Page 121 - 《社会》2026年第3期

社会·2026·3

ZHANG Zhe HOU Jundan
Abstract： In the second half of the nineteenth century， confronted with the dual
crises of religious turmoil within traditional society and the impact of Christianity，
the Chinese literati widely engaged in attempts to rebuild society and rectify public
morality through religious means. This paper takes the late鄄Qing “Sun Religion”
（ Taiyang Jiao） in Wenzhou as a case study to examine the specific forms and
historical significance of this intellectual and activist trend.
Research reveals that， following the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns， the local
literati hierarchy in Wenzhou collapsed amid the decline of the examination system，
the rise of minor lineages， and the spread of extravagant commercial customs.
Lower鄄stratum literati such as Jin Hui and Liu Shaokuan， drawing upon Yan鄄Li
teachings， Buddhist and Daoist ideas and modern theories of electricity， organized
the “Sun Religion” as a literati religious group. Their aim was to re鄄examine the
proper role of the literati and to offer a practical path for popular moral enlightenment.
On the one hand， the group maintained an ascetic lifestyle by cultivating
themselves through daily practices and returning to ancient rites， disciplining their
body and mind while striving to preserve moral autonomy amidst everyday social
interactions and the corrupting influence of prevailing customs. On the other hand，
the doctrines of the “Sun Religion” expounded a “moral鄄physical law” that linked
all sentient beings with the cosmos. This law regarded the mutual attraction and
repulsion of yin and yang electricity as the origin of all phenomena， affirmed the
power of individual perceptual consciousness and moral transcendence， and thereby
established a spiritual bond of shared suffering and unity with all things.
This religious yearning to elevate the inner will to infinite heights forged a
universal personality that embodied both religious transcendence and modern gezhi
（scientific） inquiry. Although it stood in tension with local social sentiments， it
served as the spiritual wellspring for the “hequn lihui” （uniting groups and
establishing associations） political organizations of the first half of the twentieth
century， foreshadowing the radical ethos of lower鄄stratum intellectuals who sought
to transform society through voluntarism. The paper further argues that this practice
builds upon the tradition of the religionization of Confucianism in the late鄄Ming and
the formation of the literati鄄religious societies in the mid鄄Qing period. Within the
broader intellectual currents and regional social structures， this study reveals the
intrinsic roots of modern Chinese intellectuals’ personality and spiritual state:
rejecting the “reality” of the material world before their eyes， they turned instead
to an abstract spiritual community as their foundation， th ereby embarking on a

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