Why does Du Weiming, the representative of contemporary "new Confucianism", say that Confucian tradition is the intermediary of civilized dialogue?

Du Weiming, the representative of the contemporary "New Confucianism", the president of Peking University Institute of Advanced Humanities and the research professor of Harvard University, said in a speech at the 15th Shanghai International Art Festival Forum in China on June 5438+08 that Confucianism is a humanism with strong spirit, and its tolerance and equality are the basis and intermediary for communication and dialogue between different cultures.

Du Weiming said that in 2006, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan organized a dialogue group of 18 people in the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. Finally, everyone agreed to take the Confucian golden rule "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" as the basic principle of dialogue. Du Weiming believes that this creed is different from the code of conduct in western civilization, that is, "treat others as you want them to treat you." The former takes the spirit of reciprocity as the premise of communication and listens to other voices with an open and receptive attitude. The latter insists that what he thinks is good must be good for others. Self-confidence and self-correction psychology often become the inhibiting factors of interpersonal communication. "If you are injected with enthusiasm to persuade, persuade or even transform others, it will have the opposite effect and turn the dialogue into a disaster."

Du Weiming explained that the value orientation of Confucianism is to focus on the present world, advocate the creativity of fearing heaven and the infinite power to transform the universe, and at the same time advocate the main role of human beings, because "man can spread Tao, not Tao" as a participant in the transformation of the universe and a co-creator of the evolution process, Confucian culture believes that man has the obligation to realize the creativity between heaven and earth. In terms of interpersonal relationship, Confucian culture believes that openness to others is the ideological and methodological basis of interpersonal communication.

Without tolerance, there will be no dialogue. Tolerance requires strict self-awareness, and the existence of others is not a threat but an opportunity. People need to take the initiative to admit that the existence of others embodies the intrinsic value, that is, his or her independence, autonomy and integrity. Dignity is an existing reality, which cannot be denied, rejected or disappeared because of subjective desire. Only with this understanding can we have a heartfelt sense of respect. The scholar said that China's traditional culture contains tolerance and openness, and this kind of "spiritual humanism" is an invitation from the Confucian tradition, hoping that people can devote themselves to the "joint venture project" of human wisdom and spirit in the 2/kloc-0 century.