Erich Fromm in China

Since 2012 numerous research studies have been conducted about the reception of Erich Fromm in China. More than 200 master and doctoral dissertations and almost 900 articles, mostly in scientific magazines (as of April 2016), testify the high level of interest in this outstanding personality.

The results of the literature research show that Erich Fromm enjoys a high level of appreciation within the academic setting of China. On the one hand, he is used to reflect on the aberrations of the Western capitalism. However, his criticisms of capitalism and proposals to manage the crises of modern mankind mostly translate into analysing negative developments in their own country. Consequently, Fromm is seen as idea generator and unconventional thinker concerning theory and practice issues not only for social development, but also for the individual mental and spiritual development of people in contemporary China.

Fromm`s concept about the “character of society”, the “human nature”, the “escape from freedom”, the “alienation”, the Marxism as humanism” or “the art of loving” are vigorously and controversially discussed. His especially humanistic-ethical contributions about the importance of theory and practise are critically appraised, whereas his psychoanalytical and sociopsychological concepts finds recognition in the artistic area. There, they are used to interpret belletristic literature and are seen as great asset for the literature theory.


1. Survey Paper on Erich Fromm in China with appendix

2. Chinese Books über Erich Fromm

3. Chinese scholarly literature about Erich Fromm: Authors A-R, Authors S-Z

Erich Fromm online