What Roles does Confucianism Play in China

姜盼盼+邢詩雨

Introduction

With regard to the issue of Confucianism， it can be thought to a controversial topic all the time. A few scholars insist Confucianism plays a negative influence role in the world， especially， in the modern society， however， a large number of researchers carry out violent controversy and response， they can not in favor of those passive argument. To put it is simply， they still consider Confucianism as an optimistic idea and system. Therefore， it can be said this is an eternal problem， due to the fact that there is not an explicit answer to attest whether they are right or not so far. Continuing to argue this topic deeply， it is the best way for people to further recognize the function and meaning of Confucianism. Littlejohn （2010） demonstrates the root of Confucianism can be traced back to about 2500 years ago， it is the great Chinese tradition about the teaching of Confucius， the founder which is called Kongzi by descendants. Kongzi is only a transmitter， not an innovator of numerous peoples idea. Confucianism of Kongzi includes many aspects， such as， morality， society， philosophy， religion， value and practice， which is a complicatedly and immensely ancient tradition， which cause posterity to the consequence of research and analyses. Thus， the different standpoints of diverse scholars will be shown in this essay. The limitation and superiority of Confucianism will be explained at length， according to relevant authors evidence.

The structure of main body

As people say， if scholars want to obtain the final specific answer， they must understand all of knowledge of Confucianism， in addition， they have to own enough evidences and documents to repute opposing view， in order to achieve the identical results. However， these problems can not be deemed that it is a simple question to be addressed. Because scholars are hard to reach a consensus， the difference of historical backgrounds， cultural thoughts and academic perspectives give rise to the judgments of Confucianism that are not the same. That is the reason why academic circle can not receive an accurate answer to solve puzzle issue all the while. This article will introduce several key parts about Confucianism， passing through some typical points of different scholars dissect this issue， hence the main body of this essay can be divided into two parts. Initially， Confucianism has impacted in the field of gender， in particular， in female， what is the main reason that lead a majority of women to against Confucianism.Subsequently， the Confucianisms influence power appears not only in China， but also exposes in the foreign countries.

The status of woman

The status of women are not largely invisible in the Confucianism， the view exactly as description of “the Analects of Confucius” is that men enjoy higher status than women， only the women and reprobate can not be removed. Passing through this opinion of Confucius can explain why enormous females severely ban the further development of Confucianism in the present. Chinese Sociology and Anthropology （1975） demonstrates the inequalities between the sexes can start from ancient times， the oppression of female can be said to the class oppression， during this period， which has already aroused a large number of women discontentment. However， when the emergence of Confucianism， Confucius tries to renew this unequal treatment. The females are ineligible to participate political matters， should be obedient to males， such as， husband and father. Other scholar （Du， 2016） sets forth that women are all “ family person” in the yoke of Confucianisms traditional virtues， which is not suit for appearing in public. Studying knowledge is only to be allowed in man， a woman without talent is virtuous. This social phenomenon results in women who never accept education that is normal before 1949. Consequently， the concept of women can do not as well as men that can not be changed easily in the old days， namely confront with the problem of womans social position， the faulty side of Confucianism has been exposed， it has not a consensus with the principle of that everyone is equal at presents.

In addition to the status of woman in ancient times， Du （2016） also proposes this issue in recent years. The notion of human rights and equal social degree for women is widespread， in especial， the percentage of women union members occupies in the board of company. A small amount of women leader hold a post in the boardroom on the basis of the latest survey and statistics. This unequal phenomenon attracts scholars and the publics concern in all of fields， which decides to take actions to address the imbalance rate between women and men. A surprising results have been discovered by those researchers， numerous companies adopt Confucianism as a framework of maintaining the business operation. To compare with the data of different company， the proportion of women leaders is apparent lower in the firms of strong Confucian atmosphere than that of weak Confucian environment. In other words， it can be thought that women are inferior to men， which is deep-rooted perception of Confucianism. Therefore， regardless of the ancient times or these days， female can not be compared with male， patriarchal society hold the dominant condition， woman merely takes care children and does some housework， it can not be most accepted woman does significant political matters in the old days. To some degree， despite Confucianism has been relieved in this field in the recent days， increasingly enormous laws have been put into protecting women right， the old feudalistic ideas can not be completely eradicated， the lower status of women is a vital negative side of Confucianism that can be approved.

The influence of Confucianism in the world

A Korean Confucian scholar was introduced by Chang and Kalmanson （2010）， they show that this scholar who was born in one hundred years ago convinces Confucianism will not fade in the future， furthermore， he forecasts someday Confucianism still will brilliantly illumine the whole world， despite Confucianism puts some threat to the aspect of female status. With the coming of the 21 st century， it can not be said that the prediction of the Korean scholar are totally right， however， the research of Confucianism upsurges to expand all around the world indeed， an increasing number of learned men real ize Confucianism as a vital resource to address some social issue of today. Numerous nations are all to recognize the values of Confucianism， such as， Korean， Japan， China and so forth， establishing the Confucian cultural sphere as well， in particular， in Korean， Confucianism can be thought the strongest tradition， which can regulate the behavior and the consciousness of the Korean. As these positive meaning of Confucian， this two authors insist that Confucianism as a crucial part of human heritage is close relevant to new culture in the 21 st century. Thus， to a certain degree， Confucianism is a right traditional culture and ideology that influences people from generation to generation. Except China， Korean and Japan also consider it as rules and regulations to measure themselves.

The authors who are Tu and Daisaku （2011） disclose that Confucianism has been refused wholly by the culture revolution， nevertheless， since the advent of new century， the China traditional culture and custom are reexamined， as a matter of course， which gives rise to Confucianism to have been estimated. The positive value of Confucianism can emerge as the times require in different spheres， for example， academia， business， social groups， media and so forth. The Japanese newspaper also describes this situation， they admit the active influence of Confucian values in various fields， especially in the case of concepts of management， laying stress on the importance of five Confucian ethics （courtesy， intelligence， honesty， justice and humanity）. Japan concentrates on the study of Confucianism from ancient to modern times. Lin （2011） expounds with the continuously industrialized development of East Asian countries since the 1970s， which requests the traditional values to return to the public view. A large number of politicians and scholars rediscover the traditional virtues of Confucianisms energetic impact and to rethink its close connection with the contemporary world， Confucianism is endowed with the name of “top priority”. The William （2003） as cited in Lin （ibid） to show that Confucianism is relevant to peoples current life as a optimistic pusher， which not only brings benefits in the East Asian nations， but also throughout the world. Therefore， it can draw the conclusion that the Confucianism has potential power in recent years， it can not be abolished， in contract， it should be continued to use in every corner of the world.

Tan （2013） gives a detailed account of Confucianisms influence power in Singapore， the Singapore Government recognizes the impact of Confucianism in the state ideology. The government has already perceived Confucian values， such as， thrift， diligence， loyalty and self-discipline， which motivates the rapid development of Singapore in economical production， social welfare and political stability. It can not be think as a coincidence that Confucianism is significantly indirectly or directly promote the various of wishes that has been initiated by the country. This is to say that Confucianism is indispensable part of harmonious society， which obtains the acceptance of Singapore. Hartig （2012） empirical describes the development of Confucian institutes not only in China， but also to spread around the world， according to statistics， it can be known that since 2004 Confucian institutes has been established approximately 700， which popularizes the language and culture to the world in the shape of influencing their image and behavior. In order to foreigner can easily understand the relevant course in Confucian institutes， China creates teaching materials and typical reference books in 45 languages， put the Germany as an example， the book of Confucian institutes combines with the German materials to publish their own material. Therefore， Confucianism as a Chinas traditional culture can be accept by foreigner， the positive impact is visible around the world， for example， Singapore and Germany， the popularity of Confucian institutes is not surprising that appears a large a number of people throws themselves into this studying and researching.

Conclusion

In summary， although the negative side of Confucianism still exists in the modern society， especially some scholars above-mentioned the status of women is lower than men in the concept of Confucianism. The deep-rooted perception can not be change readily， this side as a disadvantage has been blamed by females all the time， which leads enormous feminists to be against it. However， it can not be represented Confucianism that is not useful in the modern society. A minority of the argument of Confucian critics in the realm of women position， which also unable to abundant prove the shortage of Confucianism. Because Confucianism tries to improve in order to express its merits all the time， indeed， it is beneficial to every region of all over the world， is deemed to that is extremely popular in a large degree. It can be seen from this article in detail， loyalty and honesty are the significant components in Confucian thinking， in meanwhile， they are also the Chinese traditional virtues to influence to the present day that has been touched repeatedly. Confucianism has been rethought as an enlightenment in society today. Despite there are a few critiques in the realistic meaning of critique under the current situation， comparatively speaking， the optimistic influence is more persuasive. Therefore， this article insist that Confucianism is a significant indispensable part of the contemporary era. In the near future， Confucianism could be used more broadly， which can get rid of the negative side and only assimilate the helpful side. After all， it has potential effect in the world， which attracts the behavior of generations， regardless of where they are come from.

Reference Lists：

[1]Chang， W.， and Kalmanson， L. （2010） Confucianism in Context. Suny Press.

[2]Chinese Sociology and Anthropology. （1975） The Working Women's Struggle Against Confucianism in Chinese History. Peer Reviewed Journal， M. E. Sharpe， 7， 4-12.

[3]Du， X. （2016） Does Confucianism Reduce Board Gender Diversity Firm-Level Evidence from China. Journal of Business Ethics， 136， 399-436.

[4]Hartig， F. （2012） Confucius Institutes and the Rise of China. Journal of Chinese Political Science， 17， 53-76.

[5]Lin， K. （2011） Traditional Confucianism and its Contemporary Relevance. Asian Philosophy， 21， 437-446.

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