The basic idea of this book is developed from his "three generations" theory. He believes that the capitalist countries in Europe and America at that time had reached the stage of "promoting the world", but only at this stage. Higher than this stage is Taiping World. He wrote this book according to Liu Yun's ideal, some social improvement measures and ideals he knew in capitalist countries at that time, and his own subjective hopes and fantasies. The content of this book is full of equal democratic spirit, but it also has socialist fantasy.
Kang Youwei described human beings as suffering human beings in Da Tong Shu. He listed the "sufferings" of human beings, including 38 items in six categories. He believes that in the existing society, no matter what kind of people, they are all bitter. Not only those who are ruled and exploited suffer, but also those who are ruled and exploited. He believes that even the "sacred and immortal Buddha" is bitter. He believes that there are nine different causes of human suffering. He said: "The root of all sufferings is only due to the nine realms. Who are the nine realms? National borders, divided into territories and tribes; Second, the grade boundary, divided into high and low, clear and turbid; Three species boundaries, yellow, white, brown and black; Four boundaries, divided into men and women; The boundary of five families, private father and son, husband and wife, brothers' relatives; Sixth, industry, private agriculture, industry and commerce; Seventh, there are unfair, unreasonable, different and unjust laws in the chaotic world; Among the eight categories, some people are different from birds, animals, insects and fish; Nine times, I have suffered all the hardships in the world, and I have suffered all the hardships, and I have never been able to plant them. It is incredible. "(Datong Book, published by Zhonghua Book Company 1959, p. 5 1-52)
Kang Youwei went on to say, "My remedy is to break the Nine Realms. The first day is to go to the border and join the earth; The next day is by going up one flight of stairs, and people are flat; The third is to go to the species world and be with human beings; The fourth is to go to the physical world and protect independence; On the fifth day, I went to my home for the benefit of the people. On the sixth day, I went to the property department, public business also; The seventh is to go to chaos and peace; The eighth is to go to the class world and love all beings; On the ninth day, I went to the bitter world and reached bliss. " (ibid., p. 53)
Kang Youwei believes that "boundary" is the root of all "sufferings", and the most fundamental way to get rid of "sufferings" is to go to "boundary", which is an extension of He Xiu's "three-life theory". He Xiu thinks that the Spring and Autumn Period is "troubled times" and "in the country, in the summer". In other words, there are national boundaries among the princes of China: there is no national boundary within China in the poem of Shengping, but there is a boundary between China and non-China; In a "peaceful" world, there is no "same size". Kang Youwei believes that in the world of great harmony, there is not only no national boundary, but also no boundary between human beings and other animals. In this way, the road to great harmony has been realized. Kang Youwei said: "The way of great harmony is peace, justice, benevolent governance and rule. Although there are good ways, that's all. " In his view, this is a world where everyone is independent, free and equal. In this world, national boundaries have been eliminated and there is only one unified government. All races are mixed-race, only one race. Men and women are equal, and family boundaries are gone. Agriculture, industry and commerce are all public property of society. Laws that are "unfair, unreasonable, different and unjust" have been abolished. Love all beings, "the difference between people and birds, animals, insects and fish" is gone. In such a world, "all hardships will lead to bliss", and people born in this world will "enjoy freedom, worry-free, happiness, peace and eternal life" (ibid., p. 52).
At that time, when the world capitalism was booming, Kang Youwei saw that the capitalist system was superior to the feudal system on the one hand, and pointed out that the capitalist society was not the highest stage of social development on the other. Seeing the contradictions within capitalist society, he said, "So today, a big factory, a big railway ship factory, a big commercial factory and even a big farmer are all owned by big capitalists. A factory and a coolie must feed on it, and capitalists have to manipulate the food of light and heavy coolies to control it or restrain it. So the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. " "Madam, the dispute about things, if it is unfair, will sound, this is the nature of the situation; Therefore, in recent years, the labor dispute has forced the owners to leap in Europe and America, but it is only the bud. After the formation of the Labour Party, it will become more and more serious, fearing or brewing a bloody disaster. The struggle is not between strong and weak countries, but between rich and poor countries. From now on, the whole world will pay attention to this. Therefore, the first topic after this is that close people say that they are rich and that they are all productive. " (ibid., pp. 235-236)
However, there are also many naive and reactionary arguments in Datong Book. Kang Youwei even thinks that imperialism's annexation of small and weak ethnic groups is also a way to achieve great harmony in the world. In this way, his so-called "de-nationalization" is close to bourgeois cosmopolitanism. He asked to "go to the seed world", but he had racial prejudice in his mind first. He thinks that white people come first, yellow people come second, and the rest are inferior nations. He believes that most people in the world can become white by changing their living areas, changing their diet and interracial marriage. These are all reactionary ideas.
As mentioned above, he put forward his thought of "gradual humanity and facing all" In other words, the development of history can only be gradually improved. He thinks he doesn't know when the Great World will come true. He put forward many seemingly lofty ideals, but in a word, none of them can be realized now. He always says they can't come true now, and he doesn't try to make them come true. This is the essence of reformism in his thought.
In any case, Kang Youwei linked boundedness, unbounded and human suffering with happiness, which pushed the problem forward and deepened it.
Kang Youwei's Book of Great Harmony also shows his view of nature. He believes that the universe itself is the so-called "vitality". He said: "Fu's vitality creates heaven and earth. The soul of things in the sky is also the soul of things in people. " "God has the knowledge of electricity, photoelectricity can spread everywhere, and air can feel everything." "There is nothing without electricity, nothing without God. As a god, people know the spirit, the soul knows, and the essence is calm. Lingming also, mingde also, several synonyms and the same reality "(ibid., page 3). He thinks that matter is conscious and God is "knowledge electricity". Vitality is also a conscious substance. The so-called soul quality is conscious matter.
People and other things in nature are conscious substances. The material world is the most perfect world, in which life is coke. All religious scholars fantasize that if they practice successfully, they can leave the world and become "heaven and man" Kang Youwei pointed out: everyone is heaven and man. He said: "From the stars of water, fire, earth and wood, looking at our land at night, its brilliance runs in the sky and is also a star." The stars must be in the sky. We were born in the stars, that is, in the sky, but everyone on earth is from the sky. ""Zhuangzi said,' People are born with worries.' I think people are born with happiness. Born for the sky, the things in the sky are salty for me. Is this the joy on earth? "("Zhu Tian said "preface)
The so-called "harmony between man and nature" by religious scholars is originally out of fantasy, that is, out of superstition. Kang Youwei gave a new explanation of "Heaven and Man" with his astronomical knowledge. According to this explanation, people are "heaven and man".
Kang Youwei believes that the biological brain is a highly conscious substance. He said: "People who know things have a spirit in their minds, and when they encounter things other than things, they are also suitable, that is, suitable but not suitable." The right brain is fun, but the wrong brain is bitter. As far as people are concerned, the brain is Ling You, who is fascinated by You Qing. Those who know that things are not things are in it, especially those who are numerous, subtle, fast, comfortable and uncomfortable. Appropriate acceptance, inappropriate rejection. Therefore, the way of a lady is only suitable for those who are uncomfortable, and those who are uncomfortable suffer and those who are suitable are happy. Therefore, the wife who teaches Taoism thinks about Taoism according to people, and is bitter and happy according to people's way. It's just a matter of finding people and taking pleasure in suffering. There is no other way. "(ditto, page 5) He thinks that the social moral system is" just for people to get pleasure "(ditto). He attributed morality to increasing people's happiness, and people's pain and happiness to whether the brain is appropriate when it comes into contact with external things.
This moral concept is the premise of Kang Youwei's Great Harmony. The principle and purpose of human nature is to take pleasure in suffering. Only great harmony is a world without suffering, the so-called "paradise". According to him, the realization of the Great Harmony World is inevitable from the perspective of human evolution, and of course it is inevitable from the moral principle.
What power can make the great world come true? Kang Youwei believes that this song first depends on people's "unbearable" heart. He said: "If you are aware of it, you will be attracted, and the magnet is still there, not to mention people. Non-ninja, the power of absorption is also. " (ibid., page 3) He said: People have "unbearable love", "If qi is blocked in the air, there is nothing; if electricity travels in the air, there is nothing; if water goes around the ground, there is nothing; if pulse goes around the ground, there is nothing" (ibid.). "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others" was originally Monk's thought. Kang Youwei confused the so-called "unbearable" with magnetism and electricity, and called it "love quality".
Kang Youwei talked about what he thought was the essence of bitterness and joy, and pushed the problems of boundedness, unbounded, bitterness and joy to a deeper level.
In his theory, he touched all aspects of traditional philosophy. He put forward his own world outlook, world outlook and values, which can be said to be the philosophical part of his thought. According to the standard of conventional philosophy, his questions are rash, his answers are simple, and his arguments are rough and superficial. He can't even tell the difference between spirit and matter, and he is very naive.
This confusion is understandable. Since the Opium War, progressive thinkers have praised western natural science, and so has Kang Youwei. They tried their best to absorb the knowledge of natural science at that time and trusted them greatly. Their knowledge in this field is extremely limited, and they use this limited knowledge to explain some aspects of feudal idealism philosophy that they are familiar with, so there is confusion and they often draw childish and ridiculous conclusions. But their tendency is close to materialism.
Kang Youwei's greatest career was organizing and leading the Reform Movement of 1898. In this movement, he took the overall situation into consideration and put forward clear ideas and arguments in politics, economy and culture. Politically, he advocated the so-called constitutional monarchy, that is, "the rule of the monarch and the people." On the economic front, he proposed to combine industry with commerce. In terms of culture, he advocated the establishment of Confucianism with Kong Qiu as the leader and made it the state religion. This is the main content of his many letters to Emperor Guangxu.
* * * and the establishment, Kang Youwei lost the object of his speech, there are many new things he can't understand, so he had to use his past theory to derive philosophical thoughts related to conventional philosophy, which is his residue, which is not commensurate with the above three aspects of claims and speeches. He is the organizer and leader of the 1898 reform movement. In this respect, he is a great leader in the modern reform period, but he is not a traditional philosopher. Among the ordinary people who led the Reform Movement of 1898, Tan Sitong was the theorist most similar to the conventional philosophers.