Abstract As a great enlightenment thinker, Liang Qichao lived in the specific historical period of modern China. His main approach of pursuing knowledge from abroad was reading a large number of Japanese treatises and translations by means of ″learning Japanese through Chinese.″He comprehended, absorbed and translated numerous modern European and Japanese ideological concepts in this way, and wrote the book Learning Japanese through Chinese. This book not only summarized the previous experience of studying Japanese, enlightening the compilation and development of subsequent Japanese Language learning textbooks, but also inspired and pushed many Chinese students in Japan and at home to follow his example. They introduced and spread new knowledge of the modern West and Japan through translating Japanese books, and also actively carried out enlightening publicity, which made a strong impact on the circle of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. It is undeniable that there were several huge flaws in″Learning Japanese through Chinese,″and Liang Qichao also had some deficiencies in his mastery of Japanese. As a result, his comprehension, translation and promotion of certain thoughts and theories of modern Europe, America and Japan had some problems in accuracy and depth. Wang Guowei once offered severe criticism upon this. Liang Qichao himself also had deep reflections in his later years. Even in 1930s, when Hu Shi planned to organize several scholars to translate a series of foreign classics, he particularly emphasized the systematicness and accuracy of translation. Nevertheless, when we placed Liang Qichao's Learning Japanese through Chinese and his activities of translation in the specific historical environment and background of modern China, the significance and influence were mainly positive. Scholars like Huang Zunxian and Yan Fu spoke highly of Liang Qichao's activities of translation and writing. His writings, which were full of Japanese factors, also deeply influenced celebrities like Mao Zedong, Lu Xun and Guo Moruo in their youth.
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