Die Psychoanalyse in der chinesischen Philosophie der 20er und 30er Jahre

Abstract Psychoanalysis was brought to China via Japan and Europe. It influenced many Chinese scholars profoundly in the 20s and 30s. Most Chinese interpreters of Freud’s theories regarded psychoanalysis as an effective method for reforming Chinese society. In Zhang Dongsun’s opinion, the sublimation of sexual impulse was already strong enough to overcome all social nuisances, and he tried to use it to resist the spread of Marxism. With the help of Chinese literature and history, Zhang Shizhao reformed psychoanalysis and used it as a weapon to fight against his opponents. Gao Juefu translated the works of Freud and expected that the spread of psychoanalysis would help young people to find the right way of life. The famous scholar Zhu Guangqian emphasized the significance of Freudianism and praised its contribution to the research of the origin and appreciation of art. The outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War (1937) interrupted the spread of psychoanalysis. Freud made his "comeback" in China only in the mid 80s.