Towards the end of the Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BCE), three main philosophies emerged in response to the disorder of the warring states period: Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism. These three philosophies played a great role in the development of China and were all utilized at some point in Chinese history. Of the three, Confucism has easily been the most influential in the development of the Chinese state through history. Confucism developed almost 2,500 years ago as a social and political philosophy with religious overtones. It would come to play a great role in Chinese practice and life. “Lead them by means of regulations and keep order among them through punishments, and the people will evade them and will lack any sense of shame. Lead
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Ultimately, the dynasty fell in 1911 and was replaced with the Republic of China, which still exists in modern day Taiwan. Because corruption was prominent during the early republic, it became successful very quickly. In its place, the Chinese Communist Party arose in the 1920s and started a long civil war with the opposing Nationalist Party of the Republic. The leader of the Communist party came to be Chairman Mao Zedong, and under his rule, the Communist Party won the civil war in 1949. This was the start of the People’s Republic of China, which governs the Chinese mainland to this day. During the early 20th century, it was believed that traditional ideas and beliefs were what was holding the country back from modernizing into a new nation-state, and one of the major traditional beliefs that was regarded as a hinderance was Confucianism; it was harshly criticized by the New Culture Movement. Although some scholars thought that Confucianism could be reformed to fit with the new dynasty, an overwhelming number of reformers believed that there was no more use for Confucianism under the newfound democracy and science. With the implement of a completely new system of governing, the philosophy of Confucianism waned …show more content…
With the Chinese having consistently been one of the strongest proponents of capitalism compared with other publics around the world, how communist is China, really? Perhaps communism has lost the ability to inspire the Chinese; if so, a new dominant political philosophy needs to take its place. Professor of political philosophy at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, Daniel A. Bell, suggests a modernized version of Confucianism as the obvious alternative. Bell argues the end of Marxist ideology has come, and that the encouragement of Confucian values should take its place. First of all, it will build a moral foundation for political rule in China and will benefit the farmers, women, and workers. Also, Confucian values are still prominent in people’s lives (for example, filial piety is still widely endorsed and practiced), and so the revival of it will not take as long as the surgence of the CCP did. Bell believes that parts of the CCP’s program failed to be enforced because they conflicted with central Confucian values and habits; Confucianism is deeply embedded into Chinese culture, and straying from it only causes conflicts. However, the problem with the traditional version of Confucianism is that it is a bit outdated; Confucian examinations for contemporary China need to be revived and
Ultimately, the dynasty fell in 1911 and was replaced with the Republic of China, which still exists in modern day Taiwan. Because corruption was prominent during the early republic, it became successful very quickly. In its place, the Chinese Communist Party arose in the 1920s and started a long civil war with the opposing Nationalist Party of the Republic. The leader of the Communist party came to be Chairman Mao Zedong, and under his rule, the Communist Party won the civil war in 1949. This was the start of the People’s Republic of China, which governs the Chinese mainland to this day. During the early 20th century, it was believed that traditional ideas and beliefs were what was holding the country back from modernizing into a new nation-state, and one of the major traditional beliefs that was regarded as a hinderance was Confucianism; it was harshly criticized by the New Culture Movement. Although some scholars thought that Confucianism could be reformed to fit with the new dynasty, an overwhelming number of reformers believed that there was no more use for Confucianism under the newfound democracy and science. With the implement of a completely new system of governing, the philosophy of Confucianism waned …show more content…
With the Chinese having consistently been one of the strongest proponents of capitalism compared with other publics around the world, how communist is China, really? Perhaps communism has lost the ability to inspire the Chinese; if so, a new dominant political philosophy needs to take its place. Professor of political philosophy at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, Daniel A. Bell, suggests a modernized version of Confucianism as the obvious alternative. Bell argues the end of Marxist ideology has come, and that the encouragement of Confucian values should take its place. First of all, it will build a moral foundation for political rule in China and will benefit the farmers, women, and workers. Also, Confucian values are still prominent in people’s lives (for example, filial piety is still widely endorsed and practiced), and so the revival of it will not take as long as the surgence of the CCP did. Bell believes that parts of the CCP’s program failed to be enforced because they conflicted with central Confucian values and habits; Confucianism is deeply embedded into Chinese culture, and straying from it only causes conflicts. However, the problem with the traditional version of Confucianism is that it is a bit outdated; Confucian examinations for contemporary China need to be revived and