Daniel A. Bell reported for the International Herald Tribune that China is encouraging Confucianism since Marxism no longer serves as Chinese society's guiding ideology.

Bell reports that in China, the moral vacuum is being filled by Christian sects, Falun Gong and extreme forms of nationalism. But the government considers that such alternatives threaten the hard-won peace and stability that underpins China's development, so it has encouraged the revival of Confucianism.

He says however that like most ideologies, however, Confucianism can be a double-edged sword. "Confucius said, 'Harmony is something to be cherished,'" President Hu Jintao noted in February 2005. A few months later, he instructed China's party cadres to build a "harmonious society." Echoing Confucian themes, Hu said China should promote such values as honesty and unity, as well as forge a closer relationship between the people and the government.

The teaching curriculum for secondary schools now includes teaching of the Confucian classics.

The idea for the government is that the promotion of Confucian values has several advantages. Domestically, the affirmation of harmony is meant to reflect the ruling party's concern for all classes. Threatened by rural discontent - according to official figures, there were 87,000 illegal disturbances last year - the government realizes that it needs to do more for those bearing the brunt of China's development. Internationally, the call for peace and harmony is meant to disarm fears about China's rapid rise.

How does Confucianism resonate in society at large Bell asks? At some level, especially regarding family ethics, Confucian values still inform ways of life. Filial piety, for example, is still widely endorsed and practiced: Adult children have a legal obligation to care for their elderly parents.

Bell goes on to say that many intellectuals have turned to Confucianism to make sense of such social practices and to think of ways of dealing with China's current moral and political predicament. But their interpretations of Confucianism often diverge from official ones.

He suggest that the most influential contemporary Confucian thinker is Jiang Qing, author of "Political Confucianism," in which he argues that for contemporary China, political Confucianism is more appropriate than Western-style liberal democracy.

David Bell ends with the view that if Confucianism shapes China's future, it won't look like Western-style liberal democracy, but neither will it look like the status quo.

Daniel A. Bell for the International Herald Tribune, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006

SEE also  http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=4509

Thanks to our Macau colleague Gordon Kerr for spotting the original article. Bell also blogged the article with the UK Guardian newspaper.

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