A Study On Modern Trend Of Thought About Confucianism

Kang Youwei, brought up under the nuture of confucianism and well-read, has a broad range of knowledge. After grown up he frequently accessed to western intellectual, which stirred and influenced him a lot. Besides, Kang Youwei has a profound religious sentiments. In the times Kang lived, confucianism faced a severe crisis under the impact of western cultures and domestic situation. For the purposes of saving confucianism and the entire chinese culture, Kang Youwei stared from the studies of Confucian classics and the literature of that time, trying to initiate a religionalized confucian way. A number of patriots headed by Kang Youwei, were shaken by chinese situation and took active efforts to find solutions to save China. Kang finally took Confucinism---a kind of chinese religion with the lord of Confucius ----as the breakthrough point to call up chinese. He wanted to motivate the countrymen's patriotic enthusiasm and national esteem for the development of confucanism to boycott western powers'invasion in the economic and cultural fields. Kang thought that only by developing confucianism in China could we resist the western religious and cultural invasion in which Christianity acted as the main part.Religion, in the view of Kang, could integrate public feelings and inspire spirits. Because religion played an import role in moral cultivation: it could not only make a nation break away from barbrism and step into civiliztion, but also make an individual stay away from badness and go to goodness . Thus, he drew conclusions that building a country could not do and shaping an individual could not ,either . From where Kang stood, chinese culture lacked western religious traditions and the existing ideas in religion turned to be“polytheitic”mocked by westerners as merely“crude and savage”. The foreign culture or religion did not suit chinese situation, so it did not play an active role in religion. Nevertheless, he poined out that China, in fact, already had another religion but they had not found it ----that was the confucinism lorded by Confucius.In order to“restore”confucianism , Kang Youwei committed himself to the establishment of confucian theoretical system from the point of theory. Broadly, the theoretical establishment shiefly consisited three aspects: first was to reshape the image of confucius, expound and prove the religionality of confucianism. He believed,“Six Annals”were all written by Confucius under the name of a scholar, and as a result, Confucius behaved as the“King”and the“Lord of the universe”in real, the confucian doctrines created by whom turned to be the most perfect and resonable. Confucius, Kang held, was the lord in religious adaptation and estabilshment, and cofucianism was, as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, an institutional religion. Kang made great effort to demonsrtate the religionality of confucianism and the legal status of Confucius. The second went to endowing confucianism with the ideas of democracy, liberty, equality and fraternity. Confucianism, reformed by the beliefs of western democracy, liberty, equality and evolution introduced by Kang. The third, Kang regadred the“Six Annals”created by Confucius as the classics of confucianism. Kang benefited from world religions, endeavoring to establish chinese forms of regious services. Kang believed that confucianism shoud take the“Six Annals”as“Bible”,“loyality, love, kindheartedness,fogiveness”as the creeds, respect for the confucianism classics and conforming to the regulations of confucianism as the religious ceremony. Besides, he also set down the articles for the confucianism church, advocated the confucian calnder and highly praised chanting the holy words on the basis of spreading the interpretation of forms in ceremony. The fourth was to build up a beyond world under the ideas of“harmony and equality”. A beyond world, in the eyes'of Kang, played as an inevitable in any religion: Christinity advocated going to the Heaven; Buddhism believed the nirvana after death; and even if the chinese Taoism pursued becoming sages and going into a beyond world. Therefore, he designed a confucian ideal world of“harmony and equality”.Kang Youwei held that the confucianism he recovered proved not being crude and savage, but suprior to other religions. He interpreted the supriority of confucianism mainly from two aspects: on one hand, confucianism was“human religion”which emphasized human beings and people-centered, while others were“divine religions”, praising ghosts and worshipping the supernatural mysterious peope. Kang Youwei's time was the civilized world but not the ancient savage era, so“human religion”was definitely suprior to the “divine relgion”. On the other hand, confucianism was profound in meaning,“containing all”and could cover other religions and the things besides religions, so confucianism was comprehensive and the content it contained were wide and penetrating. As a result of this, he asserted that confucianism could be applied to all the other living planets. Therefore, Kang advocated that confucianism should, like other religions, be propagated all around the world, to spread the confucian beliefs and doctrines. Compared with Buddhism, Islamic, Christianity and other religions,though they wore their beauties existed some constraints,the fact is that only confucianism was the most suitable for China.This thesis also demonstrated the confucian ideas of Chen Huanzhang, Liang Qichao and Tan Sitong who had close relationship with Kang, hoping to have a broader and deeper understanding of Kang's confucian thoughts in the way of comparison. As the leading figure in New Cultural Movement, Chen Duxiu held the democratic and revolutionary banner and set off the surge of critisizing confucianisn movement, acceleraring the fall of confucinism. So regarding Chen just as the represent in the New Cultural Movement, this thesis will analyze his confucian ideas , wishing to reveal the nature of Kang's confucian thought from a profounder level.In modern chinese history kang lived, the situation he faced just like what Confucius faced at his time. Consequently, he used Confucius as a pretext, intended to revive confucianism and open up a new way for the awkward situation China was in. This conformed to the times and had a positive impact on politics, culture and religious beliefs as well, producing far-reaching infulences for the later ages. The confucianism movement, its negation of traditional studies of Confucian classics roused the deaf and awakened ; it provided theoretical foundation for Constitutional Reform and insiped people's spirit of reform for strength. Kang Youwei's confucian ideas played a significant role in politics,culture, philosophy, spiritual beliefs, integration of spirits and saving China as well.