Traditional Values in a Modern Chinese Context

IMGXYZ1289IMGZYXTraditional Values in a Modern Chinese Context
China has seen a revival in Confucianism in the last decade.  Many books on the subject are bestsellers, and modern official discourse often references traditional Confucian values such as harmony.  Carnegie Beijing and Remin University hosted a June 22-23 conference to address this renaissance of traditional culture and its implications for modern Chinese politics and society.

What Lies Behind the Confucian Revival
China’s political leaders often promulgate slogans to encapsulate their political philosophy and governing styles.  According to Kang Xiao Guang (see the attachment for the list of participants), Hu Jintao’s adoption of “harmonious society” represents the first political return to Confucianism since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) assumed power.      

Why the elevation of a philosophy that the CCP did its best to stamp out during the Cultural Revolution?  For the Chinese public, rediscovering Confucianism offers a sense of respite and order in a quickly developing social, economic, and political landscape.  Carnegie Beijing’s Shi Tianjian and Chu Yunhan and Zhang Youzong provided survey evidence that the public’s attachment to Confucian values increased during China’s modernization period. 

Expert Daniel Bell theorized that the regime has encouraged the philosophy’s revival to promote a sense of social responsibility amidst the recent rise of individualism and economic competition.  To curb corruption, which has eroded the CCP’s financial and political capital, the party is encouraging political officials to govern in accordance with traditional guiding principles of “ren” benevolence and “li” propriety.   

The “Absolutism” of Authority: Confucianism in Society and Politics
Yang Zhong Fang conducted research to separate people who embrace Confucian values from those who do not to study differences in their behavior.  He concluded that the former resolve conflict more “harmoniously,” a finding that may have important implications for how Chinese people perceive democracy and authority, and how they express their grievances.

Regarding China’s political system, the ruler/subject relationship and the role of status as defined in Confucian philosophy are still very relevant.  Jiang Qing claimed that few Westerners understand the traditional absoluteness of authority.  Ruler-subject, a societal projection of the Confucius-defined father/son relationship, contains strong paternalistic overtones. 

Jiang said that the explicit codification of proper ruler/subject behavior explains why Confucianism considers neither subjects’ discontent nor the proper expression thereof.  The relationship was, theoretically, defined so perfectly that there would be no reason for dissatisfaction if each party observed its proper role.   

Kang Xiao Guang argued that the culturally embedded concept of status can partially explain the aversion to the conflict and competition that characterize multiparty political systems.  Chinese people believe that a “good” society emphasizes harmony over conflict and that “good” government “looks after the whole” country, not factional interests.  Thus, participants implied that China may have an inclination towards a one-party or more authoritarian political system that does not exist in Western countries.

Although the current system emphasizes respect for authority, it is debatable whether the party has fulfilled its own Confucian obligations.  As Chen Lai said, “It’s not just the people who should recognize the government as parents.  Government should also recognize this.”  Modernity; the pollution, corruption, and growing wealth gap that have attended it; the lack of dissent valves; and culturally embedded Confucian perspective on authority can perhaps explain the extremities of political opposition on the Mainland. 

Shi Tianjian has found that the identification of one’s government as a “father” makes it easier to go to extremes in expressing grievances.  While most subjects in his study supported the traditional ruler/subject relationship, which encourages dependence on government and discourages disputes with it, he also found that they will bypass normal protest channels if they know that the government will not solve their problems. 

Potential Applications of Confucianism
Participants also discussed ways that Confucianism could meet China’s current needs, such as the environment.  Confucian values see man as an integral part of nature.  Yet, Sheng Hong said that China’s pollution-intensive means of production and competition for resources violate this precept. 

The latter, in particular, presents a catch twenty-two: man will sow his destruction if he exploits natural resources, but he risks perishing if he does not do so.  While Sheng advocated breaking away from this cycle and from current forms of living and production, he admitted that this task was daunting.  He suggested finding a way of integrating energy-saving and emission-reducing measures into the market through regulation.

Participants discussed the present and future “soft power” of Confucianism.  The CCP supports 500 nonprofit Confucius Institutes in 64 countries and regions to promote the Chinese language and culture.  However, as Yan Xuetong pointed out, Confucianism will not be taken seriously abroad unless China’s political leaders practice it at home. 

Looking Ahead Using a Philosophy of the Past
It is unclear what the revival of Confucianism entails for China.  It is certainly answering a hunger amongst the Chinese people for spiritual and cultural familiarity amidst tremendous change.  Whether or not it can benefit China’ political system largely depends on the central authorities’ ability to apply Confucian principles.  Most intriguing is the question of whether certain cultures, such as Confucian ones, possess an affinity for authoritarian political systems, as conference participants suggested.  With China providing a new economic model for many developing countries, perhaps it is also modeling an alternative to Western-style democracy.  The rediscovery of both ren and li would, arguably, help it gain a legitimate foothold as one.