摘要
In the West human rights do not remain only at the level of appeals and cries from some thinkers but are embodied in basic belief and the values of the general public. The concept of human rights is intrinsically related to the whole intellectual tradition, especially to religion and culture. It serves not only as a utilitarian rationality but also as value rationality. However, in their absorption and introduction of the Western concept of human rights in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the Chinese intellectuals treated these rights as a tool and means to achieve a rational objective -- national survival and prosperity. On the eve of the Opium War （1840-1842） Chinese society was already pregnant with grim possibilities but not yet ready for transformation into a modem society. In face of ＂the great changes unprecedented in three thousand years of Chinese history＂ （words of the Chinese thinker Liang Qichao） progressive Chinese intellectuals took a pragmatic approach in their study and acceptance of the Western culture, accepting or rejecting.
