Knowledge Reproduction, Dissemination and Officialization Dilemma of Gao Mengdan's Calendar Reform Global Knowledge Acquisition and Personal Knowledge Transformation of Gao Mengdan's Calendar Reform; Relying on the Commercial Press: Knowledge Dissemination of Gao Mengdan’s week calendar; Officialization Dilemma of Gao Mengdan's week calendar
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Abstract
Focusing on Gao Mengdan’s week calendar, this paper examines his knowledge network across two dimensions: the acquisition and dissemination of global knowledge, and his contradictions with the Nanjing Nationalist Government on constructing the modernity through calendar. Gao Mengdan devoted his life to calendar reform. His research on the calendar was fueled by traditional ideas and benefited from absorbing knowledge on worldwide calendar reform. Together, they formed his knowledge network of the subject. He explored the modern values of traditional calendar reform concepts and transformed them into modern scientific discourse. His calendar reform constructed a blueprint into three interconnected strands: the adoption of the Gregorian calendar era; the advocacy for a thirteen-month system, each month comprising four weeks; and the proposals for intercalation methods and additional days. These components reveal a pragmatic synthesis of foreign scientific knowledge and local temporal needs. Gao Mengdan mainly relied on the Commercial Press to acquire the global knowledge worldwide, and disseminate his week calendar proposal, revealing the Shanghai’s unique urban space and popular culture which emphasized the standardization of time. Despite the praise from some intellectuals and respondents in official soliciting, the Nanjing National Government still postponed its review and week calendar’s further implementation, revealing the conservativeness. By situating Gao Mengdan's neglected endeavors within the broader discourse of global time standardization, this paper illuminates the complex dynamics of knowledge transformation, dissemination and multiple discussions on constructing the temporal modernity in early twentieth-century China.
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