Gao Yihan (高一涵, P: ''Gāo Yīhán'', W: ''Kao I-han'', 1884–1968) was a Chinese

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. In addition to holding both educational and governmental positions, he contributed often to the publications '' The Tiger'' and ''

New Youth (Xin Qingnian) ''New Youth'', also known as La Jeunesse, 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. Publishing history ...

'' and is thereby associated with the

New Culture Movement The New Culture Movement was a progressivism, progressive sociopolitical movement in China during the 1910s and 1920s. Participants criticized many aspects of traditional Chinese society, in favor of new formulations of Chinese culture inform ...

Biography

In 1916, Gao Yihan graduated from

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

. Afterward he served as editor for the publications Morning Bell and Weekly Commentary. In addition to teaching political science at

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

, he was a professor at

Beijing University Peking University (PKU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. It i ...

and a Law School dean at

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

. His writing was often concerned with the nature of the state. He felt that a state should not be considered an inevitability and instead should be recognized as a construction of the people. He was disappointed in the nature of the state in China at the time, notably the rampant

warlordism Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

. The ultimate goal of the state, Gao Yihan thought, should be to secure and protect individual rights. He greatly admired certain philosophies and politics of the west, notably Utilitarianism, and was also an individualist. His work for the Bureau of Translation in the Ministry of the Interior allowed him to compare governments in Britain, the United States, France, and Japan. In 1930 he published a comparative political textbook which included material from his past lectures. Gao Yihan was a respected member of ''The Tiger'' for his contributionsWeston 2005, p. 263. and he contributed a large number of them while the journal was still in its early stages. Gao Yihan's leanings were decidedly socialistic and he was in fact one of the first Chinese intellectuals to encourage the proliferation of economic rights. After the dissolution of The Tiger, Gao Yihan, like many of contemporaries, went on to write similarly for ''La Jeunesse.''

Notes

References

*Weston, Timothy B. "The Formation and Positioning of the New Culture Community, 1913-1917." '' Fire Technology'' 24.3 (1998): 255-284. Print. *Angle, Stephen C., and Marina Svensson, ed. ''The Chinese Human Rights Reader: Documents and Commentary, 1900-2000.'' London:

M. E. Sharpe M. E. Sharpe, Inc., an academic publisher, was founded by Myron Emanuel Sharpe in 1958 with the original purpose of publishing translations from Russian in the social sciences and humanities. These translations were published in a series of journ ...

, 2001. Print. *Lin, Xiaoqing Diana. ''Peking University: Chinese Scholarship and Intellectuals, 1898-1937.'' Albany:

State University of New York Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, 2005. Print. *Ogden, Suzanne. ''Inklings of Democracy in China.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Asia Center The Harvard University Asia Center is an interdisciplinary research and education unit of Harvard University, established on July 1, 1997, with the goal of "driving varied programs focusing on international relations in Asia and comparative studi ...

, 2002. Print. *Waldron, Arthur. "Warlordism versus Federalism: The Revival of a Debate?" ''

The China Quarterly ''The China Quarterly'' (CQ) is a British triple-anonymous peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1960 on contemporary China including Taiwan. It is considered one of the most important academic journals about China in the world and is p ...

'' 121 (1990): 116-128. Web. 25 April 2010. *Waldron, Arthur. "The Warlord: Twentieth-Century Chinese Understandings of Violence, Militarism, and Imperialism." ''

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association, for which it is an official publication. It targets readers interested in all period ...

'' 96.4 (1991): 116-128. Web. 25 April 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Yihan 1884 births 1968 deaths Chinese political scientists Academic staff of Peking University Academic staff of Nanjing University Meiji University alumni 20th-century political scientists