The Core Values of Chinese Civilization

The Core Values of Chinese Civilization

Lai Chen The Core Values of Chinese Civilization 123

Lai Chen The Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Learning Tsinghua University Beijing China Translated by Paul J. D Ambrosio, Robert Carleo III, Chad Meyers, Joanna Guzowska ISBN 978-981-10-3366-7 ISBN 978-981-10-3367-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3367-4 Jointly Published with SDX Joint Publishing ISBN: 978-7-108-05292-6 SDX Joint Publishing Library of Congress Control Number: 2016960277 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. and SDX Joint Publishing 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publishers, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #22-06/08 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Preface In the spring of 2007, I gave a talk at Tufts University on Confucianism and the Transformations of Contemporary China. I discussed two issues. One was the characteristics of Confucian values, and the other was the changes of contemporary China. As the audience of American students had no familiarity with the Chinese language, I could not quote from the Chinese classics in the way I do when speaking in China. Therefore, I declared openly at the beginning of the talk that I would not discuss classical texts and instead attempted a comparative approach to elucidating the characteristics of Chinese thought and values. I identified eight total points: Morality is more important than law, this life more important than the afterlife, the community more important than the individual, the spiritual more important than the material, responsibility more important than rights, the well-being of the people more important than democracy, order more important than freedom, and harmony more valuable than struggle. In the summer of 2010, I gave a report on Confucian Thought and Contemporary Society for a forum on reading held by China s central government at the headquarters of the General Administration of Press and Publication. I discussed four issues: The first was Confucian culture, the second was Confucian thought on governance and political administration, the third was the Confucian perspective on human life, and the fourth was Confucianism and contemporary China. In this fourth part on the question of Confucianism and contemporary China, I adopted a comparative method and modern perspective in looking at the characteristics of Confucian values. In total, I discussed ten points: Morality is more important than law, the community more important than the individual, the spiritual more important than the material, responsibility more important than rights, the well-being of the people more important than democracy, order more important than freedom, this life more important than the afterlife, harmony more valuable than struggle, civilization more valuable than impoverishment, and family more valuable than social class. This time, I discussed two points in addition to those described at Tufts and slightly adjusted their order. In the fall of 2012, at the invitation of the Korean Academic Research Council, I served as a speaker for the 14th series of Special Lectures by Distinguished v

vi Preface Scholars, carrying out academic exchange with Korea and giving a series of talks. I spoke twice in Korea, on the topics of The Foundations of the Philosophic Thought of Chinese Civilization and The Values and Worldview of Chinese Civilization, respectively. The latter concentrated on the values of Chinese civilization, while the former, although it was devoted to the discussion of philosophical thought and cosmology, could serve as an explanation of the cosmological and philosophical background of Chinese values. The topics of these two talks were set in accordance with the requirements of the Korean Academic Research Council. The Koreans had mentioned in particular that they hoped the talks would be oriented at problems that had become apparent in Western civilization and Western modernity and seek in Chinese civilization potential alternative universalist principles. Therefore, my talk took ancient Confucianism as a prominent representative of the values of humane love, ritual, responsibility, and community emphasized in Chinese civilization. Through later philosophical explication, these values further came to express universal meaning. The principle of humane love, spirit of ritual, consciousness of responsibility, and fundamental place of the community are all value positions opposed to individualism. They lead to the rational affirmation of communal collaboration, a culture of ritual education, a politics of cooperation, and a world governed by the Way of the king (wangdao 王道 ). They ought to become universal principles. Communal collaboration emphasizes the significance of the community, which helps counter individualism. A culture of ritual education emphasizes moral consciousness, which distinguishes it from legalism. A politics of cooperation emphasizes the cooperative political communication, which differentiates it from a politics of conflict. Finally, a world governed by the Way of the king is a type of world order that differs from hegemonism. These four points are all centred in humaneness (ren 仁 ). Humaneness is a fundamental principle that takes interrelation and peaceful coexistence as its content. The principal purpose of identifying these is to elucidate alternative universal principles that differ from those of Western modernity. After returning from Korea, I immediately published the Chinese text of this study in an academic journal with slight adjustments. I added the following sentences: The basic values formed in Axial Age Chinese civilization became the principle guides for the core values developed in later Chinese civilization. Through the two millennia of development following the Axial Age, Chinese civilization formed its own set value preferences, of which there are principally four: the priority of responsibility to freedom, the priority of duty to rights, the community being higher than the individual, and harmony being higher than conflict. These four points present pronounced contrast with modern Western culture and are adjusted and simplified from the aforementioned ten points. To a certain extent, they also aim to express the characteristics of the values of Chinese civilization in a more focused and succinct way. The above views all engage with the values of traditional Chinese culture and their characteristics. I have mentioned these often in my various works on Confucianism and Chinese culture in recent years and have drawn the attention of a

Preface vii certain number of other thinkers. In fact, I have discussed the characteristics of the values of Confucianism and Chinese culture many times in various lectures since 2004. In recent years, the fervor for guoxue 国学 (Chinese studies) has risen throughout China. Passion for the study of the resplendent culture pioneered by our ancestors has increased consistently among the broad Chinese masses. Therefore, this volume includes two papers on the history and concept of this area of scholarship, so as to help readers understand the general academic views on guoxue. During the twentieth century s New Culture Movement, there was a movement to organize traditional Chinese culture and learning, and Liang Qichao pointed out two forms of common knowledge of guoxue: a general understanding of Chinese history and Chinese people s perspective on human life. That is to say, the study of guoxue in one aspect requires grasping China s history and culture and in another aspect requires study and grasping of Chinese culture s perspective on human life. The perspective on human life discussed by Liang Qichao is also values. Therefore, in examining guoxue and traditional Chinese culture today, we need broad understanding of the history of the generation, maturation, and development of Chinese culture, recognizing its unique qualities, existential value, and universal significance. We also need self-conscious study and absorption of the values of Chinese civilization, by which to advance the cultural confidence of the people as a whole, inspire the spirit of the people, strengthen the cohesion and vitality of the Chinese people, and strive to realize a great renaissance of the Chinese people and Chinese culture. Beijing, China February 2015 First Day of Spring Lai Chen

Contents 1 The Philosophical Foundations of Chinese Civilization... 1 1.1 Correlative Cosmology... 3 1.2 The One Continuous Qi... 7 1.3 Yin-Yang Complementation... 10 1.4 Continuously Generative Transformation... 13 1.5 Natural Heavenly Patterns... 16 1.6 Unification of Humans and Heaven... 20 2 The Values and Worldview of Chinese Civilization... 25 2.1 The Ethical Spirit of Early Chinese Civilization... 26 2.2 The Fundamental Values of Axial Age Chinese Civilization... 29 2.3 The Ancient Confucian System of Moral Concepts... 32 2.4 The Preferences and Characteristics of the Values of Chinese Civilization... 35 2.5 The Divergence Between the Value Preferences of Chinese Civilization and Modern Values... 41 2.6 The Worldview of Chinese Civilization: Understanding and Attitude Regarding the External World... 46 2.7 The Universal Ideal of Chinese Civilization: Pursuit of Pluralism and Harmony... 51 3 A Brief Account of the Development of the Chinese Intellectual Tradition... 57 3.1 Chinese Script and the Early Textual Corpus... 59 3.2 The Formation of the Six Classics... 61 3.3 The One Hundred Schools... 63 3.4 Han Dynasty Classical Learning... 66 3.5 The Records of the Grand Historian, the History of the Han, and the Shuo Wen Dictionary... 69 ix

x Contents 3.6 The Broader Literary Corpus... 71 3.7 Wei-Jin Era Neo-Daoism and Religious Daoism... 73 3.8 Buddhism and Literature During the Sui and the Tang.... 76 3.9 Song-Ming Neo-confucianism and the Structure of Scholarship.... 79 3.10 Qing Dynasty Han Learning and Large-Scale Compilation Projects.... 84 3.11 Early Modern Chinese Learning, Western Learning, and Guoxue... 87 3.12 The Contemporary Guoxue Craze.... 91 3.13 The Basic Characteristics of Chinese Civilization and Culture.... 94 4 The Rise and Development of Modern Guoxue.... 97 4.1 The Birth and Development of the Idea of Guoxue... 98 4.2 The Employment of the Concept of Guoxue.... 106 4.3 The Development of the Study of Guoxue... 111 4.4 The Great Figures of Guoxue... 117 Appendices.... 125 Appendix A: Confucian Thought and Contemporary Society... 125 Appendix B: Modern Confucianism and Universal Values... 151 Appendix C: The Transmission and Development of Traditional Chinese Values... 161