Yan Fu's Interpretation of the Modern Idea of the State

Yan Fu is the first thinker in modern Chinese intellectual history to give theoretical interpretation of the modern idea of the state.With his papers and translations,he introduced systematically into China,western theories of evolution,civil rights,freedom,modern politics and sociology,denouncing the then popular idea of Divine Right,providing Chinese people with a brand-new idea of the state.Borrowing from the theory of evolution and other western thoughts,Yan Fu proposed the evolutionary theory of state development stages of Totem,Patriarchal Ethics,and military state,thus denouncing the thoughts of viewing history as cyclic,bringing about new understandings of history.Thus,Yan Fu provided the emerging bourgeoisie with new theoretical weapons.Besides,Yan Fu made great contributions in shaping modern Chinese culture with his translations of western works.