Opposite views on "Is it necessary to revive Confucianism?"

Every culture has its own unique regulations. One of the characteristics of Confucianism is its conservative tendency and retro-advocacy. In terms of conservatism, Confucianism believes that some basic human values, such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trust, etc., should be adhered to from generation to generation. There is no problem of innovation. This is what Dong Zhongshu said: "Heaven does not change the way." It doesn’t change either.” As far as restoration is concerned, Confucianism believes that some basic principles of society, such as the idea of ??benevolent government, the concept of kingship, the doctrine of the world, etc., have long been systematically proposed and successfully used by the ancients. All future generations need to do is to return to these traditions. This is what Dong Zhongshu said "Retro style".

Do not wantonly slander the conservative tendencies and retro-retrospective ideas of Confucianism. It should be noted that it is the tenacious "conservatism" that has kept Confucian culture unchanged for thousands of years. It has not been "Humanized", nor "Buddhized", or even "Westernized" by powerful Western culture. , thus making it possible for Confucianism to become one of the options for future human civilization. At the same time, the various changes in Chinese history all bear strong Confucian imprints and retro traces - to paraphrase the words of the German philosopher Jaspers, every step forward in China will return to its own "axis of civilization." "Era" draws wisdom and strength.

In essence, the conservatism and retrogradation of Confucianism take tradition as the source of living water, respond to the challenges of the times and solve practical problems. It is a unique way of "combining progress with conservatism" and "innovation with retrogression" The cultural development model - Hong Kong and Taiwan New Confucianism calls it "returning to the roots and creating new ones". Today, the revival of Confucianism also requires equal emphasis on "returning to the roots" and "creating new ideas", but it is better to emphasize "returning to the roots" first:

First of all, the overall ideological structure of Confucianism in modern times has been through movements such as "Down with the Confucian Family Store" However, it has been dismembered and is in pieces, and the true meaning of Confucianism is hidden and obscure. Therefore, to revive Confucianism, we must first restore and reconstruct the value concept and doctrine system of Confucianism, that is, it must be a little "conservative" and "retrograde". ” It is better to be “one-sided and profound” than to be general and vague. For example, Mr. Xu Jin believes that Confucianism advocates “replacing politics with morality”, which is a misunderstanding. Because Confucianism believes that "law alone cannot govern itself", it is necessary to put a moral veil on unruly politics, otherwise there will be "laws to govern, but no people to govern" - there are not many laws now, but what is missing is The moral heart to abide by the law!

Secondly, given that many intellectuals today make rash comments without reading, the revival of Confucianism requires familiarity with ancient classic texts. You must not copy what others say or what Ying Shuyan said, otherwise it will be a joke. Mr. Xu Jin quoted "A gentleman is likened to righteousness, and a villain is likened to benefit" as Mencius' statement, which may be an example. Because this sentence is clearly said by Confucius, and its meaning is by no means "the elite is suitable for moral preaching and the masses are suitable for profit induction", but "those who understand righteousness have high morals, and those who secretly pursue selfish interests have poor taste" - therefore, people People should understand righteousness and get rid of selfish interests in order to become a moral person!

"Returning to the roots" is not a blind "retrospection", but a determination to respond to real problems. In Chinese academic circles, many people believe that the proliferation of "Western learning" is the biggest dilemma facing Confucianism, so the key to reviving Confucianism lies in responding to the challenge of "Western learning." It is undeniable that problems such as moral decay, interpersonal alienation, social disorder, clashes of civilizations, and ecological imbalances are indeed caused by the global expansion of "Western learning." But the problem is that it has become a common problem in today's human society. Therefore, the task of Confucianism is not to respond to China's reality, nor to respond to the challenge of "Western learning," but to respond to the common problems faced by human society! Only with such a big mind can we achieve great things!

In modern times, innovation in Confucianism has often been understood as invoking Western learning to transform Confucianism or "Westernizing Confucianism." This approach is quite problematic, because if it succeeds, it is also the success of Western learning; if it fails, it is the success of Western learning. The failure of Confucianism. Moreover, if there are good things in "Western learning", we might as well pursue the "appropriation doctrine" and use it for our own purposes. We don't have to worry about finding new ways and must develop "science and democracy" from Confucianism. The key to whether Confucianism can be revived depends on whether it can provide unique ideological resources that are different from other cultures to solve human problems. This is also the historical mission entrusted to Chinese intellectuals by the times.