The proponent of the slogan of saving the nation from extinction.

Yan Fu put forward the slogan of "saving the nation for survival". After treaty of shimonoseki signed the 1895 treaty of humiliating the country, Yan Fu shouted the slogan of "saving the nation from extinction". At the same time, he published the Theory of Natural Evolution, in which the fittest survive and the unsuitable are eliminated, further expounding the importance of saving the nation and learning from foreigners to control foreigners.

1894, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894 broke out, the Beiyang Navy was wiped out, and Qiang Bing, a rich country painstakingly managed by the Westernization School, went bankrupt. The sacrifice of former classmates and friends and the further oppression of the nation by the great powers deeply hurt Yan Fu's heart. Yan Fu, who had no strong political strength, tried to realize his idea of saving the country in another way.