The idea of "Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application" () was initially proposed by Feng Guifen in his Xiaopinlu kangyi (Protests from the cottage of Feng Guifen), written in 1861 after the Second Opium War. At the time, leading Chinese thinkers were interrogating how to approach the threat posed by encroaching Western states. Feng argued for China's self-strengthening and industrialization by borrowing Western technology and military systems, while retaining core Neo-Confucian principles. These ideas were further elaborated on by Zhang Zhidong in 1898 in his book Quanxue pian as "Traditional (Chinese) learning as substance, New (Western) learning as application" (“舊學為體，新學為用”). “Zhongti xiyong” became a popular slogan used in the late Qing Reforms, including the Self-Strengthening Movement and Hundred Days' Reform. The concept was widespread among intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th century, and it remains relevant in the modern studies of China-West cultural relationship.
Background
After the Anglo-Chinese First Opium War (1839-1842), Wei Yuan advocated for China to learn “shipbuilding techniques and weapons production” from the west in order to subdue foreign invaders (“師夷長技以制夷”). He wrote about this idea in his book Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms (《海国图志》)in 1843. In the latter half of the 19th century (and early portion of the 20th century), there was heated debate in China about how the country could survive the threat from foreign powers and move towards modernity. As the Qing Dynasty moved closer to collapse, two general camps of thought emerged: Conservatives thinkers who rejected the utility of modern military methods, and the Progressionists who were eager to not only adopt Western technology but also Western political systems like parliamentary sovereignty.
Zhang Zhidong's Quanxue pian
The proposal of “Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application” by Zhang Zhidong (张之洞, 1837-1909) in 1898 in his book Quanxue Pian (《劝学篇》"Exhortation to Learning") was seen as a reconciliation between the conservatives and the progressionists. Zhang stated that “it was necessary to maintain the orthodox Confucian basis of society, and if Western thought was to be accepted then [it could] only [be] in order to strengthen the material basis of society, particularly military equipment in view of the European encroachment in China since the First Opium War (1839-42)". Some scholars criticized “Chinese substance” as a conservative point of view that only reinforced Chinese Confucian traditions, while others viewed the slogan as an open door for legitimate western studies and a positive step towards China's modernization.
Debates on Chinese Substance, Western Application
The Reformists
After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the Reformists proposed a new cultural concept of “the Integration of China and the West”, diverting from the original theory of “Chinese Substance, Western Application.” Scholar Yan Fu asserted that "Chinese learning and Western learning both have their unique substance and application. If one treats the Chinese and the Western separately, then they both make sense; if one merges them together, then they both lose their meanings." (中学有中学之体用，西学有西学之体用，分之则并立，合之则两亡). Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and other members of the Hundred Days' Reform also broke through the restrictions of “Chinese substance” and strived to adopt the western political systems, industrialization, and capitalism.
Liang Shuming’s Refusal of Cultural Blending
The Chinese philosopher Liang Shuming (1893-1988) did not agree with “Chinese Substance, Western Application”. To Liang, culture was a holistic expression of one unified underlying human attitude, so he denied an easy blending of Chinese and Western cultures. On one hand, he is a defender of Chinese culture. He believed Chinese and Western cultures were incompatible. Chinese culture is aimed at exploring autonomous moral principles and human nature, whereas the Western essence - the emphasis on liberty and rights - is derived from these particular aspects of human nature or actually belongs to the realm of moral principle.