Yang Changji (; 21 April 1871 – 17 January 1920) was a Chinese educator, philosopher, and writer. After advanced studies in Japan and Europe, he taught at
Hunan First Normal University, where he exerted considerable influence on
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
,
Cai Hesen
Cai Hesen (March 30, 1895 – August 4, 1931) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a friend and comrade of Mao Zedong. Cai was born in Shanghai but grew up in Shuangfeng County in Hunan Province of China. He ...
,
Xiao Zisheng, and others, and then at
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
.
He became considered one of the leading philosophers of his generation before his early death.
Biography
Yang was born in
Changsha County
Changsha County () is a county in Hunan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Changsha. Located in the west portion of Changsha, the county is bordered to the north by Miluo City and Pingjiang County, to t ...
of
Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and ...
prefecture in
Hunan Province
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
of China during the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. During his childhood, Yang studied at
Cheng-Zhu school. He first attended school at the age of 7. In 1898, Yang was accepted to
Yuelu Academy. He promoted democracy and supported
Kang Youwei
Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...
and
Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...
. After the
Hundred Days' Reform
The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...
, he retired into the country. In 1903, Yang entered Hongwen Academy (). After graduating, he attended
University of Tsukuba
is a public university, public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Pro ...
. In 1909, Yang studied at the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
, majoring in philosophy and ethics. He then went on to study literature at
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, graduating in 1912.
In 1912, Yang went to Germany on an education investigation. From 1913 to 1918, Yang worked in
Hunan First Normal University. His students included
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
,
Cai Hesen
Cai Hesen (March 30, 1895 – August 4, 1931) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a friend and comrade of Mao Zedong. Cai was born in Shanghai but grew up in Shuangfeng County in Hunan Province of China. He ...
and
Deng Zhongxia
Deng Zhongxia (or Teng Chung-hsia; October 5, 1894 – September 21, 1933) was an early member of the Chinese Communist Party and an important Marxist intellectual and labor movement leader. Having led many strikes and uprisings against Chian ...
.
Befriending Mao, professor Yang urged him to read a radical newspaper,
New Youth
''New Youth'' (french: La Jeunesse, lit=The Youth; ) was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement. Publishin ...
(Xin qingnian), the creation of his friend
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 8 October 187927 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher and author, who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921. From 1921 to 1927, he ...
, a dean at Peking University.
From 1918 to 1920, Yang taught ethics in
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
.
Yang died at the Beijing Germany Hospital in 1920, aged 48.
Personal life
Yang married Xiang Zhenxi (), they had a daughter named
Yang Kaihui
Yáng Kāihuì (; courtesy name: Yúnjǐn (); 6 November 1901 – 14 November 1930) was the second wife of Mao Zedong, whom he married in 1920. She had three children with Mao Zedong: Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong. Her father w ...
, she married Mao Zedong in Hunan First Normal University in 1920, they had 3 children.
Works
* ''Dahuazhai Daily'' ()
* ''Collected Works of Yang Changji'' ()
* ''The origin problem of Ethics'' ()
Notes
References and further reading
* "Sage in residence: Yang Changji," Ch 6 in
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Changji
1871 births
People from Changsha County
Peking University faculty
University of Tsukuba alumni
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Writers from Changsha
Philosophers from Hunan
1920 deaths
Republic of China philosophers
Educators from Hunan