The Revolutionary Army By Zou Rong

Often in history, the process of Modernization is mistaken for Westernization. What people call Westernization refers to the act of adopting the culture and lifestyle in order to improve. However, Modernization is process for transitions in social, economic, and political systems yet understanding that a country does not have to compromise their values and culture. Thinking in social structures and cultures, Modernity incorporates the development of traditional values. It recognizes that certain values may be accepting culturally due to other people’s beliefs but humanely, it may not. Also, Modernity may change career paths for individuals in hopes of bettering the country. For example, citizens can be more invested in an industry like agriculture
Zou Rong, a revolutionary marty of the anti-Qing movement, studied the Japanese way of modernization at an early age and published many essays on how to free the Chinese from the Manchus. In “The Revolutionary Army”, Rong lists many proposals for countrymen to consider: “Drive out Manchus who live in China or kill them to take revenge”, “Such freedoms as the freedom of speech, thought, and publication cannot be violated”(Rong, 200). Rong believed that the Qing’s government was an obstacle to China’s path towards Modernity. Due to calls to overthrow the Qing’s system, Rong was arrested and later died due to illness at the age of 20. In a time where intellectuals could be arrested for speaking their minds, Rong’s influence set off a precedent for future intellectuals challenging the norms of Chinese
In his essay, “What Happens after Nora Walks Out” by Lu Xun, Lu Xun compares the play “A Doll’s House” to the republic of China. In the play, Nora is living in a house and eventually she is “awakened” to realize that she’s existing in a puppet world. The story ends with Nora walking out of the front door, or an inconclusive decision. Xun states, “Unfortunetly, it’s too difficult to change China: blood will flow just by moving a table or mending a stove. And even if blood does flow, the table isn’t necessarily going to be moved or the mending carried out.”(7). In his essay to the Beijing Women’s National College, Xun refers Nora’s leaving to the existing gender inequalities issues. Xun’s hopelessness for the destiny of China raises questions to women such as “What should we do to fix these issues?”. The tone of the essay almost brings a certain realness to women inequality and sparks a conversation about the future of