Critique and Inheritance: Confucian Studies in China in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Author: Xu Qingwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The issue of how traditional Chinese culture is inherited has long troubled generations of scholars in the 20th century. This book takes the study of Confucius in the latter half of the 20th century as its main thread, using three entry points—academic environment, academic research methods, and academic research subjects—to examine Confucius studies in four different periods: the first seventeen years before the "Cultural Revolution," the "Cultural Revolution" itself, the period of ideological liberation, and the 1990s. It also conducts a comprehensive analysis of the modern New Confucians in Hong Kong and Taiwan who have steadfastly upheld Confucianism. By doing so, the book aims to demonstrate the winding historical process of Confucius studies in the latter half of the 20th century and infer its reasonable future direction from this historical trajectory.