Social Functions of Contemporary Confucianism; A Comparative Analysis of Philosophical Concepts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Mainland China

• Authors: Roman Sławiński
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia, issues 23 and 24, contained presentations of basic issues of contemporary Confucianism that attempts, usually successfully, to use Confucian tradition, particularly ethics, to improve social management and the prevention of social unrest. These two articles dealt with history and an evaluation of a specific solution in several East Asian countries. In the present article we would like to focus primarily on a comparison of concepts and experiments aimed at re-introducing Confucianism into social life, especially the earliest ones that still could be active in social practices of the largest country in the region (and the birthplace of classical Confucianism) mainland China. Some of these concepts were already successfully tested in social engineering, and supporters of Confucianisms re-introduction can use this as an argument to apply this innovation and to defend it against staunch critics of Confucianism. The critics still perceive this philosophical and religious movement as an ideological foundation of quasi-feudalism that was erased in China and which should not be propagated but condemned the same way that it was denounced during the heyday of Maoism

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia
• Year: 2012
• Issue: 25
• Pages: 7-20

Contributors

author

Roman Sławiński