In Search of Liberty: Lin Yusheng’s Life and Thought by Josephine Chiu-Duke (2023)

Publication title: In Search of Liberty: Lin Yusheng’s Life and Thought

Publication year: 2023

Author: Dr. Josephine Chiu-Duke

About the book

Professor Lin Yu-sheng (1934-2022) was one of the leading scholars in modern Chinese intellectual history. His 1979 English book, The Crisis of Chinese Consciousness is a systematic study of radical anti-traditionalism in the May Fourth Era (1915-1927). It was translated into Chinese, Japanese and Korean in the 1980s and had a great impact throughout East Asia, especially on academic and cultural circles in Taiwan and China.

Professor Lin’s research primarily focused on modern and contemporary Chinese intellectual history and all his life he illuminated the concepts of liberty, rationality, democracy, and the rule of law for Chinese readers. In Search of Liberty is a comprehensive intellectual biography. The first half covers his early life and intellectual quest to understand the essence of classical liberalism under the guidance of Friedrich Hayek and Hannah Arendt who had a deep influence on him. The second half is an in depth investigation of his thought, a critical discussion of his works, and an exploration of his major themes and arguments. This study points out their logical connection, substantial significance, and great relevance to the modern world.