and to change the world.
In the spring of this year (1949) I had already determined to write
several essays "explaining" Marxism-Leninism. As I see it now, such
planning was a mistake. How can one write essays on the basis of super-
ficial book learning? Furthermore, Marxism-Leninism is a "guide to
action," and should be used for deciding social problems and in self-
criticism. If anything is gained in these functions, that Is really an
exposition of Marxism-Leninism. To do otherwise, arguing beck and forth
with words, is "a regrettable and irreparable loss of mind."
I know that comparing the theories and methods of Marxism-Leninism in
the reconstru.:tion of men anu society with the "self-L.lture" and "rule
the empire" stuff of the old society, is like comparing the wisps of
empirical medicine of old China with scientific medicine. Just as the
latter is built up on physiology and pathology, Marxist-Leninist recon-
struction is based on the laws of social development.. Phrases and passages
from the old sages count no more here than ancient herbal potions for the
healing of society.
Criticism and self-criticism must stem from the actual living of the
masses, rather than from the introspection of the old moralists in. their
quiet cloisters. The former is far mor rigorous in its results, now that
it is practiced by millions of Communists.
I feel that moral standards in society have risen; now the touchstone
is "for people." Values have changed; many formerly prized things are now
cast away. I myself regret words which were wrong, and also those right
cner which proceeded from individualism or from the hero complex. Under
the moral standards of the new society, all these come in for scrutiny and
perhaps censure.
In *.short, I feel that in the new Communist-led society, all is depelop-
ing upwards. I am doing that too. While I do not know how much progress
I have made in the past year, at least I have made enough progress to be-
come aware of my previous failure to progress..-- Feng Yu-lan
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