Seventeen scholars from varying fields here consider the implications of Confucian concerns--self-cultivation, regulation of the family, social civility, moral education, well-being of the people, governance of the state, and universal peace--in industrial East Asia.

From its beginnings, Confucianism has vibrantly taught that each person is able to find the Way individually in service to the community and the world. John Berthrong’s comprehensive new work tells the story of the grand intellectual development of the Confucian tradition, revealing all the historical phases of Confucianism and opening the reader’s eyes to the often neglected gifts of scholars of the Han, T’ang, and the modern periods, as well as to the vast contributions of Korea and Japan. The author concludes his revelatory study with an examination of the contemporary renewal of the Confucian Way in East Asia and its spread to the West.

The debate over the compatibility of Confucian culture with democracy is an ongoing one. Yet, few books in the existing literature have dealt specifically with the relationship between Confucian culture (as opposed to Confucianism or general cultural factors) and democracy. Prior to the end of the Second World War, no Confucian society was democratic, so the debate could only be done in an abstract sense. Only after the war did Japan emerge as a democratic country, and it is not a perfect case of the Confucian culture — for one, its Confucian legacy is diluted; moreover, its postwar transition to democracy was, to a large extent, externally imposed rather than internally generated. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, South Korea and Taiwan joined what Samuel P Huntington termed the “third wave of democratization”. Finally, at least two societies with strong Confucian heritage turned democratic, and unlike Japan, their democratic transition resulted mainly from internal political dynamics.Confucian Culture and Democracy represents a comprehensive effort to examine the linkages between Confucian culture and democracy. Building on the empirical evidence from South Korea and Taiwan, and examining semi-democratic societies with extensive experiences in electoral politics like Singapore and Hong Kong, this book provides readers with an empirical and detailed coverage of democratization and democratic governance in various Confucian societies. Japan — as a country influenced by Confucianism, is also analyzed, together with China — whether China joins the family of democratic states is undoubtedly an important concern for many in the region and beyond.

This book is a study of comparative philosophy and theology. The themes are the critical issues arising from the modern interpretation of Confucian doctrine as they confront the Christian beliefs of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

New Confucian Horizons: Essays in Honor of Tu Weiming represents both a sustained reflection on Tu Weiming’s legacy from those who have worked with him and an original contribution to the field of intercultural dialogue that Tu himself spent a lifetime cultivating. The importance of Sino-American intellectual relations in an era of mounting geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China scarcely requires explanation. Tu Weiming’s work has significantly deepened Sino-American cultural relations and continues to provide a vital antidote to those who would sow division between the two worlds. This book deals with Confucianism and New Confucianism and Tu Weiming’s contribution to both of these Chinese philosophical traditions, studies how Confucianism has been received, especially in Asia, and considers Confucianism in connection with contemporary challenges. Those new to Tu Weiming will sense by the end of the volume just how vast his influence as a teacher, scholar and public intellectual has been. Those more familiar with Tu’s work will uncover lacunae in their understanding of his legacy and new angles from which to savour the value of Confucian intellectual resources.

A reconsideration of the Confucian concept li (ritual or ritual propriety), one that references Western philosophers as well as the Chinese context. Geir Sigurðsson offers a reconsideration of li, often translated as “ritual” or “ritual propriety,” one of the most controversial concepts in Confucian philosophy. Strong associations with the Zhou period during which Confucius lived have put this concept at odds with modernity’s emphasis on progressive rationality and liberation from the yoke of tradition. Sigurðsson notes how the Confucian perspective on learning provides a more balanced understanding of li. He goes on to discuss the limitations of the critique of tradition and of rationality’s claim to authority, referencing several Western sources, notably Hans-Georg Gadamer, John Dewey, and Pierre Bourdieu. An exposition of the ancient Chinese worldview of time and continuous change further points to the inevitability of li’s adaptable and flexible nature. Sigurðsson argues that Confucius and his immediate followers did not endorse a program of returning to the Zhou tradition, but rather of reviving the spirit of Zhou culture, involving active and personalized participation in tradition’s sustention and evolution.

Professor de Bary argues in these three lectures that China's Confucian tradition is still relevant in the democratic and pluralistic world order of today. First, Confucian tradition values free discourse and the pursuit of knowledge. Second, He goes into “further details of the content and method by which the Chinese classics can be restored to a place in a modern humanities curriculum"elevant to a global horizon. Third, de Bary envisions a global curriculum of "eat books" through translation. Throughout these lectures, one can see de Bary's passion as a humanist and an educator and one who has had tremendous experience in conceiving and editing the Introduction to Oriental Civilizations Series, which have had so much impact upon the teachings of Asia in America's colleges. Two additional chapters by Professors Tze-wan Kwan and Cheung Chan-fai on the issues of Tang Chun-I's concept of general education and language media in education respectively are added.

Although the development of a “popular” brand of Confucianism in China is today a massive phenomenon, research on the topic remains scarce. Based on fieldwork carried out by a team of scholars in different parts of the country, the ambition of The Varieties of Confucian Experience is to contribute to the limited body of ethnographic accounts that aim to document and understand the diversity of phenomena encapsulated under the label “Confucian revival” in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Harmony is a concept essential to Confucianism and to the way of life of past and present people in East Asia. Integrating methods of textual exegesis, historical investigation, comparative analysis, and philosophical argumentation, this book presents a comprehensive treatment of the Confucian philosophy of harmony. The book traces the roots of the concept to antiquity, examines its subsequent development, and explicates its theoretical and practical significance for the contemporary world. It argues that, contrary to a common view in the West, Confucian harmony is not mere agreement but has to be achieved and maintained with creative tension. Under the influence of a Weberian reading of Confucianism as "adjustment" to a world with an underlying fixed cosmic order, Confucian harmony has been systematically misinterpreted in the West as presupposing an invariable grand scheme of things that pre-exists in the world to which humanity has to conform. The book shows that Confucian harmony is a dynamic, generative process, which seeks to balance and reconcile differences and conflicts through creativity. Illuminating one of the most important concepts in Chinese philosophy and intellectual history, this book is of interest to students of Chinese studies, history and philosophy in general and eastern philosophy in particular.

For much of the twentieth century, Confucianism was condemned by Westerners and East Asians alike as antithetical to modernity. Internationally renowned philosophers, historians, and social scientists argue otherwise in Confucian Political Ethics. They show how classical Confucian theory--with its emphasis on family ties, self-improvement, education, and the social good--is highly relevant to the most pressing dilemmas confronting us today. Drawing upon in-depth, cross-cultural dialogues, the contributors delve into the relationship of Confucian political ethics to contemporary social issues, exploring Confucian perspectives on civil society, government, territorial boundaries and boundaries of the human body and body politic, and ethical pluralism. They examine how Confucianism, often dismissed as backwardly patriarchal, can in fact find common ground with a range of contemporary feminist values and need not hinder gender equality. And they show how Confucian theories about war and peace were formulated in a context not so different from today's international system, and how they can help us achieve a more peaceful global community. This thought-provoking volume affirms the enduring relevance of Confucian moral and political thinking, and will stimulate important debate among policymakers, researchers, and students of politics, philosophy, applied ethics, and East Asian studies. The contributors are Daniel A. Bell, Joseph Chan, Sin Yee Chan, Chenyang Li, Richard Madsen, Ni Lexiong, Peter Nosco, Michael Nylan, Henry Rosemont, Jr., and Lee H. Yearley.