Study Of The Confucian Movement During The Period Of Late Qing Dynasty And Early Republic Of China

In the cultural history of contemporary China,the Confucian Movement is undoubtedly an essential chapter that should not be overlooked.Under the severe threat of both the political and cultural crisis during the period of late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China,the Chinese Confucians of that time such as Kang Youwei,Liang Qichao,Tan Sitong,Chen Huanzhang and others attempted a movement to turn Confucianism into a religion,following the western turning of Christianism.With the purpose of rebuilding peoples' beliefs,promoting society stability and preventing national crisis,basing on the native cultural resources,these Confucians conducted a series of cultural and political moves such as nominating Confucius as the Hierarch of Confucianism,reinterpreting Confucian principles,establishing Confucian publications and schools,requesting the approval of appointing Confucianism as the state religion,actively participating in certain political reformations and so on.The Confucian movement experienced 40 years of rise and down from the Meiji Restoration period of late Qing dynasty to 1930 s.Direct challenges and objections from different parties were triggered as soon as its cultural and political assertions were proposed.Moreover,there were disagreements among the Confucian members themselves as well.Eventually,with the decline of its depended political force,the rise of the new political force and the expansion of the new cultural movement,it gradually lost its influence in inland China.However,despite its eventual failure in inland China,the Confucian Movement could not be regarded as a backward step of history.Instead,it is a valuable effort made by the contemporary Confucians to save their country from dying under its internal and external critical circumstances.It is also an eventful attempt of them to realize a revolutionary modern transformation.The issues and the coping solutions this movement proposed still has its continuance and responses from China and all over the world at present time.The significance of study of the Confucian Movement lies in that it not only clears out the historical facts,but also provides a reference for current scholars to re-evaluate the value of traditional culture,and a reference to discuss the future direction of contemporary Chinese culture development.