Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

186 Confucianism and ModernityIf Confucianism is more like a religion, New Confucians say that in orderto truly understand Confucianism, one must practice it. Confucianism,New Confucians argue, is not to be understood intellectually, but shouldbe felt and should be practiced. In order to truly understand the Confucianclassics, one must approach them with respect and reverence. The core ofConfucianism is reached by self - cultivation and it is only those who practicethis who truly understand Confucian teaching. 26 The difficulty with thisargument is that it can be used to deflect criticism from outsiders: after all,only those inside the tradition really understand it. 27Asian ValuesThe world is changing in East Asia as it is in the West. These changesmake some people worry that modernization will kill traditional values.For example, industrialization splits up families; social status is decidedsolely by wealth; women are becoming more independent as they are ableto earn a salary, and so on.New Confucianism is often used to critique the West: Westerners do notcare about their family or their elderly; Westerners are individualistic tosuch a degree that they are rootless; Westerners are self - indulgent; Westernculture is only materialistic and this accounts for its high degree of sleaze. 28“ Asian values ” or “ Asianness, ” on the other hand, contains the values ofhard work, thrift, emphasis on education, respect for the family, humanitytowards others, a connection to the past, sense of community where thecommunity is the priority, and self - discipline. 29 These are all Confucianvalues, New Confucians argue, and these values have led to Asian economicdominance. Cultural or societal changes are a problem when they begin tochange Asian values.GovernmentsGovernment leaders were happy to sign on to this sort of Confucianism.After all, it leads to tremendous economic growth, an emphasis on education,harmonious relationships among citizens, and a strong state.TaiwanThe New Life Movement, which we looked at above, was set up by ChiangKai - shek ’ s Guomindang party and emphasized the Confucian ideas of filialpiety and loyalty. In the late 1940s, when the Guomindang lost the civilwar in China to the Communists, they retreated to the island of Taiwanand continued to support Confucianism. 30 The Guomindang government