Shanxi Zongshenghui And The Confucianism Movement In The Early Republic Of China

The Revolution of 1911(the Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution led by Sun Yat-sen)marked the start of the Republic of China.After then,there was a raising awareness of the worship of Confucius.From the central government to the local areas,many groups that honored Confucius had sprung up and had formed a massive Confucianism movement.Among these groups,Zongsheng Association in Shanxi Province was one of the largest and earliest local Confucian groups in the early days of Republic China.It not only concentrated on the Confucianism movement,but also carried out various activities in local communities under the guidance of their aim to honor Confucius and other great sages,clarify humanitarianism,assist politics and educations,promote the enlightenment of average people and build a integrated nation.Till now,studies on Confucianism mainly focus on the general development of Confucianism,on the related thoughts and practices put forward by the several advocates,such as Kang Youwei and Chen Huanzhang,and on the national organizations of Confucianism.However,detailed and systemic researches are limited on studying local groups of Confucianism.And as a local Confucian group,how does Shanxi Zongsheng Association start and develop?What role does it play in the Confucianism movement?And what are its main ideas on Confucianism?Are there any differences and similarities with other groups?The above questions worth of further discussion and exploring and constitute the main contents of this paper.This Paper is unfolded from the following perspectives:Part one gives a general introduction about Shanxi Zongsheng Association,including its backgrounds,origins,developments,organizations,members,thoughts,etc.Under the background of the raising Confucianism movement in the early days of Republic China,Shanxi Zongsheng Association was set up by figures from educational and political fields together with local gentry,aiming at making moral education universal,assisting politics and enhancing Republic of China.Part two focuses on the activities carried out by Shanxi Zongshneg Association during Confucianism movement and its guiding thoughts.As a local Confucian group,Shanxi Zongshneg Association,on the one hand,actively conducts local activities,such as promoting Confucianism,holding ceremony to honor Confucius,popularize education,improving social customs,and so on.On the other hand,it participates in petitions to make Confucianism as national religion and puts forward large number of concrete policies to governing the country.According to the explanations in this chapter,I will illustrate the influence Zongsheng Association exerts on local community and uncover the nature that the thoughts of Zongsheng Association to pursue Confucianism as national religion are actually different form the thoughts of national organization of Confucian.Part three concentrates on Shanxi Zongsheng Association debates about Confucianism.Firstly,Zongsheng Association's interpretations towards Confucianism are clarified.I mainly focus on three aspects:whether Confucianism is a kind of religion or not;whether it can be set as a national religion and the relations between Confucianism and restoration of autocracy.Secondly,a comparison between different Confucian-based thoughts will be explored through the following three perspectives:the comparison within the members of Zongsheng Association;the comparison between different Confucianism groups and the comparison within religious circles.Finally,I will discuss the problems brought up by Zongsheng Association on the debates about Confucianism,including moral problems,religious problems and problems on the shifting of Confucianism from tradition to modern.This chapter focuses on the Zongsheng Association's discussion on Confucianism,revealing its purpose to make Confucianism more simple and understandable and further set Confucianism as a national religion.The conclusion part of this paper firstly has a brief introduction on various local Confucian groups and divided their developing trends into religious groups,moral groups and academic groups.Shanxi Zongsheng Association is one of the representatives of moral groups.Then,I will generally discuss on the thinking and understanding brought about by the debate about Confucianism.