Abstract: The reflection of radicalism during the period from 1980s to 1990s was a product of a series of social and political changes, and also a result of New Enlightenment’s logical extension. Disputes of radicalism are mainly concerned with: definitions of radical and conservative concepts and their places in the history of modern China, revolution or farewell to revolution, recognition of radically opposing traditionalism during the May Fourth Movement, and causes for unchecked spread of radicalism. The two sides of disputes have major differences in their epistemological foundations and in their ideological preconditions about Chinese social transitions. To go beyond the debates over radical and conservative, it is necessary to return them to their original state according to historicism, and meanwhile to realize a dynamic equilibrium between them both under the conditioning of conservative liberalism.

Key words: radicalism , conservatism , reflection , transcendence , conservative liberalism