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Our Confucian corporate brand personality construct is based on the idea of a "Junzi" (noble man) in the Chinese Confucian philosophy. Using hospitality service providers in Hong Kong as samples, we tested the relationships between Confucian corporate brand personality, employee satisfaction and market performance. Two models were tested. The multiplicative model for Confucian corporate brand personality is found to be better than the additive model in predicting marketing performance. This study also shows that there is a full mediation effect with employee satisfaction being the mediator of the relationship between Confucian corporate brand personality and marketing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents some of the main contributions from the Chinese philosopher and diplomat P.C. Chang regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Chang was one of the key drafters and he influenced the document in crucial ways during the whole drafting process, such as its religious neutrality and its broad range of rights. He combined Western philosophy and Confucian ethics in his contributions. He became vice chair of the Human Rights Commission at the UN and worked closely with Eleanor Roosevelt, the chair of the commission. He emphasized the Eastern perspective and he was highly critical of the colonial legacy, especially from delegates such as the Frenchman René Cassin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on Chinese nationalism in Western academia have been influenced by a popular theory called 'the culturalism-to-nationalism thesis', a loosely formulated interpretive paradigm which emerged in late 1960s. The literature on this topic, however, reveals an inadequate understanding of traditional Chinese thinking and its influence on Chinese thought in modern history. An examination of the work of Li Dazhao (1889–1927) and his philosophical heritage not only will open up a valuable source for us to rethink about this thesis and its defects, but also will shed light on the complicated background and perspective that give rise to modern Chinese nationalism. Given the interest in Chinese nationalism in contemporary world, an understanding of its historical roots is particularly timely, since in order to understand China's current and future actions one must understand the origins of Chinese nationalist thinking and its transformations in time. This paper makes a contribution to that historical understanding. I argue that traditional Chinese philosophy, especially the Daoist world view and Confucian ethics played a significant role in shaping Li's patriotic and nationalist stance. It also predisposed him intellectually to accept the internationalist characteristic of Marxism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exemplarism – the view that exemplary people, whom we admire, are the bearers of our moral concepts – presents considerable challenges to the (widely-assumed) place of moral theory in how we learn to be moral. Exemplarism has been garnered by Amy Olberding to articulate a Confucian approach to moral learning. This paper extends Exemplarism by considering how it may be put into practice, based on a seminal Confucian text, the Analects of Confucius. To date, the majority of discussions on Confucian ethics that have brought Confucian philosophy to the attention of Anglophone scholars tend to focus on conceptually-based matters. There remain questions regarding how these values may be inculcated and embodied in our moral lives. Central to our proposal is the practice of reflective observation (guan 觀), comprised by three integrated components: observation, evaluation, and emulation. Observing, reflectively, is important not only for an individual's acculturation to existing norms and practices but also for how they may subsequently exercise some latitude over their moral practices. Our reflections offer a practical approach to Confucian moral learning. In doing so, we demystify moral learning in Confucianism and open up avenues for future cross-tradition dialogues on moral education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is referred to here as the Needham thesis, after Joseph Needham, author of Science and Civilization in China, points to the strong affinity in China for dialectical materialism, and through it to modern ecological science, arising from the parallel roots in organic materialism associated with ancient Epicureanism in the West (which influenced classical Marxism) and ancient Daoist and Confucian philosophies in China. This parallel development of organic materialism in Europe (where it was largely submerged in the dominant capitalist culture) and in China embodied in each case deep ecological conceptions. Hence, dialectical materialism, once it arrived in China, served to mediate between these organic traditions within the framework of modern materialist science. It was in this general context that the notion of ecological civilization, arising initially in the last years of the USSR, was carried forward to China, where it took on added meaning. China's own peasant-based revolution has induced further ecological developments. As a result of this general convergence, and due to China's reemergence on the world stage, ecological Marxism is now rapidly coevolving in both East and West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the intellectual tides of the May Fourth Movement, Mei Guangdi (梅光迪, 1890–1945) believed that a "truly modern person" was someone who could maintain their intellectual independence and Confucian flexibility under immense cultural pressure. Because of this, Mei Guangdi took the advice of his mentor Irving Babbitt and supported the study and interpretation of the modernity within core Confucian philosophies to promote the Chinese national essence and absorb new knowledge. Mei Guangdi's theoretical framework for "New Confucianism" included "exploring Europe's cultural roots and its reasons for growth" rather than "ridiculously abandoning two thousand years of Chinese history." With the aid of "folk literature," he outlined a basic framework of modern cultural transition for "New Confucianism" and a "New Confucian Culture Movement." In terms of core principles, Mei Guangdi emphasized the "eternal value of Confucianism" while offering new modern interpretations of "ritual." The transformation of the "New Confucianism Movement" could be seen in how the concept of "gentleman" (junzi) affected societal transformation. More concretely, it influenced how new intellectuals understood citizenship, the responsibilities and roles of scholars, and the development of Confucianism. This article examines how Mei Guangdi used a holistic approach to Confucianism to create proposals for China's modern cultural transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to read Nishida Kitarō (1870–1945) as a New Confucian, with a focus on his early moral philosophy. While the influence of Buddhism on Nishida's philosophy is surely significant, this paper argues that it is actually Confucianism which plays a more important role. It is for this reason that fruitful comparisons can be made between his work and the so-called New Confucianism. I would like to explore three key questions with respects to this important yet relatively overlooked aspect: Firstly, in what way has Nishida conformed to Confucian discourse in his moral philosophy? Secondly, what elements of Confucianism has Nishida revisited? Thirdly, what lessons can Nishida offer to philosophy as a New Confucian? It is my suggestion that reading Nishida as a New Confucian may help to further open up the potential of Nishida philosophy, Confucian philosophy, as well as philosophy in East Asia in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humility as an aspect of our humanity is an important concept in both Confucian and Western philosophy. In the modern world, whether Western or not, there seems to be a growing need to promote humility, especially intellectual humility, as a fundamental virtue among students. In this paper, I first compare and contrast the Confucian and Western conceptions of humility. Then I explore a Confucian approach to teaching intellectual humility, arguing that the focus of teaching be directed towards cultivating the Confucian virtues of reflection (si) and reverence (jing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose and argue for an account of humility in Zhuangzi, which I call perspectival humility. In the opening of the article, I will present a view of humility found in pre-Qin Confucian texts; then, I will explain the idea of Zhuangist humility, which provides a contrast to Confucian humility. Zhuang Zhou does not think that any ideas of right and wrong can be absolutely correct. People must see that their beliefs may not be absolutely correct, and should always consider alternative perspectives. Those who recognise the limitations of their perspective are led to perspectival humility. Moreover, perspectival humility encourages people to learn extensively and to harmonise the differences between other perspectives. The Zhuangist approach takes various perspectives into account and is an inclusive notion of humility that prompts people to appreciate different ways of life, engages in harmonious social relationships, and preserves cultural diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the Confucian political philosophy of China, Roger Ames presents "family feeling" (xiao) as a candidate for a universal minimalist morality. Challenging certain conventional views in political philosophy that see family feeling as a threat to achieving an egalitarian level playing field, Ames underscores the ethical and political significance of family, advocating for the integration of familial sentiments into the political sphere. He addresses modern challenges, showing how diverse cultural expressions are allowed for within this philosophy's pluralistic and locally focused framework. This dynamic ethical perspective rooted in the shared sentiment of family feeling challenges us to critically reexamine Confucianism, China, and our entire geopolitical situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decade, Si Xiao, Xianglong Zhang, Xiangcheng Sun and others have proposed a Confucian Philosophy of Family (CPF) movement as a response to issues in contemporary China. These issues include high divorce rates, low birth rates, caring for seniors, and other related issues. This proposal is an attempt to modernize traditional Confucianism and to make it relevant in contemporary China. In this paper I argue that this attempt faces external and internal challenges. The external challenges to CPF include the trademarks of contemporary philosophy, such as the methodological naturalism, epistemic pluralism and ethical individualism. Furthermore, there are three competing readings of CPF, which poses its own internal challenge to CPF. CPF scholars have failed to clarify if they are engaged in a project of interpretation, which is to elaborate the idea of family in the Confucian tradition, or as a project of justification, which is to justify Confucian understanding of family as a universal and objective value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for a consideration of theoretical pluralism when conducting social science research in globalized and transcultural contexts via reflecting on a qualitative study which was designed to explore the ways in which second-generation Chinese young individuals were constructing selves in UK contexts. Narrative case studies were compiled and analyses conducted with a pluralist orientation integrating (Western) social constructionism and elements of (Chinese) Confucian philosophy and ultimately Taoist orientations. The multiple and dynamic positionalities demonstrated by the research participants prompted us to review many aspects of our research, which demanded sensitivity in respect of the following key areas –cultural complexity of research context, methodology and methods, epistemology and ontology, reflection and reflexivity, the criteria appropriate for conducting transcultural research, and the pluralist theoretical framework which enabled the development of potentially transformative representations of individuals in shifting contemporary global contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contextual dimension of ren or li is celebrated in English studies of Confucian ethics. However, it often gives way to the issue of individual practice in studies concerning the relationship between ren and li due perhaps to an excessive focus on personal moral development. Inspired by a painting metaphor from the Analects, the present study reassesses this unbalanced approach to the ren-li relationship through the proposed theme of contextual individuality. In the wake of relationally constituted individuality in Confucian philosophy, this study shows that the moral endowment of caring for others in human nature, which constitutes the moral foundation of ren and li, calls for a contextually practical approach to the ren-li relationship. This approach is crucial for the recognition that one's moral development may not be truly accomplished unless undertaken in the context of the moral development of fellow human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relation between different models of ethics and their impact upon crises solution strategies. Here, it is important to consider knowledge and ethical theories from different cultures. The paper describes some alternative ethical models from the perspective of the Chinese, particularly Confucian, philosophies. This perspective is meaningful because in the Sinitic areas the pandemic has been brought under control much more effectively than in other regions of the world. First, the paper introduces the Chinese philosophy of life and highlights its current relevance; then, it presents traditional Chinese models of relational and anti-essentialist concepts of the self and investigates their impact to the Confucian models of social ethics. On this basis, it illuminates some new ways of understanding interpersonal and intercultural interactions that might help us develop new strategies against current and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emphases of ritual, morality, and hierarchical relationships in imperial Chinese law are usually attributed to a process of "Confucianization of law" in Han dynasty. However, an interdisciplinary look at the notion of the 'Confucianization of law' from philosophical texts and legal materials will prove the vulnerability of such a simple conclusion. Philosophically, the Han dynasty saw first a politicization of Confucianism, which distinguished Han Confucianism from the Confucianism of previous generations. There was in fact a great contrast between Confucian ideals and Confucianization of law. Furthermore, by reading of Qin Law through the archeological material Shuihudi Qin Bamboo Texts, it can be seen that values we might label as Confucian existed already in Qin Law. These two considerations prove that simply attributing the moral and hierarchical characters of the imperial Chinese law to the single source of Confucianism does not do justice to the richness of the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading Bertrand Russell's Principles of Social Reconstruction, Liang Shuming began a process of interpreting Russell's philosophy in a Confucian way. The first stage in this process was seeing Russell as a fellow Confucian. Its second stage was absorbing Russell's theory of impulse, seeing this as sharing aspects of the Confucian doctrine of benevolence (ren). The third stage was reconstructing Russell's theory of spirit as a Confucian theory of "reason" as impersonal feeling. Under Liang Shuming's critical assimilation of Russell's philosophy, Russell's theories of impulse and spirit came to constitute an intrinsic component of modern New Confucianism and was incorporated into the discourse of modern Chinese philosophy. To a certain extent, this shifts our view of Russell as merely a passing figure in the history of modern Chinese philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The years 2020 and 2021 mark a centenary since the great British polymath Bertrand Russell visited China. Russell's philosophy had already reached China's borders a few years before Russell set his foot on Chinese soil in October 1920. The majority of early assessments of Russell's thought, which were advanced by Chinese philosophers with a strong affinity for either traditional Chinese or classical European philosophy, approached the latter's philosophy from the perspectives of either the Consciousness Only school of Buddhism, Confucian ethics, European Neo-Kantian philosophy, or Bergson. Concurrently, with the return of Russell's student Fu Tong as the head of the department of philosophy, Russell's philosophical thought and logical thought were also reintroduced into the curriculum at the Peking University. [Extracted from the article]

A burgeoning body of literature discusses the process of being and becoming a doctoral scholar, suggesting that graduate students should move beyond performing the role of 'good student' and transform into doctoral scholars and stewards of the profession. More recently, research has been conducted to identify more commonly held competencies and attributes doctoral scholars should develop. Even so, clear models for developing scholarly identity and specific habits-of-mind are more difficult to identify. The literature ranges from discussing this process as a form of transformation or identity development, as a form of socialisation, as regulative epistemology, or as the development of a scholarly habitus. While it would be fruitful to derive a new model for scholarly dispositions, we look to perennial wisdom and metaphors of intellectual excellence and lifelong learning that already exist. In this paper we illuminate three Confucian notions, elaborating the development of scholarly dispositions and cultivating particular habits of mind, values, and ways of being. Confucian philosophy sets forth ideal ways of being, valuing, and knowing that are highly developed in their own right and add a more holistic understanding to the conversation of scholarly identity development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates the Confucian cosmopolitan aspiration. First, it examines the nature of cosmopolitanism and its distinction from universalism. It demonstrates that cosmopolitanism is a philosophical doctrine that consists of two core tenets: (1) the tenet that humankind in whole is a social-political community under the rule of law; each person has global duty and obligation; (2) the tenet that a cosmopolitan world society is one of peoples of diverse cultures that are constellated into a community under the rule of law. Secondly, it explores Confucian cosmopolitanism consisting of five tenets: (1) the vision of humankind in whole as a community; (2) the concept of one's cosmopolitan belonging; (3) the concept of equal moral worthiness of all human beings and inviolability of human dignity; (4) the concept of cultural diversity of humanity; and (5) the aspiration to a world society of permanent peace. Thirdly, it discusses why we must have a cosmopolitan reading, not a universalistic reading, of Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have recognised the Confucian holistic perspective as transformative in addressing the ecological concerns. This article complements and complicates this line of argument. The aforementioned literature has seldom examined whether or not the Confucian ideal is attainable. Centring on cheng, a Confucian metaphysical concept, this article highlights the struggle between the ideal and the real. The discussion is based on the premise that essential to the current ecological crisis is a need to reconfigure the meaning and purpose of humanity on the planet; utopianism, evoking images of a society radically different from the existing one, has the potential to instigate transformations. Utopias of all kinds encounter the tension between ideal and practice. Webb proposes an analytical framework of utopia-as-system and utopia-as-process. The former stresses an idealised blueprint and the latter attends to localised practice. For any radical change to occur, it is imperative to adopt both. Drawing on the research of ecotopia and edutopia, this article argues that Confucianism has a utopian impetus. As ecological self-understanding, cheng challenges modern assumptions regarding humanity and ecology. The concept represents a model of both utopia-as-system and utopia-as-process, and it has the potential to inspire change. It is, however, not without complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese tianrenheyi thesis bespeaks a correlative cosmology irreducible to the Western metaphysics. This article historicizes tianrenheyi for new implications to help rethink the given concepts of 'person/thing,' 'environment/nature,' and 'relationality' in contemporary ethical and environmental education in three steps. First, it turns to Yu Ying-Shih's writing for a historical and ethical picture of tianrenheyi as an 'Axial breakthrough' in Confucius' time and with direct relevance to Confucian person-making education. Second, it moves on to Roger Ames' unpacking of tianrenheyi as hospitalized in a 'correlative cosmology' and 'Confucian relational personhood' to help us re-understand Confucian 'person' as being relational. Finally, it shows how these re-invoked philosophical–ethical–cosmological theses expose a 'foundational individualism' which grounds and confines current educational thinking to an anthropocentric (dis)ordering. As an alternative, this article calls for a productive symbiotic conjoining between humans and their cultural–natural environs toward nurturing today's youth into ecologically literate, responsible, and responsive co-beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the educational thought of Confucius with focus on the educational relationship in the Analects, which is a historical text that defines the foundations of Confucianism. The first part of the investigation examines Confucius' concept of the educational relationship and how it is characterized with a dialogical spirit, which consists of worldly and secular human-orientedness, co-existentiality as a fundamental principle for educational practice, and dialogue to become an ideal ruler through self-discipline. The second stage of this study further examines the spirit of dialogue in the Analects with consideration of its historical–cultural context. Through this process, the study unravels the historical and cultural limitations of original Confucian educational thought for modern society and proposes a possible way to reengage Confucius' educational value in today's modern educational context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is Confucian democracy philosophically justifiable? In recent decades, prominent Confucian theorists have answered this question in the negative, arguing that the political system that is consistent with Confucianism is political meritocracy or elite rule. This position presupposes an antithetical relation between democracy and Confucianism. In order to counter such a position, this article proposes a philosophically justifiable normative conception of Confucian democracy. By carefully examining democracy theories of Jean Jacques Rousseau and Carl Schmitt in the civic humanist republican tradition and Confucian political philosophy in the Mencian tradition, this article demonstrates that the substantive value of democracy as popular sovereignty is a fundamental idea undergirding and safeguarding the ideal Confucian politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global experiences are a significant form of professional development for teacher education faculty preparing teachers to support twenty-first-century diverse classrooms. This case study examined the international professional development (IPD) experiences of teacher education faculty at a Chinese university as involving personal-professional, researcher-practitioner, and aesthetic-pragmatic development. Faculty interviews, courses, and publications evidence challenges met and strategies for integrating global and local (glocal) identities, values, and practices – abroad and upon returning home. A Confucian ren as social benevolence and de as virtuous introspection served as a form of faculty agency in bridging the global and the local to bring new perspectives to home institutions, while maintaining an integrated sense of glocal identity. Implications for teacher education practice, policy, and research encourage IPD cultivating a ren-de agency via glocal collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper compares three models of modernized Confucian Ontology. The philosophers under debate belong to the most important, well-known and influential theoreticians in modern Taiwan and mainland China respectively. Through a contrastive analysis, the paper aims to critically introduce three alternative models of ontology, which have been developed from the Chinese philosophical tradition by the most well-known Taiwanese philosopher Mou Zongsan and by two most influential mainland Chinese theoreticians, Li Zehou and Chen Lai respectively. In this paper, I will analyze and critically introduce Li Zehou's and Chen Lai's respective critiques of Mou Zongsan's basic assumptions that have been reflected in his methodological paradigms, while also exposing some major differences within their own lines of thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we delve into the characterisation of international students as "Confucian Heritage" learners. To appreciate the implications of such iterative interpellation, we develop a genealogy of Sinology, which is here approached as the discursive effect of a colonial epistemic division of the world into free and democratic West and civilised and yet authoritarian East. In mapping the deployment of such heuristic in the management of international affairs during and after historical colonialism, we moreover demonstrate how the derivative characterisation of international students as "rote", "dependent", and inherently "prone to plagiarism" learners has been used to explain racism without race - that is, the epistemic exclusion of international students as a matter caused by factors other than race: lack of socially relevant cultural skills and communication barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Chinese traditional culture, specifically Confucian philosophy, and analyses four core concepts of Confucianism which include 'ren' (Benevolence), 'Jun zi' (Superior man), 'Tian ming' (heaven's mandate), and 'Xiao ti' (Filial piety and fraternal love). Based on these core concepts, this study explores how social attitudes in China (and among Chinese people living in other countries) toward people with disabilities are formed and influenced by Confucian philosophy, and how they impact the education of people with disabilities. It suggests that the related social attitudes of sympathy, rights awareness, and criteria of success, especially school performance in this case, can have both positive and negative impacts on inclusive education for children with disabilities. Strategies are suggested for encouraging attitude change, when appropriate, in order to facilitate special education and inclusion and how to do so in a manner that is culturally respectful of the core beliefs based on Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the millennials’ perceptions of Confucianism and their influence on their personal values and behavioural orientations with a sample from Taiwan to address the research gap in intergenerational and intercultural human resource development (HRD) research. It complements results from western research and offers important insights to worldwide managers and HRD practitioners for talent development and learning-related initiatives when working with employees and organizations with East Asia backgrounds. The concept of Confucius’ process of developing into a virtuous person seems to be rooted in the Taiwanese millennials’ mind, who as guided by Confucius tend to have a primary focus on accumulating knowledge, practicing moral behaviour, and correcting one’s mind and behaviour. Along with the globalization and technology advancement, the sampled millennials hold a strong traditional values of Confucian philosophy; yet, such strong cultural values may be attenuated a great deal after exposing to western culture over times. The Confucian virtue (moral) behaviour practice, harmonious relations, and self-cultivation are found as top three factors of Confucian values. Implications for HRD practices and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages contemporary literature from body studies to situate the Confucian body and its interactions with the space of the Forbidden City. The analysis demonstrates how discomfort, anxiety and the restraining of the body unfold through embodied encounters in the space. The paper focuses on the limits to what is possible in the movements of body, and how these movements rely upon and resist the space promised by Confucian thought. Understood as an embodied activity, walking is mobilised in this investigation by comparing the journey to meet the emperor taken by eunuchs and provincial officials in Imperial times and my own bodily experience in contemporary time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural products that adhere to the Doctrine of the Mean in Confucian philosophy have high commercial and cultural value. However, they are challenging to design and are seldom studied owing to the intangibility of the concept of culture. In this paper, we explore the applicability of this doctrine to product design, propose a design process in this vein, and use a chair as a case study to illustrate it. The doctrine is interpreted through five factors from three perspectives and is then converted into design elements based on which designers created the prototype of a chair. The results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method and the viability of design for infusing products with this aspect of Confucian culture. This extraction of design elements from similar and fused culture provides a novel method for designers to create cultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhu Xi, as a great leader of Neo-Confucianism, established the succession of the Way and raised Zhou Dunyi to the position of successor of Mencius. Zhu Xi drew attention to Zhou’s thought and wrote a commentary on hisTaijitu Shuo太極圖說 (Discussion of the Taiji Diagram) andTongshu通書 (Penetrating the Scripture of Change). During the process of annotating these two works, Zhu discussed the texts with scholars such as Li Tong, Lü Zuqian, Zhang Shi, and Lu Jiuyuan to improve his annotation. The suggestions from other scholars affected Zhu’s explanation of Zhou’s works. This essay studies the interaction between Zhu and his friends and attempts to explain how Zhu’s commentaries on theTaijitu ShuoandTongshuwere affected by other scholars’ suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

I aim to show how Confucian philosophy can contribute to the contemporary resurgence of virtue ethics education by arguing that it has the resource to address a lacuna in Aristotelian ethics. Aristotelian ethics, which is arguably the main resource of contemporary virtue ethics, lacks a virtue that corresponds to the notion of loving each person as one’s self or the Golden Rule. To be more precise, Aristotelian ethics has no virtue about lovingallpeople as one’s self, althoughphiliacomes close but is precisely limited because it lacks universality. However, I believe that Dai Zhen’s interpretation of the Confucian virtues ofshuandzhongdoes have this universal scope whichphilialacks. For Dai, the ground for loving another is not any characteristic that a particular group of people have in common, such as, in the case ofphilia, being virtuous. Rather, the ground is universal human nature itself. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cult of Confucius as practiced in Confucian temples had all the characteristics of a state religion, largely removed from the everyday lives of elite Confucians. In contrast, during late Imperial China, many Confucians cultivated private household ritual practices centered on the cult of Confucius and important sages and worthies. This private ritual practice differed significantly from the official cult of Confucius. First, it was far less rigid and more fluid. Second, because it was a private practice, there was greater autonomy in ritual practice. Thirdly, these ideas reflected a new understanding of Confucian identity in relation to both one's own bloodline and the genealogy of the Way. This articles addresses these issues in the context of descriptive examples of this ritual practice, along with an account of its significance with respect to ideas related to this private ritual practice, including ritual theory debates on incorporating images in the ritual, and the relationship between ritual and moral cultivation. To better understand this practice, this article will further provide some discussion of the intellectual context of the Ming-Qing transition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A deterrence theory of punishment holds that the institution of criminal punishment is morally justified because it serves to deter crime. Because the fear of external sanction is an important incentive in crime deterrence, the deterrence theory is often associated with the idea of severe, disproportionate punishment. An objection to this theory holds that hope of escape renders even the severest punishment inapt and irrelevant. This article revisits the concept of deterrence and defend a more plausible deterrence theory of punishment—the wide-scope deterrence theory. The wide-scope theory holds that we must make the best use of all the deterrence tools available, including both external and internal sanctions. Drawing on insights from the early Confucian tradition, the article develops a deep deterrence theory, which holds that the most important deterrence tool involves internal, not external, sanction. It describes how internal sanctions deter potential offenses and why relevant policies need not conflict with liberalism’s respect for neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As recorded in the Analects, Kongzi (Confucius) held that using punishment to influence ordinary citizens will do little to develop a sense of shame (chi 恥) in them. This term is usually taken to refer to a sense of shame described here as “autonomous,” understood as a predisposition to feel ashamed when one does something wrong because it seems wrong to oneself, and not because others regard it as wrong or shameful. Historically, Confucian philosophers have thought a great deal about the habits and character traits necessary for someone to have a sense of shame that is truly autonomous. The article looks at their views on this matter and shows how they help to articulate the hypothesis that coercive punishments undermine or work at cross-purposes with the cultivation of an autonomous sense of shame. It then uses this analysis to explicate Kongzi’s proposal that governing people by cultivating a sense of shame is to be preferred to governing by threat of punishment. It concludes by weighing its merits as a view about effective governance, observing that its strength and plausibility depends on whether we take the threat of punishment to be direct or indirect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines past and present moral education practices in Chinese families. It begins with a brief overview of Confucian thought on moral education and its lasting influence on Chinese moral ethos. It then identifies the types of moral values emphasised by Chinese parents, as well as the kinds of moral education literature they use for teaching. It proceeds to analyse the methods employed by Chinese parents to instil moral values in everyday contexts. Using evidence from research and recent news reports on Chinese moral conduct, the author argues that the moral socialisation practices in Chinese families may be problematic, despite their best intentions. The article concludes by suggesting alternative family moral education approaches for future consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to read the Confucian Classics today? Scholars with philosophical training usually emphasize that the philosophical approach, in comparison with the classicist and historical ones, is the best way to read the Confucian Classics, for it can dig out as much intellectual resources as possible from the classical texts in order to show their modern relevance. Briefly, the philosophical approach runs as follows: (1) first, to discover or identify the philosophical question inhered in the text; (2) then to reconstruct the line of thinking, reasoning, and argumentation revealed in the text, which will lead to the answer of the question; and (3) finally evaluate the effectiveness of the answer by any possible criticism. In spite of the fact that the philosophical approach does help showing the Confucian classics are of great significance to modern people, some scholars seriously caution that this theorization would alienate Confucianism from its very practical concern about self-cultivation. Accordingly, traditional Confucian scholars adopted an existential approach to reading, that is using their personal experience to read, question, understand, and comprehend the meanings of the text, making their comprehension as something they find in themselves and thus will be at ease in it. So there seems to be a dichotomy between the modern philosophical approach and the traditional existential approach to reading of the Confucian Classics. In this paper, I shall argue that the dichotomy has never existed. In fact, traditional Confucian scholars read the Confucian canon in both the philosophical and existential ways. Song Confucian Zhu Xi’s ‘Method of Reading’ is a case in point. I shall then argue that these two approaches should be irreducible and inseparable so as to form a proper way of reading as well as teaching the Confucian Classics today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article approaches Confucianism as a lost art of living and asks how we can make it relevant again for us. Central to this approach is the cultivation of heart-mind (Xinxue, 心學) designed to help cure ourselves of self-oblivion and self-centeredness so prevalent in our culture today. It is based on the idea of Li (理), the same as Spinoza's God, the absolute Being that has nothing to do with human aspirations at all. To seek this, Li is therefore to gain true freedom. Two preeminent Neo-Confucians of Joseon Korea, Yi Hwang and Yi I, discuss the method of Jing (敬), paying full attention and being watchful, for that end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I present a model of four dimensions for the idea of learning in the classical Confucian perspective. This model is intended to capture the most essential four aspects of learning which explain why self-cultivation of a human person toward an end of self-fulfillment and social transformation of humanity is possible. I shall also show how this model illuminates all basic uses of the term ‘xue’ (学, learning) inthe Analectsand thus leads to a more coherent understanding of the Confucian moral and ethical philosophy than have been previously done. A copingstone principle of sincerification is also suggested for enabling the advancement of a person to a higher status of life such as junzi (君子a learned person) and shengxian (圣贤 sagely person). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The term ‘humanism’ is Western in origin. It denotes the tradition that places special emphasis on cultivation of letters for education. In the West, this tradition was originated with sophists and Isocrates, established by Cicero, and was developed by Renaissance humanists. East Asia, however, also has its own humanistic traditions with equal educational relevance. One of these is a Japanese version of Confucian humanism established by Ogyu Sorai (1666–1728). This tradition is based on the interpretation of Confucius as a lover of poetry and a teacher of rites. In this article, we discuss the main features of East Asian humanism represented by Sorai and Confucius. Then, after an overview of Western humanism, we aim to elucidate both the convergence and divergence of the two traditions. The investigation will help us (hopefully) to envision humanistic education of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The overwhelming motif of nineteenth century anti-Semitic discourse is the metaphor of the Jew as a ghost. In all cultures, the ghost represents the antithesis of what is categorically human: it represents the otherpar excellence. By using the heuristic of the ghost to interpret how Enlightenment discourse has dealt with the other, this article will argue that the Enlightenment model of the self and its relation to others was a contributing factor to Modern Racism. Enlightenment discourse on subjectivity finds its counterpart in Confucian notions of subjectivity. By looking at how ghosts are understood within Confucian discourse and how they are evoked in popular literature, I argue that Confucian philosophy’s model of subjectivity contributed to the success of the Chinese empire’s assimilation project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main purpose of this article is to show that the essence of Mozi’s political theory, namely that a civil state is in its best or ideal condition when each citizen exercises universal care (jian ai兼愛), is more defensible than it is usually thought to be. Doing this will require an exposition of the main features of his theory and occasionally reference arguments and considerations outside of Mozi’s text. We interpret the disagreement between Mozi and his alleged Confucian opponents as a disagreement about the nature of political obligation: Confucians regard political service as a kind of noncontractual role obligation, while Mozi regards it as an obligation derivable from universal and impartial moral principles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

On the one hand, Confucianism and Christianity advocate universal love for all humans on the ultimate basis of particular love for parents or for God respectively. On the other hand, they have to sacrifice the former for the latter in cases of conflict since they give top priority merely to the latter. In order to overcome this paradox in theory and realize the ideal of universal love in practice, they should transform their particularistic frameworks into universalistic ones and assign a supreme position to their ideas of universal love for all humans, which imply in a potential way a modern, humanistic principle ‘respect the deserved rights of every human being’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study empirically examines how different types of leadership behaviour affect perceived job performance of leaders in different cultures, specifically comparing the U.S. and four Confucian Asian countries. Using a large archival database of a multisource feedback instrument assessing leadership behaviours and overall perceived job performance of managers in these countries, this study analyses the influence of leadership behaviours on perceived job performance. The results suggest that charismatic and directive leadership behaviours are positively related to perceived job performance of leaders in all countries studied, whereas the influence of supportive leadership behaviour is not as strong as charismatic and directive leadership behaviours. Surprisingly, participative leadership behaviour is not associated with perceived job performance of leaders in the countries studied except for Japan. Research implications and limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, there is still a widely held view that the Chinese and Western modes of thought are quite distinct from each other. In particular, the Chinese mode of thought derived from Confucianism is considered as comparatively less rational than the Western one. In this article, I first argue that although the analogical mode of argumentation, which is often claimed to be in sharp contrast with the Western mode of rationalism, has played a prominent role in Confucianism, it does not make Confucianism any less rational. Then, I examine the normative and communicative features of Confucian rationalism, exploring the implications of these features for critical thinking in education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that Mencius’ education is ‘holistic education’ that aims at igniting the ‘silent revolution’ from within one’s inner mind-heart to be unfolded in society, state, and the world. Mencius’ educational philosophy is based on his theory of human nature and his theory of self-cultivation. Mencius affirms the totality of human life because he insists that the ‘personal,’ the ‘socio-political,’ and the ‘cosmic’ form a continuum. On the basis of ‘totality’ of one’s life, Mencius regards the educational process as the prompting of the overall awakening of the learner’s subjectivity. Moreover, Mencius considers that the human mind-heart is the creator of values and that human life is endowed with innate capacity to make moral judgments. Mencius holds that the most effective educational methodology is a sort of cultivation of the mind-heart through internal self-reflection. Moreover, Mencius insists that the principles of teaching are to be according to the student’s talent and that the teacher has to make oneself as a paradigm. In conclusion, Mencius’ educational philosophy reminds us of the importance of ‘emic’ approach of education and the true goal of education in this age of increased quantification, standardization, and commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are marked similarities between Confucian ideas about the relationship between action, knowledge and learning, and contemporary educational thinking about action research. Examples can be seen in the relationship between action and research. First, Confucius emphasized the importance of ‘action’ which was different from ‘research’. The Confucian view of action implies that one should engage in a research process of deliberation in advance and then decide whether to take action or not. This kind of researched action is refined by the process of deliberation which could be called ‘research pre action’—the first stage of action research. Second, Confucius emphasized the importance of knowledge, and this reveals that Confucius emphasized the importance of knowledgeable action. This view of the relationship between knowledge and action inspires an insight into the relationship between knowledge, action, and action research. This competence to research and acquire new understanding in action could be called ‘research in action’—the second stage of action research. Third, Confucius emphasized the importance of learning to connect the relationship between knowledge and action. According to Confucius, learning is an important medium to accumulate knowledge, enable action, and improve the relationship between knowledge and action. And it might enable the possibility of a set of relations in which ‘action’ and ‘research’ might no longer be segregated in their traditional dichotomy. This relationship could be called ‘research on action’ in the third stage of action research. These observations of the Confucian view show a new direction in action research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Modern Confucian philosophy the notion of the moral Self which is expressed through the natural moral substance(xingti性體)represents both the foundation of each individual and the core of the universal reason. The indivisibility of the moral Self from its concrete activities within the social sphere differs in many various aspects from prevailing Western political and philosophical theories that are based on the separation of the empirical and transcendent subject. Hence, this holistic special feature of the moral Self is closely related to one of the basic paradigms of Chinese intellectual history, i.e. the paradigm of immanent transcendence, which is also known as the paradigm of ‘radical’ or ‘pure’ transcendence. The present article introduces and analyses both above-mentioned, mutually intertwined traditional notions through the lens of modern interpretations, focusing upon the philosophical work written by the representatives of the second generation of Taiwanese Modern Confucians. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]