Abstract
As the single most influential Chinese school of thought, Confucianism is fundamental to understanding the Chinese people, culture and society. However, given the complexity of Confucian theories and practices, educators often have difficulties finding condensed and cohesive introductory textbooks that can be used to introduce students to Confucianism. It becomes even more challenging to identify reading materials on Confucianism that are useful to students with limited or no prior knowledge of Chinese civilisation. The book under review is a timely attempt to address both needs. In contrast to the traditional ‘catalogue of great names’ approach adopted by many books on Confucianism, Daniel Gardner, an American professor of Chinese history, introduces Confucianism by situating its key ideas in the domain of personal development and state government. This easily allows students to relate Confucian values to contemporary Chinese society and politics.
The first chapter offers a brief overview of the historical and philosophical background of Confucianism and its founder Confucius. Born in the 500s BCE into a turbulent historical environment, Confucius spent his life reflecting on how best to create a humane social order. Hence, Confucius and his followers were mainly concerned with two fundamental questions: (1) What are the responsibilities of individuals to family, community and society, and how might they contribute to a stable and prosperous society? and (2) What makes an effective ruler and a good government? In contrast to his contemporaries, Confucius proposed a role-based communitarian ethics in which harmonies in society and government are based on the conscientious fulfilment of one’s roles (e.g., son, father and official).
Drawing on classical Confucian texts represented by the Analects, chapters 2 and 3, respectively discuss what makes for a good man and a good government. (The use of ‘man’ here is required by the failure until quite recently of Confucianism to avoid philosophical sexism.) According to Confucius, to be a junzi (morally superior person), one must conscientiously participate in moral self-cultivation. He needs to learn about the ancients and their ritual practices. By practicing proper rituals (a term much broader than the translation indicates, which is closer in meaning to appropriately developed customs), one gets to know how to treat others appropriately. In government, a good ruler must exemplify the morality that he would like his people to cultivate. This further entails the exercise of good judgement in selecting individuals whose moral character qualifies them for official service. A good official is obliged to assist the ruler in implementing good policies and to remonstrate with the ruler if he has gone off the track of goodness. However, when the ruler is hopelessly depraved, the official may refuse to serve, and seek an ‘enlightened ruler’ to serve. Good government depends on the virtue of the ruler and the officials he appoints.
Chapter 4 compares two most prominent early followers of Confucius—Mencius and Xunzi—and their views of social and political harmony. Both Mencius and Xunzi agree that man is morally perfectible and self-cultivation is the way to achieve moral perfection. However, Mencius argues that the source of moral potential is internal: human nature. Self-cultivation is a process of nurturing a natural goodness. The ideal ruler has the obligation to create a social order in which his people are encouraged naturally to develop their moral potential. Compared to Mencius, Xunzi employs an externalist approach. He contends that man’s nature is evil and the source of moral potential derives from outside, especially social rituals. Self-cultivation is a deliberative process in which learning and rituals are used as tools for straightening man’s crooked nature. The ideal ruler is obliged to acquaint his people with cultural tools (e.g., rituals and laws) to curb their inborn passions and desires.
Chapter 5 makes a big leap from classical Confucianism to Neo-Confucianism, which developed in the late 700s CE. Neo-Confucianism upholds the values of classical Confucianism but anchors it in a metaphysical system. Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi argues that all things including human beings are constituted of qi (vital energy) and li (moral principle). Every person is born with the same li (innately good nature). But the qi is allotted unevenly among individuals. Qi is dynamic and changeable and it can be further cleared and refined by self-cultivation. Thus, people can better themselves and even become sages by endlessly refining qi. People can learn how to deal with other things, affairs and relationships by investigating the li embedded in these things. ‘The investigating of things’ is fundamental to achieving social and political harmony.
After introducing the main ideas of classical and Neo-Confucianism, Chapter 6 discusses how Confucian ideas were actually practiced in ancient China. It covers a variety of sociopolitical issues such as the civil service examination system, the moral life of the common people, rulership, family relationships and gender inequality. Finally, the volume concludes with a short epilogue on sociopolitical movements (e.g., Cultural Revolution) related to Confucianism in the 20th- and 21st-century China, and how Confucian teachings were treated in these movements.
In general, this book provides a clear and engaging introduction to Confucianism. It is also worth noting that the book includes a useful bibliography organised around the topics covered. It might nevertheless have benefited from just a few other references. For instance, the discussion of Neo-Confucianism focuses almost exclusively on Zhu Xi at the expense of the Cheng brothers and Wang Yangming.
Finally, Confucianism has both philosophical and religious aspects. Unfortunately, the book has no explicit discussion on the religious aspects of Confucianism or how Confucianism affected the other two main religions in China—Buddhism and Daoism. There is no description of Confucian temple practices, which have remained a staple of the tradition outside the Chinese mainland and are undergoing a significant revival today even in China. Indeed, a major weakness is that the epilogue does not discuss how Confucian ideas are developing in contemporary China (e.g., New Confucianism). This oversimplified treatment of contemporary Confucianism misses opportunities to engage new Confucian ideas conducive to reflecting on compelling contemporary issues (e.g., democracy, globalisation and emerging technologies) across China and the world. Still, compared to other extant introductory books on Confucianism, this is an excellent source for a module on Confucianism in introductory classes on religion or philosophy, and even in courses on globalisation.