Innovation of Confucianism in the Globalization Era (The Thought of Tu Weiming's Modern New Confucianism)

Author: Wei Caixia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: In the face of the impact of globalization, how should Confucianism, with thousands of years of tradition, achieve modern transformation? The third-generation modern Confucian Du Weiming proposes his own reflections. He believes that first, it is necessary to inherit the critical spirit of the May Fourth Movement and conduct an in-depth critique of the dark side of Confucianism. Second, while actively absorbing the universal values created by the Western Enlightenment, such as science, democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, which are lacking in Chinese culture but essential for modernization, one must also acknowledge their negative impacts—anthropocentrism and Eurocentrism. Taking this as an opportunity, Confucian humanism can play an active role in the construction of global ethics. Finally, based on the new trends of Confucianism in terms of intellectual and cultural development as well as practical levels, Du Weiming elaborates on the prospects of the third phase of Confucian development and further proposes the construction of "Cultural China."