Ideal's Pursuit And Collapse

Confucianism is the leading traditional political culture of China, as a integrative culture system, it supported the feudalism's long term operation and existence as an ideology which created the longest historical record in the world since it accepted by the Han dynasty. During the long history, Confucianism had experienced a special development way which co-exited glory and frustration, as a result, it was overthrew with the collapse of Qin dynasty. In pondering this kind of political theory, different scholars and schools have been making different research on Confucianism just focus on how to appraise it since the end of 19th century, which had decided or effected Confucianism's bumping fate in modern time. Totally to review it, Confucianism had experienced a downgrade development way till recent years during which both the circumstance and atmosphere on how to research and appraise it are getting better and better. But the study way is also limited to the traditional approach and has no more creation, especially new perspective and vision, which results in the differences among the scholars on what it is the real conversion way of Confucianism. At the same time, our country is suffering from a series of unprecedented negative predicaments, such as gastronomy, individualism, destructive competition, predatory exploitation, etc. Facing all this two problems, we usually feel that it is very necessary to open up a new research vision which use new methods and appraise it objectively on the study of tradition, especially on Confucianism, when we are pondering and thinking the social and cultural problem, because we may acquire more neo-knowledge, reference and enlightenment from our ancestor by this kind of measures during special era. By reason of it, this dissertation chooses a special vision which focus on Confucianists'theory of political order to make a new probe on Confucianism with neo-analysis and objective appraisement, just for the purpose to find the real reason of Confucianism's long existence and collapse as well as to give some tentative suggestions for Confucianism's real conversion in modern time. This dissertation thinks that essentially, Confucianists'political order is a kind of theory which took the pursuit of ideal political order as its ultimate goal, by which it formed an integrative culture system just for the arrangement of civic political order. That is, it designed two models of political order just include both realistic and idealistic worlds, and set the pursuit path as follows: just from Kingship Society to Well-to-do Society then to the Great Harmony Society. From this angle, and considering Confucianism's profundity, complexity and diversity, this dissertation chooses the commonness of traditional Confucianism's political order theory as its research object, and takes the center theme as: "what were Confucianists's concrete pursuit and how did it collapse as well as how to realize it real conversion in modern time?"just rooted on the Kingship Political Order Model. According to the principle of political order which has construction, operation, maintenance and evaluation character, this dissertation makes a particular analysis on the double drive, ontological basis, value goal, framework arrangement, legitimacy basis, operation mechanism, concrete vectors, merits and shortcomings, order avail, historical influence, conversion principles and contents of Confucianists'theory of political order just by using several modern theories and methods, such as Marxism, historical materialism, text analysis, macro and micro analysis, graphology and antitheses analysis, etc. All of this are aim to solve follow concrete problems, that is: 1) What is political order? 2) Why could Confucianists'theory of political order support the feudalism's existence forthousands of years in china but collapsed in the end? 3) What are the concrete pursuit contents of Confucianists'political order theory include the model, design idea, framework arrangement, running status, attribute and character, hopes and predicaments, influence and avail, etc? 4) Does Confucianists'political order theory have positive and unvarying value? and can it provide some useful culture material for our modernization with Chinese characteristic, especially for the construction of political order and political civilization? How to make it acquire a real conversion? From all this research theme and approach mentioned above, this dissertation's frame is arranged to two parts which include exordium and text. In the exordium, this dissertation makes a simple recall and speculation on the Confucianism's research status just to explain the study reason and base. By this recall and speculation, the author thinks that Confucianism'study went across an abnormal road and Confucianism's fate was bumping all the way since 19th century. Totally, it has been existing more doubtable, speculative and inquire issue during the past century, such as the study vision, creation issue, academic circumstance, appraise methods and position, relationship between theory and practice, and the relationship with other culture. The author thinks it is just because the former scholars and wisdoms hadn't solved the five outstanding issues properly or the era hadn't give them their ideal conditions that resulted in the imperfect, shortcomings and vacancy on the Confucianism's research which provided or left both the study and pondering space as well as the reference and base for author. So, the two factors which include worrying practical society problem, doubting Confucianism's modern fate and study status, is the real reason for author to choose "Ideal's Pursuit and collapse: New Vision Research and Appraisement on Confucianists'Theory of Political Order"as his doctor degree dissertation. In the end of this part, the research theme, topical and method are simply introduced by author. The text are totally divided into 7 chapters, all of their concrete contents and arrangement just as follows:In chapter one, the author makes a concrete and macro analysis on the concept of political order and the total contents of Confucianists'political order theory. The author thinks that political order is a kind of static and dynamic system which composed by three main factors include Political Substantiality, Social Norm and Order Force, and the human reason for why it can form is that human have the think tradition and basic necessity. Based on this, the author makes a macro narration about the concrete contents and historical fate of Confucianists'theory of political order in the 2nd section which sketches an outline for the later analysis. Chapter two makes an analysis on the practical and theoretical reason that why Confucianists'political order could be founded. The author thinks that the construction of confucianists'political order mostly depended on two more reasons, one is confuicianists'worry on the chaos situation of practical political order and their response to the germination of agriculture economy, another is the support of Fatality, Heavenly Ways, Kind Humanity and Yin –yang. The former is the practical reason which radically resulted in Confucianists'to found a new and ideal political order to save all the tribulation society and people; the later is the theoretical reason which proved their political order's validity, rationality and legitimacy as ontology titles. Chapter three makes an analysis on the value goal and legitimacy basis of Confucianists'political order. Beginning from this part, this dissertation's study mostly rooted on the realistic order model which refers to the Kingship Political Order. The author thinks that the Confucianists'design ideas on the Kingship Political Order firstly have two aspects which include both the value goal and the legitimacy basis, the former is to pursuit Unification, Kingship, Moral-governance, Rite-governance, Harmony, Stability, Hierarchy and Bureaucracy, the later is to depend on Supernal Regality, Consanguinity Agreement, Ancient Tradition and Elite Worship. The fourth chapter analyzes the evolvement of Confucianists'political order theory and its models, as well as their common political order structure.The author considers that the evolvement of Confucianists'political order theory and its models is corresponding to the whole development of Confucianism, different Confucians have different perspective and view on the basic elements of their political order model in different periods. According to this, the models of Confucianists'political order theory approximately have Original Form, Second-birth Form, Rebirth Form and Revisional Form, experiences Xian Qin Model→Liang Han Model→Song Ming Model→Qing Model. The four styles have some commonness, which is the theme of this dissertation. Rooted in the commonness of these styles, the following section makes idiographic analysis on their basic design systems and structures, the author reckons that Confucianism embodied some specialties in its political order structure and governing approaches as follows: it takes Individual-Family-King as carriers of political order, the Three Cardinal Guides and the Five Constant Virtues as their political order, which centralizes on Benevolence and Rite, Benevolence Governing and Paternalistic Authority as order driver, and takes Neisheng Waiwang as governing approaches. Chapter five makes a concrete analysis on the running mechanism and all the vectors'function of Confucianists'political order just according to the common principle of political order. Totally, Confucianism's political order forms the triangle and the bi-directional interaction running mechanism which refers to: "Fatality-Rite & Law-Human Feeling & Relationship", "Nature-King-Civilian", "Monarchism-People Oriented". The two running mechanism decide and depend on all vectors'function and its operation status which include Equalitarianism, Moral-governance, Rite-governance, Three Cardinal Guides,Benevolent Ruling, Paternalistic Authority, Centrality and Commonality, People Oriented; so in section two the author makes a detailed analysis on all the vectors'order function which founds the basis and frame for the whole appraisement and judgment in later chapters. Chapter six surveys and appraises the Confucianists'political order theory completely. On the basis of previous chapter's analysis and using theorder judgment modes, the author makes complete survey and appraisement of Confucianists'political order's effect, value property, historic influences, era avail, modern value, etc, by taking an scientific and historical dialectic attitude. Using the ten judgments include practical basis, theoretical reason, legitimacy basis, order structure, order goal, relationship, behavior, exterior effect, course, value, the author analyzes the merits and demerits of Confucianists'political order theory, gives the reasons that causes Confucianists'political order theory living forever and coming down, and also makes the summarization of its theoretical roots. He believes that Confucianists'political order theory have both active and positive parts, modernity and limits, ideality and predicaments, moreover, it have many value properties and theoretical characteristics including comprehensive, practical, modern, positive, limit, idealistic, active, constant, etc, which decide the possibility of its historical fate and modern conversion. Chapter seven makes an analysis on the conversion reason, principle, path and content of Confucianists'theory of political order in modern time. In this part the author makes a tentative study and discuss which focuses on how to lead it have a real conversion with it useful and positive contents. The author thinks that the reason why the Confucianists'theory of political order can be convert is decided by three factors which include the succession and continuity of tradition, the openness and expansibility of Marxism, the need and absorption of modern political order. So we should take scientific, historical and dialectic manner and methods, such as "get the cream, discard the draff", etc, to realize its real conversion in modern time. And now, the concrete contents which we can succeed and exceed with macro, dialectic and scientific way are the unvarying value of Confucianists'political order theory that include the thoughts and spirits of People Oriented, Moral emphasis, Collectivism holding, Authority insisting, Unification desire, Harmony and Stability abiding, Centrality and Commonality advocate, Well-to-do Society and Great Harmony Society pursuit.