| The Chinese built one of the oldest civilisations in history, and lived as a closed society for hundreds of years, stubbornly defending their traditions and culture. In the 19th century, however, China began to open its doors to the outside world. It was the Europeans who came through those doors, particularly the British. The Europeans came to China for commercial reasons, and began bringing their own culture to the country. Alongside Western culture, Western ideas also arrived. One of these ideas was Darwin's theory of evolution. DARWINISM'S VOYAGE TO CHINA In 1895, 36 years after its publication, Darwin's The Origin of Species was translated into Chinese, and in a short space of time became very popular among the country's intellectuals. Books by other evolutionary theoreticians who supported Darwin's views also began to spread through the country. These included: Thomas Huxley, considered Darwin's most fervent supporter and for that reason known as "Darwin's bulldog." Darwin's cousin Francis Galton, the founder of the theory of eugenics and a prominent racist. The Social Darwinist Herbert Spencer, who applied Darwin's theory of evolution to the social sciences. The common feature of these thinkers was their belief that man and all living things were in a constant state of conflict, and that it was this which allowed them to evolve. They denied creation, saying that man had emerged by chance and portraying him as a species of animal with no divine responsibility. The ... |
