Seventeen scholars from varying fields here consider the implications of Confucian concerns--self-cultivation, regulation of the family, social civility, moral education, well-being of the people, governance of the state, and universal peace--in industrial East Asia.

As the Four Mini-Dragons have joined Japan in modernizing East Asia, and the Dragon--mainland China--seems to begin to awake, the Japanese "economic miracle" turns out to be an East Asian cultural shock. Samuel P. Huntington's idea of "civilizational clash" (1993) is only a postponed conception of the political mood of the post-Cold-War West in face of East Asian modernity (among other persisting and evolving civilizations). Meanwhile, East Asia watchers generally relate the modern development of East Asia to, among other factors, the Confucian tradition--a common cultural heritage of East Asian societies, hence the "post-Confucian hypothesis." Therefore, partly in response to Huntington's conception, and partly as a reflection of the "post-Confucian hypothesis," this thesis attempts to explore how the Confucian tradition is comparable to the mentality of Western modernity--mainly but not exclusively the Enlightenment spirit, and how the Confucian or post-Confucian values have been shaping the distinction of East Asian modernity. The main assumptions or conclusions of this thesis are: First, in theoretical terms, the Confucian tradition is relevant to East Asian modernity, because on the one hand, Confucianism, for all its peculiarity in contrast with its counterpart(s) in the modern West, is essentially a rationalist and humanist tradition; and on the other, despite the religious tolerance of and religious elements in Confucianism, its ultimate concern is the secular world or the life-world. Second, the surviving Confucian tradition, embedded in the fabric of modern East Asian societies, functions as a key part of their economic culture (personalism, groupism), political culture (paternalism, meritocracy), and everyday life (family values). In substantiating these conclusions, this thesis also tries to demonstrate that as far as its cultural dimension is concerned, East Asian modernity is, far from being exclusively Confucian, a cultural mosaic in which the Confucian tradition coexists and mingles with other--indigenous and Western--traditions, and together they constitute the modern mentality in East Asia.

The contributors to this volume range over 2,000 years of history as they show how Confucian values spread throughout the region in premodern times and how these values were transformed in an age of modernization. The introduction by Gilbert Rozman discusses the special character of East Asia. In Part I Patricia Ebrey analyzes the Confucianization of China; JaHyun Kim Haboush, that of Korea; and Martin Collcutt, the much later diffusion of Confucianism in Japan. In Part II Rozman compares types of Confucianism in nineteenth-century China and Japan and their adaptability in the twentieth century, while Michael Robinson adds an overview of modern Korean perceptions of Confucianism. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

From its beginnings, Confucianism has vibrantly taught that each person is able to find the Way individually in service to the community and the world. John Berthrong’s comprehensive new work tells the story of the grand intellectual development of the Confucian tradition, revealing all the historical phases of Confucianism and opening the reader’s eyes to the often neglected gifts of scholars of the Han, T’ang, and the modern periods, as well as to the vast contributions of Korea and Japan. The author concludes his revelatory study with an examination of the contemporary renewal of the Confucian Way in East Asia and its spread to the West.

A workshop sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1989 brought together more than two dozen scholars in the humanities and social sciences to explore Confucian ethics as a common intellectual discourse in East Asia. The participants included specialists on the societies of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore as well as scholars who specialize in comparative studies. In nine intensive sessions, they probed the ways in which the Confucian ethic has shaped perceptions of selfhood, dynamics of familial relations, gender construction, social organization, political authority, popular beliefs, and economic culture in East Asia. This book is a distillation of the essence of their multidisciplinary and cross-cultural examination of these issues. It seeks especially to illuminate claims that Confucian ethics have provided the necessary background and a powerful motivation in the rise of industrial East Asia, the most dynamic region of sustained economic growth and political development since World War II.

Condemned during the Maoist era as a relic of feudalism, Confucianism enjoyed a robust revival in post-Mao China as China's economy began its rapid expansion and gradual integration into the global economy. Associated with economic development, individual growth, and social progress by its advocates, Confucianism became a potent force in shaping politics and society in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities. This book links the contemporary Confucian revival to debates—both within and outside China—about global capitalism, East Asian modernity, political reforms, civil society, and human alienation. The contributors offer fresh insights on the contemporary Confucian revival as a broad cultural phenomenon, encompassing an interpretation of Confucian moral teaching; a theory of political action; a vision of social justice; and a perspective for a new global order, in addition to demonstrating that Confucianism is capable of addressing a wide range of social and political issues in the twenty-first century.

Spanning the 19th and 20th centuries and identifying multiple waves of modernization, this book illustrates how principles originating in Chinese Confucianism have impacted the modernization of East Asia, especially in Korea. It also analyzes how such principles are exercised at personal, interpersonal and organizational levels. As modernization unfolds in East Asia, there is a rising interest in tradition of Confucianism and reconsider the relevance of Confucianism to global development. This book considers the actual historical significance of Confucianism in the modernization of the three nations in this region, China, Korea, and Japan through the nineteenth century and early twentieth century to the aftermath of the end of World War II. Examining the existing literature dealing with how Confucianism has been viewed in connection with modernization, it provides insight into western attitudes towards Confucianism and the changes in perceptions relative to Asia in the very process of modernization itself.