In this blog post, we will examine, through specific examples and focusing on the narrative structure and main characters of this work, how Li Baojia satirized the conflicts between the Reformists and the revolutionaries, as well as between bureaucrats and Westerners.
Overview
Li Baojia (李寶嘉, 1867–1906), a native of Wuzhen, Jiangsu Province, was a writer in the late Qing Chinese literary scene whose political and social criticism was particularly prominent. His original name was Bao Kai (寶凱), but he changed it to Bao Jia (寶嘉); his courtesy name was Baiyuan (伯元), his pseudonym was Nanting Tingzhang (南亭亭長), and he used pen names such as Youxi Zhuren (遊戱主人) and Guga Biansu Ren (謳歌變俗人). His political and ideological stance was conservative; he was critical of the Reform Movement and revolutionary movements, advocating instead for the restoration of Confucian morality and gradual reform led by the Qing court itself. These tendencies are reflected throughout his works.
His major works include ‘Records of the Official World’ (‘Gwanjang Hyeonhyeonggi’), ‘A Brief History of Civilization’ (‘Munmyeong Sosha’), ‘Notes from the South Pavilion’ (‘Namjeong Pilgi’), ‘Four Tales from the South Pavilion’ (‘Namjeong Sahwa’), ‘The Seal Album of the Taro Fragrance Room’ (‘Uhyangsil Inbo’), ‘Miscellaneous Talks on the Arts’ (‘Yeowon Chonghwa’), ‘Miscellaneous Talks on Humor’ (‘Golgye Chonghwa’), ‘The Subtle Treasures of the Dust Sea’ (‘Jinhae Myopum’), ‘A Delightful Glimpse at Strange Books’ (‘Giseo Kwaedo’), ‘The Ballad of Awakening the World’ (‘Seongse Yeontan-sa’), and ‘A Dream of Prosperity on the Sea’ (‘Haesang Beonhwa-mong’). In particular, ‘A Brief History of Civilization’ is regarded as his most important and outstanding work in terms of its subject matter, artistic achievement, and influence on his contemporaries.
The historical backdrop of this novel is the turbulent period of reform following the Wuxu Reform of 1898, led by Kang Youwei (康有爲) and Liang Qichao (梁啓超). At that time, the Qing government had suffered a severe blow to its pride due to its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Jingzi Incident, and sought to promote modernization by championing new politics and new scholarship. The spatial setting spans a wide range, from major cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai to the rural areas of Hunan and Hubei, and even extends to Japan and the United States.
Through various episodes, the author illustrates how diverse social strata—from high-ranking officials and students abroad who had absorbed advanced Western culture to rural people bound by old customs—responded to the new era and new cultural influences amidst the wave of reform. As in his other works, the government officials in this novel are mostly portrayed as corrupt and incompetent. The author realistically exposes and criticizes these characters, who, while sensing the changes of the times, fail to properly grasp their meaning and direction, remaining entangled in old customs and merely paying lip service to new learning and political experiments.
The narrative style, like that of ‘The Scholars’ (‘Yulin Waishi’) or ‘The Official’s Diary’, is omnibus-style. Episodes unfold around a single event or the personal history of a specific character, and stories related to these events branch out to form narratives involving other characters. Through this format, the novel—which centers on the theme of “civilization”—uses satire and humor to depict the hypocrisy of intellectuals, such as bureaucrats and students studying abroad, who pretend to be civilized, as well as the resulting commotions and absurd anecdotes, thereby revealing the author’s views on reform, revolution, fear of Westerners, and methods of civilization.
On Reform and Revolution
The author’s primary concern was the future of the nation. He focused on whether new politics or new scholarship could truly pave the way for the nation’s future and lead it into the modern civilized world; he believed that the activities of intellectual activists who spearheaded modernization and civilization deserved praise regardless of their success or failure. In his works, he commends the reformist activists and urges readers not to abandon their solitary ideals.
However, the author does not offer only one-sided praise to these enlightened gentlemen. There are many scenes where he caricatures them with a mix of satire and humor, and he is particularly critical of radical revolution. Judging by the character portrayals in the novel, the author is sympathetic to peaceful and gradual modernization but opposes violent, radical revolution, criticizing the immature thinking and impulsive actions of those who call for revolution.
The characters associated with the Yushin movement in the novel are generally portrayed as having only a superficial understanding of it. They are depicted as half-baked Enlightenment advocates who blather about new terms at will, cut off their queue, and wear Western-style suits to pretend to be Westerners; those who talk about revolution are limited to spouting a few buzzwords or engaging in extreme actions such as attempting to assassinate bureaucrats.
However, the concept of “revolution” used in the work is somewhat superficial and fragmented, and is far removed from the circumstances of real-life figures who actually dedicated themselves to the revolution. For example, the scene where Yu Je-rye says, “I cut off my queue to make it easier to carry out a revolution in the future,” can be interpreted as an attempt to ridicule the revolutionaries of the time by linking the queue to the revolution. Furthermore, Nie Muzheng, who appears in episodes 35 through 38, attempts suicide or recklessly tries to assassinate the Governor of Yunnan after being forcibly repatriated from Japan; however, this differs from his real-life model, Chen Tianhua, who threw himself into the cause and left a suicide note out of indignation toward the state of the nation rather than personal emotions.
Even characters who profess to champion civilization cut off their queue, wear Western suits, and spout new-sounding phrases, yet they lack a genuine understanding of what to do—or how to do it—to actually advance civilization. Chong Tianpo, after studying in Japan, vows to his father that he will engage in movements related to civilization, but deep down, he treats reform as nothing more than a facade (Episodes 56–57). Yu Xiaoqin also participates in the sale of official posts while being mocked with the remark, “These days, whether you’re a reformist or a reactionary, you can’t escape the single character ‘money’” (Episode 58). Such depictions reflect the author’s perception of the phony, pseudo-civilized figures he had observed.
Additionally, it is entertaining to infer the real-life models behind the characters’ names and deeds. For example, An Shaoshan (安紹山), the leader of the Reformists in Episode 45, is reminiscent of Kang Youwei; his disciple Yan Yihui (顔軼回) in Episode 46, of Yang Jiechao; and She Moqing in Episode 35, of Jin Chenhua.
Bureaucrats’ Fear of Westerners
As the saying goes, “Westerners fear the common people, the common people fear officials, and officials fear Westerners,” this novel frequently depicts officials who are harsh toward powerless commoners but grovel before Westerners. In late Qing China, national power had weakened, leading to successive defeats in wars against Western powers; consequently, the prestige of the Qing government and its officials was severely shaken in the eyes of Westerners.
As a result, the officials submit to the Westerners, and that fear is in turn channeled into oppression and exploitation of the common people.
The novel opens against the backdrop of the stubborn customs of Hunan Province, with the arrival of an official who emphasizes Western-style reforms and his efforts to resolve an incident involving a broken teacup caused by a Western mining engineer. Even in this minor incident, the official displays a completely inverted attitude, bowing to the Westerner first and talking about compensation. While this may have been an overreaction stemming from the trauma of war, the sight of an official trembling over a mere teacup clearly illustrates the fear that officials of that time harbored toward Westerners.
As a result, the people’s anger is directed toward the Westerners, leading to a major uproar—an incident that can be traced back to the bureaucrats’ subservience. Dialogue in the work also reveals this mindset, stating, “Right now, Chinese soil is ours in name only; in reality, it’s easy for foreigners to take it as their own,” thereby encouraging officials to meekly submit to Westerners first (Episode 38). Consequently, a culture developed in which everyone—from the governor-general down to the lowest-ranking officials—unquestioningly obeyed the Westerners’ every word, and those quick to read the room attempted to use the Westerners to cover up incidents.
The bureaucrats’ absurd behavior became a source of ridicule among the common people. Through the sarcastic advice to “secure a safety net” even when committing a crime, the novel critically depicts how those in power exploit situations to maintain their positions (Chapter 38).
On the Methods of Civilization
This novel frequently depicts scenes where new ideas and the wave of reform clash with old customs. During a transitional period of change, a backlash from the existing order is inevitable, and it is often through such clashes that the new takes root. However, if one overlooks the tide of change or becomes complacent with vested interests, one ends up turning a blind eye to the evils of the old and clinging to outdated customs. Scenes such as those in which foot-binding is touted as a virtue, or where new books are banned and burned, illustrate this reactionary mindset.
Meanwhile, the hypocrisy of pseudo-civilized individuals is depicted in various ways: a man who boasts of wearing a Western-style suit for hygiene but has lice crawling on his shoulders; the boastful claim that a single suit can last through all four seasons; young “enlightened gentlemen” who simultaneously praise the aesthetics of Westernization and foot-binding while secretly losing themselves in the allure of a woman with bound feet; excuses for opium use; and the behavior of duplicitous intellectuals who claim to bring about revolution through Confucianism yet rely on their fathers’ influence to secure government posts or accept bribes—all of these are the targets of the author’s scathing ridicule.
Nevertheless, the diagnoses, assessments of the era, and proposals for new systems put forth through the characters’ voices in this novel are highly accurate and practical. For example, the observation (Episode 2) that the nation’s poverty stems not from a lack of resources but from a failure to develop them properly emphasizes the need for institutional support. Wei Bang-hyeon’s argument leads to the recognition that organized unity would make it difficult for foreign powers to attempt to partition the country (Chapter 20).
Furthermore, Kim Do-dae’s proposal to establish a bank and mint and issue a currency with public credibility (Chapter 48) demonstrates that the Reformists possessed considerable insight. Judging from these points, it appears that while the author laid bare the contradictions of the transitional period, he held the view that the only path the nation should take was gradual and nonviolent modernization.
The beginning and end of this novel reveal the author’s attitude. In Chapter 1, Yao Shiguang urges Yu Jiexian to handle matters gradually and gently, aiming to subtly educate the people.
The final chapter, Chapter 60, concludes by placing hope in “Ping Zheng,” an honest and principled official. Through the characters’ names, the author thus expresses his hope that the means of transformation must be peaceful and selfless.
A Side Note
It is easy to judge the merits and demerits of the past with the benefit of hindsight. Looking back at history, it is simple to determine who acted how at the time and how future generations would evaluate those actions. However, it is not easy to judge whether the thoughts and actions of those who were directly confronted with those circumstances at the time were correct within their historical context.
Therefore, it is a natural reaction to scoff at and mock the clumsy attitudes displayed in this novel—such as the flaunting of superficial knowledge, half-baked discourses on civilization, the antics of pseudo-enlightenment advocates who cling to old customs while paying lip service to modernization, the cunning of corrupt bureaucrats seeking personal gain, and the hypocrisy of intellectuals whose words and deeds do not align.
However, when faced with the question of whether we can simply dismiss these phenomena as nothing more than amusing examples from the past, it is difficult to answer “yes” with a clear conscience. A life where the mind and heart, words and deeds, and slogans and actions operate independently; the attitude of pretending to know what one does not; the stance of either idolizing or shunning Westerners out of an inferiority complex; and the attitude of bureaucrats who are quick to line their own pockets but irresponsible when it comes to taking care of citizens’ lives—aren’t these still ubiquitous today?
So, as I read through the 60 installments of this novel, what I felt was not mere derision or mockery, but a sense of embarrassment regarding our own reality, right here and now.
