Traditionalist or Reformer? A Comparative Study on Rulership in Kang Youwei’s Utopian Literature

Kang Youwei 康有為 (1858-1927) in his Datong shu 大同書 sets out to draw the picture of a utopian future that can do without a distinction between classes, races, sexes, and countries, thereby creating a world in which the highest ideal, datong 大同 (great unity), can be attained. About his predecessors and contemporaries, he laments that “they can somewhat heal small ailments but do not have a complete cure.” While Kang therefore sets out to rework Confucianism into a whole new philosophical system that is ready for modern ideas like equality and freedom, he does not seem to get rid of the distinction between the ruling class and the ruled in his concept of minzhu 民主, democracy or republicanism. This thesis plans to answer the question why Kang promoted equality while propagating a political system that reinforced inequality, by examining his position within the Chinese utopian tradition (both throughout history and in comparison with his contemporaries), a deeper analysis of his esoteric and exoteric readings of the Chinese classics, and by a study of his other publications.