In search of utopia: the intellectual transformation of Xu Liangying from loyal Communist to democracy advocate from the 1930s to 2013

Journal article

This article examines the life of Xu Liangying (1920-2013) as a case study to understand the transformation of his generation who pursued a romantic “national salvation” goal through the Communist utopian vision but later became advocates of liberal democracy. Based on Xu’s personal writings and interviews, this paper argues his subjectivity prompted two intellectual transformations: from May Fourth-inspired liberal idealism to Marxism-Leninism pre-1949, and to liberal democracy in the post-Mao era. This paper concludes that first, Xu’s case demonstrates that power and ideology are not merely imposed but involve internalization of regime values; second, Xu’s early liberal resources enabled him to reconstruct his identity and repudiate Communist values in the post-Mao era; and third, passion and idealism, not strategic calculations, characterized his generation who matured during wartime in the 1930s-40s. This paper highlights 20th century Chinese intellectuals’ inner struggles and subjectivity in reconstructing their identities for personal and national salvation.

Authors: Yu, V

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Journal: Twentieth-Century China
• Acceptance date: 2025-08-26
• EISSN: 1940-5065
• ISSN: 1521-5385
• Language: English
• Keywords: socialist transformation; Communist revolution; thought reform; intellectuals; democracy; national salvation