Yin Haiguang | |
|---|---|
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| Native name | 殷海光 |
| Born | Yin Fusheng (殷福生) (1919-12-05)5 December 1919 |
| Died | 16 September 1969(1969-09-16) (aged 49) |
| Occupation | Author, educator, philosopher |
| Language | Chinese,English |
| Alma mater | Southwest Associated University Tsinghua University |
| Period | 1946–1967 |
| Genre | Essay |
| Notable works | The Complete Works of Yin Haiguang Chinese translation ofThe Road to Serfdom |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Yin Haiguang (Chinese:殷海光;pinyin:Yīn Hǎiguāng; 5 December 1919 – 16 September 1969) was aChinese author, educator and philosopher.[1][2][3][4]
Yin was born to missionary parents inHuanggang,Hubei, in December 1919 and was raised inWuchang.[3][4] His uncle, Yin Ziheng (殷子衡), was a revolutionist who took part inXinhai Revolution.
At the age of 13, he studied at Wuchang Middle School (武昌中學). When he was a high school student, he started to be interested in philosophy. Before he reached the age of 20, he translated a textbook onlogic, which ran more than 400 pages, from English to Chinese. He helped introduce Western thinkers and philosophers such as Bertrand Russell, Karl Popper and Frederick von Hayek to liberal Chinese intellectuals.Jin Yuelin had a strong influence on his youth.[3][4]
In 1938, he enteredSouthwest Associated University, majoring inphilosophy. In 1942, He was accepted toTsinghua University and graduated in 1945.[3][4] Upon his graduation, he joined the Youth Army. He returned toChongqing after eight months.[3]
In 1946, he worked inCentral Daily News as an editor. Meanwhile, he taught philosophy atthe University of Nanking.[3]
In 1949, along with the relocation of Central Daily News, Yin settled inTaiwan. He began teaching philosophy atNational Taiwan University and became an editor of the semi-monthlyFree China Journal (FCJ).[1][3] Along with other intellectuals from his circle, Yin used the FCJ to publish articles that were at times highly critical of the Kuomintang. In 1960, the authorities lost patience and shut down the FCJ. A crackdown followed which led to Yin being banned from teaching and lecturing. After that, he withdrew from public life.[5]
In 1954, Yin went toHarvard University as a visiting scholar and returned to Taiwan the year after.[3] However, he suffered frompolitical persecution since then.[3][4]
Yin's view was thatChinese liberalism was inauthentic and lacking in normative substance.[6]: 86 He believed that liberalism failed in China because liberalism provided no solutions to the country's national difficulties and because Chinese liberals themselves misconstrued the strains of Western thought from which they drew inspiration.[6]: 86 Yin commented that Chinese liberals had "a premature birth marked by postnatal disorders."[6]: 86
In 1969, Yin died ofgastric cancer when he was 49.[3][4]
Since 2003, thehouse in which he lived in Taipei, near Taiwan National University, has been listed as a historic landmark and can be visited by the public.
In October 1953, Yin married Xia Junlu (夏君璐; d. 2013), he had a daughter Yin Wenli (殷文麗; b. March 1956). His daughter andson-in-law now live in theUnited States.
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