Lost Soul: "Confucianism" in Contemporary Chinese Academic Discourse

ISBN-13: 9780674028111 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 425 str.

John Makeham

Opis

Since the mid-1980s, Taiwan and mainland China have witnessed a sustained resurgence of academic and intellectual interest in "ruxue" Confucianism variously conceived as a form of culture, an ideology, a system of learning, and a tradition of normative values. This discourse has led to a proliferation of contending conceptions of "ruxue," as well as proposals for rejuvenating it to make it a vital cultural and psycho-spiritual resource in the modern world.

This study aims to show how "ruxue" has been conceived in order to assess the achievements of this enterprise; to identify which aspects of "ru" thought and values academics find viable, and why; to highlight the dynamics involved in the ongoing cross-fertilization between academics in China and Taiwan; and to examine the relationship between these activities and cultural nationalism.

Four key arguments are developed. First, the process of intellectual cross-fertilization and rivalry between scholars has served to sustain academic interest in "ruxue." Second, contrary to conventional wisdom, party-state support in the PRC does not underpin the continuing academic discourse on "ruxue." Third, cultural nationalism, rather than state nationalism, better explains the nature of this activity. Fourth, academic discourse on "ruxue" provides little evidence of robust philosophical creativity.