Intellectuals, expressions, and transnational networking: a case study on Feng Zikai’s overseas cultural practices and religious productions Protection of Life during the Cold War period (1950s–1970s)

ABSTRACT

Feng Zikai and Master Kong Hiap in Singapore not only completed and published the masterpiece Protection of Life at the behest of their mentor, Master Hong Yi but also actively contributed to the growth of religions during the P.R.C.. The focus of this paper will be on the Protection of Life, which was completed secretly in socialist China between the 1950s and 1970s, as well as Feng Zikai's overseas cultural practices, to investigate how these helped Feng Zikai to broaden his cultural expressions and preserve his teacher Master Hong Yi's religious thoughts. Through revisiting Feng’s creations and other cultural practices, this paper reveals a competing and conflicting revolutionary structure of feeling, across the 1949 geographical fault line as well as in the global Cold War context. Besides, this paper intends to investigate intellectuals’ living status and social networking critically in socialist China during the mid-twentieth-century.

KEYWORDS:

• Feng Zikai
• Protection of Life
• potential writing
• modern Chinese literature
• cold war
• religion
• intellectual history
• structure of feeling

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission [Grant Numbers: SM202310038015].

Special terms

Table

Notes

1 Chen Sihe believes that potential writing can appear in any country, and may take the form of the unconscious writing of the writers’ diaries, letters, notes, etc. There are three main reasons that the creation cannot be published publicly: First, the writers are unwilling to disclose these works immediately because of some personal concerns. Second, some writers express their political voices through creation. Once their creations are completed, they would like to publish them abroad. Third, some writers have lost the freedom to publish. The potential writing in China during the mid-twentieth century mainly belongs to the third category.

2 The original text goes as follows: “弟付邮后常不放心。时时悬念，恐其失误，故又作此书。”

3 The original text goes as follows: “ ‘护生画’前三册因与 ‘除四害’（蚊、蝇、鼠、蟑）有冲突，故有人劝弟勿多送人, 因此此间只收香港第五集九十册，余均寄新加坡，请多多在海外侨胞中宣传。”

4 The original text goes as follows: “以往生极乐为第一目标.”

5 The original text goes as follows: “必须早生极乐[…]生西后，无苦但乐。衣食自然，居处美丽，常见佛菩萨闻法，乃最好之事。”

6 The original text goes as follows: “茫茫世界，芸芸众生。升沉悬殊，弱肉强吞。苛政之猛，甚于刀砧。思及禽兽，岂不顾人？善护生者，先护人群。”

7 The original text goes as follows: “只有在牛棚里，我才真正认识到了我是一个人。”

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission [Grant Numbers: SM202310038015].

Notes on contributors

Qilin Zeng

Zeng Qilin is a lecturer in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. She received her BA in Chinese Language and Literature from Nanjing University, China and MA in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature from National University of Singapore (NUS). She completed her studies with the Chinese Department of NUS and received her Ph.D. degree in June 2020. Dr. ZENG’s research interests include modern and contemporary Chinese literature, religions, Chinese cinema, and cultural studies.