Liang Chi-Chao and the Introduction of Western Economic Ideas into China

Liang Chi-chao (1873–1929) was a major figure in Chinese intellectual history around the turn of the century. Although he never learned to read any western language, Liang took on the role of an intellectual intermediary, reading voraciously in Chinese or Japanese renderings of western ideas and then writing about them to a wide audience in China. Prior to 1900, China was intellectually very insulated from western ideas. According to Andrew Nathan, “for Chinese in the first years of this century, Liang's writings were the window on all that was modern and foreign and might be used to save China. He introduced new ways of thinking about literature, history, international relations, science, religion, language, the races of mankind, and the meaning of life” (Nathan 1985, p. 48). Liang was an incredibly prolific writer—one authority estimated his output at 14 million words (Wang 1965, p. 167), but very little of his writing has been translated into English. There is a vast literature of commentaries on his life and work, but these materials generally do not devote much attention to his economic ideas