Japanese Neo-Confucian Studies in the Modern Era

Author: Han Dongyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The view that Japan is a "Confucian capitalism" has long been the mainstream discourse in the field of comparative studies on the intellectual history of China and Japan. However, in reality, in terms of the dominant ideology, Japan's modernization has been a process of "detachment from Confucianism" from the very beginning. Importantly, this detachment did not stem from external stimuli but was the result of cultural introspection—the reinterpretation of pre-Qin pragmatic thought. This outcome is vividly reflected in the historical transformation of the "detachment from Confucianism and embrace of law" movement in Edo thought before the Meiji Restoration. This book clarifies the profound connections between the New Legalists, the New Confucians, the Original Legalists, and the Original Confucians, authentically recreating the foundational role that Legalist thought resources played in Japan's self-generated modernization process. It also provides a new observational framework for modern China, which lacks this historical process.