Nietzsche has been one of the most influential Western thinkers in twentieth-century China. Many prominent cultural and political figures, such as Liang Qichao, Lu Xun, and Mao Zedong, addressed Nietzsche's philosophy. Chinese interpretations of Nietzsche may sometimes sound outlandish, but they reveal their authors' habits of thinking and innermost concerns. Nietzsche in China can be read as an intellectual history of that country.
"'Nietzsche in China' has a number of virtues as a work of intellectual history. It is economical, highly readable and likely to inspire other scholars to further efforts in this field." (David Kelly, The China Journal)
"One does not need to be an enthusiast of Friedrich Nietzsche to be highly impressed by this book. Dr. Shao Lixin, writing on the adaptation of Nietzsche's thought in China, offers us an outline of the intellectual development of his country since the end of the nineteenth century.
'Nietzsche in China' elaborates a fascinating presentation of Nietzsche's difficult way to the Chinese intellectual milieu. Dr. Shao shows the many rational, psychological, cultural, and (in Mao's era) political barriers that Chinese intellectuals had to cross in order to grasp Nietzsche's philosophy. This work is an impressive presentation of a journey of ideas from one civilization to another.
'Nietzsche in China' should have a good reception not only in the West, but also inChina." (Aleksander Gella, Professor Emeritus, S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, and the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland)
"'Nietzsche in China' is a ground-breaking study of the impact of Western philosophy on many of 20th-century China's most famous intellectuals. Shao Lixin has translated and analyzed the political philosophy of China's most famous revolutionary writers, including Lu Xun, Mao Zedong, Chen Duxiu, Zhou Guoping, and others, and explains the motives behind their adaptation of Nietzschean ideas. Shao, an expert on the Chinese reception of Western ideas, offers the student of modern Chinese history and politics provocative interpretations of the 'coded political and social messages' of China's greatest thinkers." (June Grasso, Boston University)
"This book will be of great interest to students of Nietzsche and students of China alike". (Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Professor of History, Fordham University)
"The topic is a fine one, and certainly fills a gap in our coverage of key people's reactions." (Jonathan D. Spence, George Burton Adams Professor of History, Yale University)
"One does not need to be an enthusiast of Friedrich Nietzsche to be highly impressed by this book. Dr. Shao Lixin, writing on the adaptation of Nietzsche's thought in China, offers us an outline of the intellectual development of his country since the end of the nineteenth century.
'Nietzsche in China' elaborates a fascinating presentation of Nietzsche's difficult way to the Chinese intellectual milieu. Dr. Shao shows the many rational, psychological, cultural, and (in Mao's era) political barriers that Chinese intellectuals had to cross in order to grasp Nietzsche's philosophy. This work is an impressive presentation of a journey of ideas from one civilization to another.
'Nietzsche in China' should have a good reception not only in the West, but also inChina." (Aleksander Gella, Professor Emeritus, S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, and the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland)
"'Nietzsche in China' is a ground-breaking study of the impact of Western philosophy on many of 20th-century China's most famous intellectuals. Shao Lixin has translated and analyzed the political philosophy of China's most famous revolutionary writers, including Lu Xun, Mao Zedong, Chen Duxiu, Zhou Guoping, and others, and explains the motives behind their adaptation of Nietzschean ideas. Shao, an expert on the Chinese reception of Western ideas, offers the student of modern Chinese history and politics provocative interpretations of the 'coded political and social messages' of China's greatest thinkers." (June Grasso, Boston University)
"This book will be of great interest to students of Nietzsche and students of China alike". (Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Professor of History, Fordham University)
"The topic is a fine one, and certainly fills a gap in our coverage of key people's reactions." (Jonathan D. Spence, George Burton Adams Professor of History, Yale University)