Wail,Gate and Self-Other Dynamics:A Confucian Ethics of Separation and Interconnection

This paper starts with the social and moral implications of wall in history and in the contemporary world,to usher in the early Confucian discourse on wall and gate.The Confucian discourse implies that walls一either actual,virtual or symbolic-are there to defend and/or to separate,while gates enable the managed access to and opening-up the self-imposed insularity or moderate the self-centred exclusiveness that walls imply.By way of reinterpretation and reconstruction,we will extract from a variety of Confucian discussions the ethical awareness that however strongly built,walls must be associated with gates,and that the wall and the gate are therefore locked in mutuality to make possible the reality of interconnectedness between the inside and the outside and between the self and the other.It will be argued that by using ethical virtues as tools to moderate separation and exclusiveness,Confucian discourses highlight the dynamics of the self-other relationship,and establishes an ethics that may well be still applicable to contemporary situations and can be drawn upon to help dissolve the tension between the values of populist self-centrism and those of globalist interconnectedness.

Confucian Ethics and Impartiality： On the Confucian View about Brotherhood

This essay reviews Confucian ethics with regard to impartiality and Confucian notion of brotherhood. It focuses on the comments by Song Neo- Confucians, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, about a famous case involving brotherhood. In this case Diwu Lun of the Han dynasty treated his diseased son and his diseased nephew in different ways. The author argues that Confucianism, starting from a naturalist standpoint, affirms the partiality in the relations between brothers, and judges deliberate impartiality negatively. On this point, one cannot simply view Confucianism as analogous to the Kantian ethics which promises impartiality or the virtue ethics which opposes impartiality.

Kant and Confucius:Moral Ethics Behind Western and Eastern Approaches to International Relations

International relations(IR)as a discipline is currently experiencing a crisis that may be viewed as a protest against the Euro-centric theories in humanities and the Western view on global politics,some of the most vocal opponents coming from Asia,with China at its core.This paper aims to compare the principles that depict moral ethics serving as a base for political idealism in the West and the East with Kant’s views as a foundation for Western idealism and Confucius’s ethical theory as a ground for an ideal society from the Asian perspective.The comparison is conducted along the following axes:the notions of autonomy,will,and freedom,initially developed to depict an ideal world order in the Kantian view.As a result of this comparison,the common feature between the two types of ethics,namely the strive for human dignity,becomes apparent.In conclusion,the paper suggests that researchers should concentrate on common features in the two philosophies instead of juxtaposing their apparent differences,which politically reflect the opposition of individualism and collectivism.Stress on human dignity shall become a unifying factor in modern international politics instead.

Critical Dialogue on Creating Public Value:The Comparisons of Confucian Value,Socialist Core Value,Universal Value and Public Value

The Creating Public Value Theory by Mark Moore is more and more accepted all over the world.China has been a value-oriented society for all her history.However,China has been dominated by the Confucian ethics and modern political elite values,especially traditional instilled civil servants values and modern socialist core value.The public value of China has been highly cultured and localized.This paper tries to review briefly and make the critical comments on the following issues:(1)Confucian value;(2)the socialist core value;(3)the universal value;(4)the human common value;and(5)the public value.The paper highlights what differences of conceptualizing public value between China and the Western countries.

论儒家伦理对传统日常思维模式的双重影响

传统唯伦理性日常思维有其特定的内涵和基本特征,这是由儒家伦理规范对中国传统日常思维模式的双重影响所决定的。唯伦理性日常思维本身虽有其积极因素,但也存在不可忽视的负面效应,因此,应在批判反思的基础上对其进行全方位的现代转换。

Is the Confucian ethic a hindrance to economic development in China?

Opinions differ among academics concerning the relationship between the Confucian ethic and China’s economic development.This research reveals that the Confucian ethic originated from the practical demand for guaranteeing the smooth operation of households.Later,it developed into a coordinator between the government and individuals,thus bringing about the institutional compromise between the family system and bureaucracy,which is the foundation of the market system specific to China.In the future,the successful development of a market economy will be largely dependent on whether an institutional equilibrium between the government and market forces can be reached,and this will be strongly related to the Confucian ethic.This paper holds that Confucianism involves inherent conflicts between the macro and the micro level.At the macro level,Confucianism sets very high standards for wealth and morals,but at the micro level it pays little attention to how to create wealth.Accordingly,for the ongoing market reform,it is rational to continue introducing Protestant ethics-oriented Western systems since they are more advantageous in terms of increasing wealth accumulation.However,this process lacks stability and inclusiveness and is thus prone to the separation of wealth from morals.This is exactly where Confucianism should step in.This paper concludes that the long separation of wealth accumulation from the Chinese cultural traditions has become the biggest obstacle to China’s economic growth.In the face of intensified social and economic conflicts,the only appropriate option is to revive tradition and root the reform in China’s own cultural soil.