Institutionalized Confucian Disintegration (1895-1919)

This paper tries to discuss Confucianism in a new approach, which is knowledge_ sociology. According to the role that Confucian acted in ancient china, I insist that Confucianism is a institutional system, not just a thought tracks as most scholar treat it. At the same time, I don't agree to look Confucian as a pure philosopher.The institutional Confucianism is a complex concept, there are two ways to understand it. The first is institutional Confucius itself, for example, Confucius context become classical text, they express the universal truth, Through the Confucius exam (keju). People get the authority, became the officer or social elite.The second is Confucianism' idea influence the national institution design, such as family institution, the style of social control.Above is the background of this paper. Here I focus on the deconstruction of institutional Confucianism from 1895 to 1919.There are two basic reasons to result this consequence. From the china internal condition, in order to defeat the rebellion of TaiPingTianGuo, the local army get the important role in the social construction, in the same time, merchants also become new power class. No doubt, it impact the Confucianism order seriously.From the outside, after the Opium war, Chinese people get to know the power of army and economy. China begin to walk in the modernization way by the west measure. So Confucianism was not ever to be the legitimate of imperial day by day. People didn't look Confucianism classics as truth, in the other word; Confucianism could not provide the explanation to social life.By the political reform in late Qing dynsty, new education system and new law system was built, it mean the imperial examination system and political construction of Confucianism style collapsed. After the 1911 revolution,new constitution "LinShiYueFa" express. New government adopt western political ideal, institutional Confucianism was collapsed, so Confucianism became a kind of "sprite without body".In the long period, Confucianism act a special role in Chinese history, its value and viewpoint of social order became the thought and life style of Chinese people. So after 1911, a lot of people still want use Confucianism to serve their aim. For example, warlords strength tried to use Confucianism get legitimate for they power in new nation, some people ,such as KangYouWei, in one hand, who tried transform Confucianism to be a really religious, in the other hand, they hope Confucianism to be a National religious,Obviously, what they did result Confucianism became the obstacle of china' development. In the New intellectual group' eyes, Confucianism is late of time, it is the real reason for china's underdevelopment. We should abandon it to welcome west thought and institutionIn the Han dynasty and Song-Ming dynasty, Confucianism also have some change meet for different reasons, but now Confucianism meet new challenged for modernization, after the disintegration of the old order and impact of the west, we should to know what is the Confucianism future, which way will Confucianism influence Chinese people This is a complex question, as Hamlet even said: "to be or not to be, this is a question...