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Abstract: This dissertation is a study of the conceptual history of fascism in Republican China. It employs the “conceptual history” (Begriffsgeschichte) theory and method constructed by the German historian Reinhart Koselleck (1923-2006), who argues that “basic concepts” (Grundbegriffe) are both “causal factors” and “indicators” of historical change. By exploring how the foreign-imported term “fascism” was introduced, debated, and adapted in the context of China from the 1920s to the 1940s, this dissertation not only illustrates the diachronic changes and synchronic differences that occurred in relation to the meaning of the term “fascism” itself, but also highlights the interrelation of the concept of fascism with the development of Chinese politics in the Republican era. <br>The main findings of this dissertation can be summarized in two points. The first is that fascism played the role of a “basic concept” in Chinese political thought and practice. Once fascism was introduced to China, it quickly became a crucial term for intellectuals and politicians across the political spectrum as they debated both national and international politics. It both reflected and caused the socio-political development of Republican China. Although various actors and groups tended to have different ideas about fascism, all of them were nationalists and pragmatists who expected to find a way to save and revive China by discussing this foreign concept. Their conflicting arguments about fascism (praise or criticism) were also relevant to their respective political standing. They constantly used and reinterpreted the concept according to their purposes, serving their political struggle for ruling power of the country. The second finding is that the notions of fascism and anti-fascism were global phenomena with multinational manifestations. The Chinese case suggests that both were products of an interplay between the global and local contexts. In talking about fascism and anti-fascism, actors in China shared an international perspective and local concerns. They engaged in an intimate dialogue with the outside world whilst also considering China’s problems. Hence, the notions of fascism and anti-fascism in Republican China are marked by different characteristics from other countries at the time.<br>By taking a new research approach and finding more historical materials, this research has made its own contribution to the longstanding academic debate on the relationship between the Guomindang (GMD) and fascism. Based on substantial empirical analysis of the various discourses and policies of the GMD, this dissertation argues that the GMD indeed presents characteristics that are clearly fascist. Hence, the GMD regime can be identified as a fascist regime, or at least a “fascistic” one (a regime with some fascist characteristics). This research also broadens the scope so that many groups outside the GMD and periods other than the first half of the 1930s are included. In particular, it presents the introduction and development of the notion of anti-fascism in the context of China. This problem has long been ignored by academia, but it is an indispensable part of the project of drawing a comprehensive picture of the conceptual development of fascism in China.<br>In addition to the introduction and conclusion chapters, the main part of this work consists of five chapters, which are structured in chronological order. Chapter 1 traces the initial stage of the introduction of fascism as a foreign concept in China. It reveals how Chinese intellectuals and politicians understood and used the term “fascism” in the context of the interaction between China and the outside world. Chapters 2 and 3 investigate how different groups interpreted “fascism” for their own purposes in internal and external struggles. These chapters not only disclose the close relationship between the GMD and fascism, but also show the role that the notions of fascism and anti-fascism played in the ideologies and programs of the Nationalists and Communists respectively. Chapters 4 and 5 explore how the development of the international situation led to fascism being fixed as a derogatory term in Chinese public discourse and anti-fascism becoming a source of political legitimacy in the second half of the 1930s and 1940s. Together, these chapters illustrate the international perspective and local concerns of Chinese political thinking
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