01.18.2015 13:17
Socialism as a universal ideal came to be endorsed by Mao Zedong only after his goal to turn Hunan Province into an independent state fell flat
By Yang Kuisong
The formation of most modern capitalist countries can in large measure be traced back to European Enlightenment conceptions of rational self-expression and the right to pursue happiness, with the formation of the state serving as a means to achieve the end.
China after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 was still torn by uprisings, conflict and war. Meanwhile, a civil society with capitalist characteristics emerged, which paralleled an increasingly strong awareness of nationhood among the public. This created tensions with the drives of the Enlightenment-based New Culture movement and the patriotic segment of the May Fourth movement. These were very separate discourses, with one asserting the supremacy of human rights and the other putting the nation above all else. It has been lamented that the need to save the country ultimately overpowered a need to satisfy enlightenment ideals.
But an examination of history shows that the impact of the New Culture movement did not languish while the pull of patriotism gained sway. On the contrary, it compelled some Chinese intellectuals and young idealists to pursue a more radical vision that transcended nationalism and statism. To many intellectuals, what the New Culture movement advocated – universal human rights, freedom and equality – had begun to take on the color of the notion that "All men are brothers."
This was reflected in the turns of Mao Zedong's thoughts during his early years as he considered how best to save the country.
In 1919, he founded a journal called the Xiangjiang Commentary. In it he championed the ideas of global revolution and human emancipation, arguing that the repressive ruling class should be won over instead of violently overthrown. He said there is no need to kill a capitalist as long as he regrets his mistakes and wants to make amends. Revolutionaries, he said, should "unite the world as if it is one country and all humans as if they belong in a single family."
But it was not long before his changed mind and embraced something more factional. In 1920, shortly after the former Hunan Provincial governor Zhang Jingyao left office due to public pressure, Mao moved to persuade the public that "Hunan's issues should be decided by Hunan's people… and it follows that all who would want to hamper the autonomy of the Hunanese, whether they are themselves Hunanese or not, should be naturally viewed as its enemies."
Mao also said Hunan should be an independent state. In an article published in September, 1920, he declared his opposition to establish a "Republic of Great China" and said that they should instead pursue a "Republic of Hunan." This approach was necessary because "there were so few people in the country who actually understand what a republic means even though the country claims in name to be one."
He blamed the humiliation and suffering many provinces had experienced on the reformists' fruitless mission of transforming a huge country while trying to keep all the pieces together. "Because there is utterly no hope in seeing the whole country built evenly, the best way to proceed now is to reject comprehensive construction and instead pursue the development of provinces individually and allow for the practice of provincial autonomy," wrote Mao. He also argued, "it is best that (China) be broken up into 27 countries."
In the next two months, Mao penned more than a dozen articles to explain and promote his idea of an independent Hunan. He tried to persuade people in the province of their collective superiority over others, suggesting even that they could have been much more developed, if it were not for the dragging weight of the rest of the country.
During the 1920s, Hunan was not the only area that saw activists demanding autonomy. Many other provinces experienced similar political movements, but most of them did not go so far as calling for the creation of an independent country.
Mao's repeated outcry against a unified approach to revolution did not gain traction. By late November of that year, he had come to terms with the failure of his project. In a letter to friends dated November 25, 1920, Mao admitted that his attempt had failed. He claimed that it was because, "Hunan people are unable to think clearly and they have no ideals nor long-term plans." There is absolutely no hope on the path he had taken and it was time to choose differently, he said.
He found a new goal just five days later. Also in a letter to friends, he declared he would abandon nationalism in exchange for universal socialism. "This universalism is about all men being brothers and about wishing themselves and others well at the same time," he wrote in the letter. "It is what has been known as socialism. Everything that is socialism should be universal and without a shred of patriotic color."
The radical turns in Mao's thoughts indicates that the young intellectuals in China during and after the May Fourth movement did not succumb to nationalism after a version of enlightenment ideals was disrupted. While socialist movements were gaining momentum worldwide, many of them began forming ideas that were completely independent from those of the patriotic nationalists. The founding of the Chinese Communist Party during the time should be analyzed with this part of the history in mind.
Yang Kuisong is a historian
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