China and the West

Jin, Donglei. Di qi zhang qing jiao tu shi dai : di er jie ge ming de da shi ren [ID D26338].
Jin schreibt : The English puritan movement was the reaction against [moral corruptions in the Renaissance], declaring the revival of virtues in two senses : 'regneration' and 'new life'. 'Regeneration' entered on the individual person. One should cultivate oneself to reach moral perfection, like saints or sages who acted freely and properly without faults. 'New life' concerns the society, the state and the people. Politics and religion should reach the status of total freedom and equality, so the world became an open place where people lived peacefully and happily. Personally the puritans followed the true meaning of religion, politically they demanded republican government, democracy, and freedom in everyday life and religion... The puritans demanded absolute freedom of belief, without assigning a national religion ; they called for the practice of democracy, the establishment of a republican government, and the change to the 'English Commonwealth'. The royalists, however, insisted on making the Presbyterian Church the national church, restoring the king to the throne, and establishing a constitutional monarchy. When Cromwell directed the government, the great writer John Milton was the secretary in chief. With these two great figures, a man of arms and a man of letters, who led the puritans and the people to implement the republican policies and to enforce new laws, the English political scene could now be stable.
When the troops of English people revolted, Milton returned to his country, teaching in a private school and writing to support the people's forces. After the execution of Charles I, he bacame a member of the parliament and the chief secretary for Latin. He wrote numerous essays to advocate liberty in religion, education and politics ; he wrote numerous tracts to defend the new government, criticizing Charles I for violation of the constitution and inadequate measures with the parliament. Due to overuse of his eyes, he finally turned blind. Some friends and relatives advised him not to work so hard. He answered steadfastly, "I am willing to sacrifice my eyes for liberty".

Huang Chia-yin : Jin's depiction of Milton was undoubtedly conditioned by his understanding of the political context in the 'puritan movement'. Under the heading 'social background', Jin characterized the 'putitan movement' as a reaction against moral corruption in the Renaissance. The movement was defined as a revival of virtues, liberty was the ultimate goal in these pursuits of perfection. The puritans sought personal freedom through moral perfection and pursued collective liberty through political reformation.
In Jin's depiction, Milton became a spiritual leader who fought for the revolutionary cause with his pen and a vanguard of the republican movement, writing vehemently to justify their pursuit of liberty.