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China news tagged with: Confucianism (34)

• Daniel A. Bell: The Confucian Party

  

  In the New York Times, Daniel Bell, professor at Tsinghua University, writes about the revival of Confucianism as a potential for a political reform movement in China:

  For the Confucians, any long-lasting and stable political reform must be rooted in China’s own traditions. So should we view them as narrow nationalists? Quite the opposite. Jiang Qing, a leading exponent of the new Confucianism, explicitly criticizes the idea of state sovereignty, saying that sovereignty lies with “heaven” rather than the state. He argues for a democratic institution that would offer more opportunities for political participation, while criticizing democracy for being too narrowly focused on the interests of the current generation of voters.

  Jiang proposes another political institution designed to represent non-voters whose interests are typically neglected in democratic states, such as foreigners, future generations and ancestors. Is democracy really the best way to protect future victims of global warming, he asks?

  Confucian intellectuals have also put forward ideas for educational reform. Communism is dead as a unifying myth that can sustain the Chinese people, they argue, so what does China stand for now? Here’s where Confucian values become relevant. There are currently thousands of educational experiments to promote such Confucian values as harmony and compassion.

  » Read more
  • May 11, 2009 8:01 PM

• CDT Bookshelf: Daniel A. Bell’s China’s New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society

  

  The role of Confucianism in Chinese politics and society has been a much-discussed topic in recent years. Daniel A. Bell, a philosophy professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, published a book earlier this year titled, “China’s New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society.” According to the publisher, Princeton University Press, the book, “makes the case that as the nation retreats from communism, it is embracing a new Confucianism that offers a compelling alternative to Western liberalism.” From a review in the Independent:

  Bell, who teaches politics at Beijing’s crack Tsinghua University, is well placed to comment on changing Chinese attitudes. He detects signs of a reviving interest in, and practice of, pre-communist traditions, whether in the lecture hall, in the streets, or inside karaoke bars. The latter especially attract Bell’s attention. It is within the karaoke bar that the bonding properties of music – so beloved of Confucians – become manifest. If the hostesses offer sex as well as harmonious conversation, that too is as the Sage Master might wish. “I never met anyone,” he told his 5th-century BC students approvingly, “who values virtue more than physical beauty.”

  Moreover (Bell argues) such arrangements, while providing profitable “employment opportunities” for the hostesses, also help preserve the family - the ultimate Confucian good. Husbands may err, but return to base soon enough. Health workers and feminists may grimace, but Bell has a sharp sense of cultural differences. What matters more to him than political correctness is China’s political direction. He senses greater inclusivity ahead, though not a Western-type democracy. Dismissing Yu Dan for her lightweight reconfiguration of Confucianism as an inner quest, he prefers Jiang Qing, whose Political Confucianism is distinctly socialist while upholding the role that non-elected wise elders should play in China’s governance.

  See also:

  - Reviews of the book from: The Los Angeles Times; New York Times; Far Eastern Economic Review; Asia Times; and the Literary Review of Canada.
  - The first chapter of the book
  - An op-ed by Bell in the New York Times
  - a video of an interview with Bell at the United Nations University
  - “China: Humiliation & the Olympics” by Orville Schell in the New York Review of Books which discusses Bell’s book.

  Here is an interview with Bell on VOA News:
  

  And an extended interview on 3D Dialogue:
  

  » Read more
  • December 12, 2008 1:39 PM

• China Unveils its ‘Soft-power’ Campaign: Canonize Confucius, No Mention of Mao

  

  The Globe and Mail reports on the Chinese government’s effort to use the Olympics as a means to recreate the national image:

  At the glitzy show that China will unveil to the world at the opening ceremonies on Friday, it is Confucius again who will be exalted.

  Leaks from rehearsals suggest there will be no mention of Mao or any other Communist, but plenty of ancient dynasties, calligraphy, painting, giant scrolls and a quotation from Confucius about the pleasure of welcoming “friends who visit from afar.”

  The long-awaited opening of the Beijing Olympics, the biggest event in China’s recent political history, will help define China’s emerging self-image as it shifts into a new era of power and pride on the global stage.

  Reaching deep into its pre-revolutionary history, China is increasingly drawing on the patriotism of its people, a patriotism based not on ideology but on the glories of China’s ancient culture, bolstered today by the technological and military prowess of an economic superpower.

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  • August 6, 2008 9:30 PM

• China’s Thriving Confucian Schools - Jill McGivering

  

  A small private confucian school was set up last year in Wuhan. Since then, more than 100 children have enrolled for classes. Parents who send their kids to the school believe that it is a good opportunity for their children to learn traditional culture that cannot be learned by modern education. From BBC News:

  As soon as they walk into the tiny school, a converted apartment in a tower block, the children are bundled into grey cotton wraparound robes, fastened at the back with modern Velcro.

  Flowing sleeves flap round their wrists, square black hats wedged on to their heads - some, too big, slip down over the eyes….[Full Text]

  [Image: Parents believe studying Confucius benefits the whole of society, via BBC]

  » Read more
  • January 3, 2008 9:06 AM

• Modern Gloss on China’s Golden Age - Sheila Melvin

  

  From The New York Times:

  China spent the greater part of the last century struggling to become a modern nation. But after so many years spent looking outward and forward, some Chinese are once again looking inward and back ” way back, to the golden age of philosophers like Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and Zhuangzi (369-286 B.C.).

  The current rage for things ancient ” known as “national-studies fever” ” has led in several cities to a revival of private schools known as si shu, where children bow to statues of Confucius and memorize ancient texts about benevolence and obedience under the tutelage of teachers wearing Han-dynasty-style robes. Contemporary analyses of classic novels have become best sellers, and televised lectures in which professors expound on esoteric areas of Chinese culture and history draw tens of millions of viewers. [Full Text]

  » Read more
  • October 2, 2007 4:48 AM

• Yu Dan and China’s Return to Confucius - Sheila Melvin

  

  The International Herald Tribune is the latest to look at the fad for all things Confucius thanks to trendy scholar Yu Dan:

  The current rage for things ancient - dubbed “national studies fever” - has led in several cities to a revival of private schools known as “si shu” where children bow to statues of Confucius and memorize ancient texts about benevolence and obedience under the tutelage of teachers who dress in Han Dynasty-style robes. Contemporary analyses of classic novels have become best sellers and televised lectures in which university professors expound on esoteric areas of Chinese culture and history draw tens of millions of viewers.

  But perhaps the most conspicuous symbol of national studies fever is the continuing popularity of “Yu Dan’s Reflections on ‘The Analects,’ ” by a professor of media studies at Beijing Normal University, Yu Dan, that has sold 4.2 million legal copies and an estimated 6 million pirated versions since it was published last December. [Full text]
  
  

  
  
  [Image: Yu Dan, via the IHT]

  » Read more
  • August 29, 2007 10:40 AM

• Racing Ahead, China Resurrects Its Past - Kent Ewing

  

  From Asia Times:

  As China races into its capitalist future, it is also rediscovering its philosophical and religious past.

  But can the country move backward as it goes forward? Chinese leaders think so, and they are enthusiastically supporting a revival of the ancient philosophical traditions of Confucianism and Taoism. Late last month, for example, the government sponsored a six-day forum dedicated to the interpretation and promotion of Tao Te Ching (or Dai De Jing, “The Book of the Way and Its Virtue”), the foundational text of Taoism, both as a school of thought and a religion, written 2,500 years ago by Lao Zi.

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  • May 8, 2007 9:53 PM

• Yu Dan: Defender of Traditional Culture, Force for Harmony - Joel Martinsen

  

  Following up on the recent LA TImes article about Confucian scholar Yu Dan, Danwei has translated two articles, from BQ Weekly and Southern Metropolis Daily, about the controversy over Yu’s writing. From the BQ Weekly article:

  So who were these people instigating this small cultural demonstration? Careful inspection of its origin reveals nine PhDs and MAs from Peking University and Tsinghua University. There’s an old Chinese saying that goes, “A scholars’ rebellion takes ten years or more”; when scholars form an alliance, they do not wait to launch a revolt against others, but rather dissolve into internal struggles for nine years. [Full text]

  » Read more
  • May 8, 2007 1:43 PM

• Professor Puts Confucius Back in Vogue - Ching-Ching Ni

  

  The Los Angeles Times reports on the current fad for Confucius, and the woman who started it all:

  Since the publication of her enormously popular book on the teachings of Confucius late last year, Yu has been racing from college lectures to book signings, TV appearances and speaking engagements. The public can’t seem to get enough of this overnight sensation who has turned dusty old Confucian teachings into a Chinese version of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.”

  “I never expected this,” the smartly dressed 42-year-old said in a hurried interview from the back of the black Audi taking her to the airport. “In the 21st century, our value system is changing; people are faced with a lot of confusion and choices. The classics are not just fossils. They are a value system that can help us find answers to modern-day problems.” [Full text]

  - Read also a comment on this article from the Useless Tree blog.

  » Read more
  • May 6, 2007 8:43 PM

• China’s Values Vacuum - Alice Poon

  

  From Asia Sentinel:

  In China, the empathy deficit is not only at a worrying level but seems to be further compounded by what intellectuals call a “values vacuum.” In one of his blog posts, Financial Times Chinese web columnist Xu Zhi-yuan said, “The ideals of the past are no longer effective. Yet worship of money can only be a temporary substitute. We cannot possibly transplant Christianity onto Chinese soil, nor can we simply revive our ancients’ values.”

  It may not be mere coincidence that there has been recent talk of the revival of Confucianism and even Taoism in China. Beijing has just endorsed Hong Kong’s decision to make Confucius’s birthday a public holiday. Yu Dan, a Beijing Normal University media professor, recently published a book called “Thoughts on the Analects of Confucius” that has sold 2 million copies. [Full text]

  » Read more
  • May 3, 2007 1:51 PM

• Confucius Comes Back - Paul Mooney

  

  From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

  Now, almost a century after Confucianism first came under attack as an obstacle to development, it is being heralded as a solution to the many political, economic, and ethical problems China faces.

  In addition to impressive economic gains over the past 30 years, China has experienced a growing gap between rich and poor and a rise in corruption, crime, and divorce. Academics say few people still believe in Marxism or Communism, but nothing has risen yet to take its place, leaving an ideological vacuum. People clearly feel something is lacking.

  » Read more
  • May 2, 2007 1:53 PM

• The Useless Tree: Speaking of the Confucian Mind…. - Sam Crane

  

  From The Useless Trees blog:

  I often worry that the tone of this blog is too critical. I find myself playing the scold, using Confucianism or Taoism to complain about this or that happening in China or the US. I do not have enough positive stuff here. Well, happily, here is something good: Yu Dan, a media scholar from Beijing Normal University has made a big splash across China with her televised lectures on the Analects that were broadcast last month during the National Day holiday. I had not heard of it at the time (nor did it come up at the conference), but this China Daily story a couple of days ago makes me think that she is doing the right thing [Full Text]

  » Read more
  • November 30, 2006 8:50 PM

• Family tree of Chinese sage branches out to include women - Jonathan Watts

  

  From the Guardian, another article about the rejuvenation of Confucius’ legacy in China:

  It has taken almost 2,557 years, but the family tree of Confucius, the philosophical father of Asia’s male dominated society, is finally going to acknowledge women. Female descendants will be recognised in a new lineage chart of the Chinese sage’s family - forecast to grow to more than three million people by the time the survey is complete in 2007.

  The change, announced ahead of today’s birthday celebrations in Confucius’s hometown of Qufu, reflects a growing move to reinterpret and apply the ancient teachings, as the world’s most populous nation moves further and further away from Marxism. [Full text]

  » Read more
  • September 27, 2006 8:34 PM

• Confucius’s standard portrait unveiled in Shandong - Xinhua

  

  From Xinhua:

  

  The standard portrait of Confucius is unveiled by the China Confucius Foundation (CCF) in an effort to give him a recognizable identity around the world in Qufu, East China’s Shandong Province September 23, 2006. Born in 551 BC, Confucius was considered one of the most reputed philosophers and thinkers in China.

  Related Chinese article of “Launching the standard portrait of Confucius Not For Commercial Purpose” from Xinhua

  Read Da Niu’s blog about “Criticize Confucius and Respect Confucius — A Thirty Years Drama“, saying
  some poeple in our country always like to make the other people, especially the Japanese, to remember the history well. But themselves often forget history selectively. Since now it is advocated to respect Confucious again, it is also neccesary to make references and comments on the the carzy hitorical period when Confucious was severely criticized during the Culture Revolution. In case, the younger generations will know nothing about their parents and grandparents’ experience, which was a drama lasting for 30 years.

  » Read more
  • September 24, 2006 11:50 AM

• China’s leaders rediscover Confucianism - Daniel A. Bell

  

  In the International Herald Tribune, Daniel Bell writes:

  Marxism no longer serves as Chinese society’s guiding ideology. But that doesn’t mean the end of ideology. Western experts hope liberal democracy will fill the void, but they will have “joined Karl Marx,” as the Chinese used to say, before that happens.

  In China, the moral vacuum is being filled by Christian sects, Falun Gong and extreme forms of nationalism. But the government considers that such alternatives threaten the hard-won peace and stability that underpins China’s development, so it has encouraged the revival of Confucianism. [Full text]

  For more on Daniel Bell’s views on Confucianism and Chinese politics, listen to his interview on the NPR program On Point. Read also a People’s Daily editorial about modern uses of Confucianism, and a response from The Useless Tree blog.

  » Read more
  • September 14, 2006 10:31 AM

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