Confucius and the Chinese culture: address to the Young Experts Symposium (YES 2022)

Abstract

This text is based on a speech given in November 2022. Its content seems more relevant today than ever: To get along and to cooperate well, human societies around the world have to overcome a dangerous Cold War mentality that is still lurking and even growing today. In the current atmosphere, the importance of the world’s understanding of Chinese culture cannot be overemphasized. In order to counter the dangerous developments and lay the foundation for a peaceful and fruitful future, I argue that one of the most important tasks—for Chinese and non-Chinese observers alike—is to study the works of classical Chinese philosophy. In this direction, I discuss the respective points of view of important Chinese scholars, such as Qian Mu, Liang Qichao, Liang Shuming, Xiong Shili, Ma Yifu, and Mou Zhongjian. All of them have highlighted the importance of mastering Confucian and other classical writings. Their views are discussed in view of passages from The Analects, the (book of) Xunzi, the Mengzi, as well as other ancient works and the canon of important later works in pre-modern Confucian traditions.