Confucianism
Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Writing and City Life"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Paths to Modernisation"
Meaning
Confucianism is the set of ideas that grew from the teachings of Confucius (551–479 BCE). It taught good conduct, practical wisdom and proper relations between ruler and subject, parent and child, and husband and wife. For more than two thousand years it shaped Chinese family life, learning and government. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinese reformers came to see it as a barrier to new ideas. After the reforms that began in 1978, some thinkers called for a revival of Confucian tradition, so that China could modernise from its own roots.
Example
China's imperial examination system was built on the Confucian classics. Candidates wrote the "eight-legged essay" (pa-ku wen), a fixed essay form that rewarded literary skill and left no room for science. The system was abolished in 1905. Later, Chiang Kai-shek promoted a militarised, secular Confucianism to make people act in a disciplined, uniform way.
Don't confuse with
- May Fourth Movement (1919): This movement attacked old traditions. It wanted to save China through modern science, democracy and nationalism, so it stood against Confucian authority rather than for it.