China and the West

Letter from John Dewey to Albert C. Barnes
Peitaho Sept 12 [1920]
Dear Barnes, …
We are going back to Peking on the 14th, as the university is opening, and Lucy as well as myself is going to teach this year, or rather she is going to teach and Im going to continue lecturing. The political upheaval has brought into the ministry of edn about the best man that ever held that job, a man who is a great friend of all our friends, and whom I saw considerable of last year. Last I heard however the teachers hadnt been paid since April, and I dont know whether he has succeeded in getting money. The new govt announced that in finances the schools would come first, but that is easier to say than do. In the old, they were a bad last, hardly in the running at all. Last year I was paid by private societies, but this year by the Govt University, so I have a personal interest in govt finance. The societies are getting Bertrand Russell over, I think the same societies that financed me last year. My star such as it was will set. This isnt a modest remark, nor a protective reaction. The students' [ink apostrophe] interest has been nroadening out naturally and properly from the intense interest in education which marked them last year to general social questions, and upon the whole B Russells writings are more popular than anybody elses— I don't ubt [w. caret] if Hobson is even known by name. It is said that fifteen thousands of the English edition of Roads to Freedom have been sold in Japan, and he is the great hero of radical thought in China. The whole temper among the younger generation is revolutionary, they are so sick of their old institutions that they assume any change will be for the better—the more extreme and complete the change, the better. And they seem to me to have little idea of the difficultyies in the away [ink del.] of any constructive change. Bertrand Russell's somewhat detached and mathematical way of proposing ideal reforms accordingly makes an immense appeal. The students in Peking are getting ready to start a Bertrand Russell magazine. Quite independently of R. and his influence, this is a wonderful chance to study the psychology of revolutionary idealism—if I could only read Chinese. I never realized before the meaning of the background we unconsciously carry around with us as a standard of criticism. Not having any such background as to modern institutions, to the liberals here anything is likely to be as true and valuable as anything else, only provided only it is different. The more extreme, the more likely upon the whole. Since the Chinese family system for example badly needs reform, the family ought to be completely done away with, promiscuous relations between the sexes set up of course they can hardly speak to one another now and all children cared for by public authorities. This is a little extreme instance, but there is a good deal of this sort of thing. Then every official is ex officio an object of fear and dread in China, his main function being to squeeze the people. Hence altho a good central govt is a necessity at present for reasons of internal development of railways, schools etc, as well as for external defense, anarchism is very strong. I see the Japanese indulge in considerable propaganda about the dangers from Bolshevism in China unless Japan makes a bulwark or whatever it is now fashionable to call it. Technical Bolshevism there is no basis for here, either economic certainly not industrial and only to a slight extent agrarian, tho the latter is growing by from the rapacity of the military governors. But psychological Bolshevism is fairly intense in the educated minority, especially if they have not been educated abroad, also among those educated in France. Japanese writers try to attribute the growth of radical thought in China to Russian propaganda, I think sincerely, as the Japanese cannot really imagine any indigenous intellectual movement, especially in despised China. I supose there is Russian propaganda tho Ive run across no signs of any, but it is certainly a negligeable factor. Of course the general influence of the fact of the Russian revolution was great, just as was that of the worldwar in general, The in trying to find some good in the outcome of the war, one can at least count to the credit side as a big item the overthrow of Prussian and autocratic prestige. Its effect in the Orient is certainly enormous even if we at home have got more or leess Prussianized. I hope you approved of the psychology of my article on How Reaction Helps. I have thot over that matter a good deal,
I shall write about [Laurence L.] Burmeyers article after getting back to Peking. My mind is still to full of the small book Im writing to do justice to it, tho Ive read it acoupla times.
Sincerely yours, J Dewey
Old address in Peking, 135 Morrison St