An Abstract

None of the assertions in the histories of literature and culture of modern China could ignore the important contributions by the overseas students. Their ideological character varied on account of the diversity in ideological source and educational pattern in the countries where they studied. The objects this dissertation investigates are the four individual cases of Ma Junwu, Zong Baihua, Chen Quan and Feng Zhi, who studied in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. There were of course quite some scholars who studied simultaneously in Germany and would be involved in the investigation in the due course. The previous records and research of the Chinese scholars in Germany was largely a reordering of historical facts rather than any further delving into the individual cases. Hence lack of“sympathetic understanding”of and“considerate admiration”for the objects in study.

The previous study of these four scholars mainly emphasized the aspect of their identities as a revolutionary or aesthete or an exponent of Zhanguocepai（School of Warring States Policy）or an outstanding poet, but ignored the special background characteristic of the modern intellectuals who studied in Germany. It is in view of the status coup of the academic situation and my considerations at the MA essay that this essay is to narrow on the study of individual cases at an attempt to reveal the significance in the modern history of Chinese culture of the scholars who studied in Germany through the study of individual representatives. Though this essay has devoted much to the issue of the signifi cance of many individual figures in the history of modern culture in the first half of the 20th century, it is not the academic commentary biography for the individuals. It means that the essay is not to offer the detailed discussion in terms of the individual life and works, but to concentrate on their unique contributions to the Chinese modern history of culture.

This kind of contribution is to be summarized as the views of the different individual cases. In my view, the concept of the eastward extension of western scholarship is used a bit too extensively because of the diversity of cultural resources in the specific countries. It is particularly so with the German tradition that is very characteristic of her own identity different from“the British and American tradition”and“the Soviet resources”. Even within the German tradition Nietzsche's worship for power is greatly different from Romantics' interesting ideals. Therefore what is most important is to combine forces together for different ideological sources to impact on the thinking of individual recipients and eventually affect the formation of his views. Thus the focus of the issue is how the Chinese modern scholars in Germany responded to the consciousness of question about Chinese cultural inquiry. It is a fundamental point of departure for this essay that the foreign cultures provided their respective excellent performances in modern China as well as their pluralist features. The highlight of German resources is exactly what strikes this essay.

Different from the academic study made so far till now, this essay is an attempt to command the perspective of their contributions to the modern history of Chinese ideology and culture, highlight the role of native land they borrowed, selected and absorbed from the German resources. The infiltration of and connection with literary history, educational history, academic history and ideological history is to trace the formation of their ideas and ex plore the role played by German resources of ideological culture in the process of ideological formation. The study of individual cases, involved in different times（also concerned with the comparison of the same period）, different professional background （also concerned with the comparison with the same profession）, different ranges of function（also concerned with the comparison of the same dimensions）, attempts to reveal the special significance of the scholars who studied in Germany in the Chinese modern history of ideology and culture in the first half of the 20th century.

Here is the fundamental tactics, namely the sight of the large amidst the small, history in the company of humans, ideas arising out of problems. Here is the fundamental research way of thinking:Explore the production of the Chinese and German relationship based on the study of individual cases, taking as a cue the reordering of views, centering round the response to the query of Chinese culture, regarding as the basic method the study of effects.

Therefore, this essay tries to dig out the unique aspect of the scholars who studied in Germany against the wide field of vision, based on the changes of Chinese modern cultural history. Its ideas are as the following chapters：

Chapter 1 is an introduction, which sketches a fairly complete and clear-cut theoretical framework for the essay by deeply analyzing the significance of the overseas Chinese students in the cultural history and the Sino-German cultural and ideological contact. As well it introduces the results of the academic research so far obtained in the fields concerned and summarizes the fundamental model of the study in the area and set up the way of thinking for the research and the direction of the future development.

Chapter 2 examines the relationship between German culture and the establishment and execution of Ma Junwu's practice-orienting educational idea which serves to pervade his early enlightening translation practice and the later ideological development in his term as the president of Guangxi University. His ideas are to be summarized into a practice-oriented university outlook of running Guangxi University, especially focused on his temperament as a scholar of technological origin but simultaneously with the strong care for humanities, and the relationship between his practice-oriented view and the ideas from a German technological university.

Chapter 3 explores Zong Baihua's idea of constructing the country through culture; it's context of German culture and the meaning for the cultural history in modern China. This chapter tries to find out the other side of an aesthete shadowed by an idle image and discuss about his ideas through his work as the chiefeditor of Xuedeng（Learning Light）in the time of anti-Japanese war.

Chapters 4 and 5 explore separately Chen Quan's idea of national literature and Feng Zhi's idea of college writing. They had obviously different choice in cultural preference and later experiences though both were scholars. Chen Quan was much more interested in politics and was more active in practical and political engagement though a bit weak perhaps in the literary achievement. In comparison, Feng Zhi chose the lonesome writing while teaching in the college and seems to have received more honor and positive comment than Chen. This essay chooses the two intending to provide a comparative study of the same category.

Also a common topic—Goethe is provided as the symbol of German Culture. Through different comments by the scholars who studied in Germany, we could find that the acceptance of a foreign source is mainly dependent on the recipient's interest, values and even the time's background.

Chapter 6 as a conclusion of this dissertation sums up the character of the Chinese scholars who studied in Germany and their significance in the cultural history of modern China. Their concepts on German culture are analyzed and both its strength and weakness are revealed. Their achievements and problems in seeking for the way of Chinese culture are strongly emphasized. Ultimately, the gains and losses of the theses as well as the future issues for further consideration are all included.

Germany has her own unique tradition in the European continent, especially in terms of the spiritual and cultural areas, occupying a central position in the world academic and educational areas from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century（especially before 1933）. German scholarship and culture play the first class role in the world without any doubt. Its significance could be easily neglected, if we only use such a wide and loose concept like“Western”to embrace German culture. So the focus of this dissertation is to indicate how the Chinese scholars with German studying experiences understood and made use of the German resources and contributed their learning out of their German experience to the Chinese modernization, particularly the cultural development and the composition of the cultural history in modern China.

Keywords Chinese students who studied abroad, Germany, Modern China, Ma Junwu, Zong Baihua, Feng Zhi, Chen Quan