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ABSTRACT
This t h e s i s examines t h e r o l e of Zhang Yuanji, both a s a l i b e r a l
p a t r i o t i c reformer i n l a t e Qing and a s C h i n a ' s l e a d i n g p u b l i s h e r a f t e r
1900.
A h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e h a r d l y known t o t h e W e s t ,
Zhang c o n t r i b u t e d
s u b s t a n t i a l l y t o China's modernization i n his q u i e t pragmatic s t y l e .
When
China was challenged by t h e i m p e r i a l i s t West, t h e response of t h e n a t i o n ' s
s c h o l a r - g e n t r y e l i t e ranged £ r a n s p i r i t e d c a l l s f o r wholesale w e s t e r n i z a t i o n
t o a stubborn c l i n g i n g t o t h e ' n a t i o n a l e s s e n c e ' .
Individuals a t the
extremes of t h i s range have r e c e i v e d more a t t e n t i o n from h i s t o r i a n s t h a n
t h e middle-of-the-road
group of moderates, who i n t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y
worked f o r modernization without d i s c a r d i n g t r a d i t i o n t o t a l l y .
Zhang Yuanji
was a t y p i c a l f i g u r e i n t h i s group who a t t a i n e d i n t e l l e c t u a l m a t u r i t y under
Confucianism and y e t was open-minded enough t o a c c e p t Western p h i l o s o p h i e s
and t o adopt Western p r a c t i c e s of e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p .
Zhang Yuan j i ' s i n t e n s e sense of p a t r i o t i c o b l i g a t i o n t o i n t r o d u c e
p r o g r e s s i v e l e a r n i n g f o r China's b e n e f i t while p o p u l a r i z i n g t h e b e s t of
t h e c l a s s i c a l h e r i t a g e was coupled w i t h a c u l t u r a l i s t i c viewpoint t h a t
t h e r e could be no genuine changes u n l e s s a c e r t a i n p e r c e n t a g e of China ' S
t h i n k i n g p o p u l a t i o n became modernized i n outlook, well-inf ormed of world
a f f a i r s , and imbued w i t h a p r o g r e s s i v e s p i r i t .
Zhang pioneered i n modern
e d u c a t i o n f r m 1896 and remained a d e d i c a t e d e d u c a + t i o n a l i s t a l l h i s l i f e .
H i s p u b l i s h i n g c a r e e r i n t h e Commercial P r e s s can -be viewed a s a l o g i c a l
e x t e n s i o n of h i s e a r l y aim of modernizing China through t h e spread of new
knowledge.
The h i s t o r y of t h e Commercial P r e s s and i n p a r t i c u l a r Zhang ' s
p a r t i n i t have received l i t t l e s c h o l a r l y a t t e n t i o n , previous
t r e a t m e n t s of t h e s u b j e c t have r e l i e d h e a v i l y on two o f f i c i a l Commercial
P r e s s h i s t o r i e s and t h e a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l w r i t i n g s of Wang Yunwu,
which n e g l e c t Zhang ' s major c o n t r i b u t i o n s .
The Commercial P r e s s , as t h e
l a r g e s t p u b l i s h i n g house i n modern China, was i n t h e f o r e f r o n t of e d u c a t i o n a l ,
s c h o l a r l y , and l i t e r a r y development i n China from 1900 t o t h e 1950s, and
Zhang played a v i t a l r o l e i n p r m o t i n g p r o g r e s s i v e p u b l i c a t i o n s a s w e l l a s
p r e s e r v i n g t h e b e s t e d i t i o n s of c l a s s i c s and h i s t o r i e s .
Zhang's e f f o r t s t o
r u n t h e Commercial P r e s s s u c c e s s f u l l y through a l l t h e p o l i t i c a l upheavals
that b e s e t China from l a t e Qing t o a f t e r 1949 r e v e a l both t h e s c h o l a r ' s
a t t e m p t s t o keep u p w i t h a l l the l a t e s t i d e o l o g i c a l t r e n d s a s w e l l a s t h e
e n t r e p r e n e u r ' s ambition t o run a modern business e f f i c i e n t l y .
A s t u d y of
Zhang Y u a n j i ' s l i f e and c a r e e r i s i n p a r t a study of t h e e v o l u t i o n of
China's g e n t r y - e l i t e and t h e emergence of t h e n a t i v e c a p i t a l i s t s .
The t h e s i s draws on newly-available primary m a t e r i a l s , both i n t h e
o r i g i n a l and i n manuscript, i n c l u d i n g over a thousaml of Zhang 's l e t t e r s ,
s e v e r a l hundred poems and e s s a y s , and t h e e x t a n t s e c t i o n s of h i s b u s i n e s s
diary.
These m a t e r i a l s a r e supplemented by information provided by Zhang's
s u r v i v i n g l i t e r a r y and e d i t o r i a l c o l l e a g u e s .
I n t e r n a l p u b l i c a t i o n s and
source-materials of t h e Commercial P r e s s a r e a l s o used t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h i s
biography of a li ttle-known man who worked f o r China's modernization by
drawing on h i s s o l i d l e a r n i n g about China's p a s t .