Fukuzawa Yukichi and Karl Marx on the 'Stagnation' and the 'Opening' of Asian Societies : An experimental approach of comparative reception history

Takó, Ferenc (2025) Fukuzawa Yukichi and Karl Marx on the 'Stagnation' and the 'Opening' of Asian Societies : An experimental approach of comparative reception history. SYNERGY. JOURNAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, 21 (2). ISSN 1841-7191 (In Press)

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Abstract

This paper presents some of the initial results of a research project investigating the reception of China by Japanese thinkers and their European contemporaries. First, I will elaborate on certain challenges of comparative intercultural analyses (1) and introduce my methodological approach of ‘comparative reception history’ (2). Then, I will use the comparative analysis of Fukuzawa Yukichi’s 福沢諭吉 (1835–1901) and Karl Marx’s (1818–1883) views on China in an experimental application of this methodology (3). The examination is grounded on the resemblance between Fukuzawa’s and Marx’s views on Asian ‘stagnation’ but, as I will argue, it is the differences of their interpretation that help us to interpret their ideas from innovative perspectives, as well as shedding light on how differently the ‘same’ notions appear in different cultural backgrounds and contexts.

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