Abstract
Through a contrastive analysis, this chapter aims to show the distinctions between the now fashionable concept of Asian values and Confucian discourses. Although Asian values have often been closely identified with Confucian axiology, this chapter will show how and why this term has almost nothing to do this philosophy. However, it is precisely because of this misidentification, and in order to clarify misunderstandings about the alleged Confucian roots of this idea, that this connection must be examined more closely and placed in its historical, ideological, and sociological context.
Therefore, this chapter will present the difference between Confucian humanism and Asian values discourse, which is often mistakenly understood as part of Modern New Confucianism. Since this confusion is widespread, it is important to explain why and in what way Modern New Confucians are instead generally critical of the concept of Asian values. It also shows that the alleged “Confucian roots” of the so-called Asian values are nothing more than an ideological construction.
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Notes
- 1.
In this chapter, I have introduced two notions that fall under the category of “invented traditions.” The first notion is connected to the long-standing Chinese belief in harmony, while the second pertains to the infamous concept of “Asian values.” The chapter draws from my prior work on these topics, specifically my articles on the contemporary interpretations of the traditional Chinese concept of harmony (Rošker, 2013a) and the modern notion of Asian values (Rošker, 2016b). As such, certain portions of this chapter offer particular modified, polished, and customized parts of these two papers.
- 2.
以儒家文化为主导的中国古代社会，在建立法律制度和司法体系时，凸显儒家中庸之道所追 求的“礼之用、和为贵、先王之道斯为美”的思想理念。“和为贵”既是古代中华文化的核心， 也是中国古代法制观的终极价值取向。当代，我们重新提出了“创建和谐社会”的构想，并赋予了“和谐”二字新的内涵… 然而，现代和谐社会的基础是法治，其内涵包括法律、民智、公平、正义。和谐社会所倡导的是人类生活的安定有序、诚信友爱、协调发展，所追求的是人与自然互相融合，健康持续的发展。因此，一个和谐的现代社会必定首先是一个法治社会.
- 3.
That the character 和 (he) has primarily been used as a verb, meaning “to harmonize” or to denote the process of harmonization (often in the sense of tuning). However, this type of mixed usage is common for most classical Chinese concepts, particularly when abstract, as they can assume various grammatical functions depending on the context. But, numerous passages in ancient Chinese texts also utilize the notion of he as a noun best translated as “harmony” (e.g., Lunyu, n.d.: Xue er 12, 2. Sentence; Li ji, n.d.: Tan gong I, 59, or Zhuangzi, n.d.: Shan xing 1, and so on). Even the modern term for “harmony” (hexie 和諧) can appear in both verbal and nominal forms.
- 4.
君子和而不同，小人同而不和.
- 5.
知和而和, 不以禮節之, 亦不可行也.
- 6.
天時不如地利，地利不如人和.
- 7.
城非不高也，池非不深也，兵革非不堅利也，米粟非不多也；委而去之，是地利不如人和也.
- 8.
柳下惠，聖之和者也.
- 9.
禮之敬文也，樂之中和也.
- 10.
The contemporary meaning of the term jie 節 refers to festivals or celebrations. Originally, it meant “respect for proper social rituals.” Even the modern compound that denotes a feast implies the word for “ritual” (lijie 禮節). The regulative function of the word jie is also evident in its classical connotation of “saving.”
- 11.
凡用血氣、志意、知慮，由禮則治通，不由禮則勃亂提僈；食飲，衣服、居處、動靜，由 禮則和節，不由禮則觸陷生疾.
- 12.
高者不旱，下者不水，寒暑和節，而五穀以時孰，是天之事也.
- 13.
因天下之和，遂文武之業.
- 14.
以善和人者謂之順 …以不善和人者謂之諛.
- 15.
故義以分則和，和則一，一則多力，多力則彊，彊則勝物.
- 16.
刑政平，百姓和.
- 17.
Here, the concept of “democracy” is being used in a broader sense, rather than in the prevailing understanding of a political system with multiple parties and diverse forms of decision-making. Instead, democracy is viewed as a social system that is based on a mutually supportive and equal relationship between society and free individuals, which is consistent with its original meaning.
- 18.
The categorization into “generations” follows a long tradition in Confucian scholarship, which is ultimately rooted in classical Confucianism.
- 19.
Although wide swaths of Malaysian population are Islamic, the concept of Asian values is compatible with this religion, as it mainly refers to principles of behavioral ethics and political ideals.
- 20.
As described in the previous parts of this book, the despotic line in Confucianism was established during the Han Dynasty, which had inherited the enormous, centralized, legalist, and despotic Qin state. Because ruling such a state required a centralized doctrine, and because the new rulers could not simply appropriate Legalism, which had represented the central ideology of the defeated Qin empire, the new state doctrine was based upon Dong Zhongshu’s reinterpretation of the original Confucian teachings. This reinterpretation was rooted primarily in Xunzi’s elaboration of original Confucianism, such that Xunzi appears as the bridge between Confucian and Legalist teachings.
- 21.
This Declaration refers to the New Confucian Manifesto, which was published in 1958 by Tang Junyi, Mou Zongsan, Xu Fuguan, and Zhang Junmai. This manifesto aimed to revive and reinterpret Confucianism in response to the challenges of modernity and the influence of Western thought on Chinese intellectual life.
- 22.
長幼之節，不可廢也；君臣之義，如之何其廢之? 欲潔其身，而亂大倫. 君子之仕也，行其義也. 人倫明於上，小民親於下.
- 23.
人倫明於上，小民親於下. …父子有親，君臣有義，夫婦有別,長幼有序，朋友有信… 勞之來之，匡之直之，輔之翼之，使自得之，又從而振德之.
- 24.
A suitable ruler will consider the decrees of the Heavenly Mandate and obey the Mandate; a ruler who ignores it is unsuitable for his position.
- 25.
君子有三畏:畏天命，畏大人，畏聖人之言.
- 26.
君者、舟也，庶人者、水也；水則載舟，水則覆舟. 此之謂也。故君人者，欲安、則莫若平政愛民矣.
- 27.
The concept can also be criticized for a number of additional reasons. Indeed, the very foundation of this concept is problematic, for even in the context of its allegedly indigenous culture it appears as a completely artificial construct. As Peter R. Moody (1996, 166) pointed out, the term Asia denotes a superficial and insufficiently defined geographic notion, given that in the pan-Asian area there exist many different cultures with prevailing values that differ from one another in the same way that specific prevailing values differ within Western axiological systems.
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Rošker, J.S. (2023). Invented Traditions: From Harmony to Asian Values. In: Humanism in Trans-civilizational Perspectives. Emerging Globalities and Civilizational Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37518-7_6
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