The relevance of Confucianism in modern China

The relevance of Confucianism in modern China

Mikołaj Chojnowski

Uniwersytet Jagielloński

Confucianism is what Christianity is to Europe. It is a building bloc for all political philosophies that have been created by the Chinese political thinkers, philosophers etc. In the current era of China’s emergence as a prominent regional power in Far East Asia and with a capable strategy of projecting soft power onto the world, it is no surprise that we attribute these accomplishments to the economic successes of China’s decision makers. However, the influence of the Middle Kingdom’s political heritage in a form of the Confucian thought has been overshadowed to some extent. Discipline and order inside the government institutions is just as important as the introduction of new economic plans in a previously central-governed economy. It is thanks to the reintroduction and adaptation of the Confucian thought in the postDeng Xiaoping era that propelled China into its current position.

Keywords: Confucianism, Confucian thought, China, post-Mao Zendong era, values

Mikołaj Chojnowski – student, Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych, Instytut Nauk Politycznych i Stosunków Międzynarodowych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński. Kontakt: choina.chojnowski@student.uj.edu.pl. Recenzent: dr Marek Tylkowski, Zakład Studiów Azjatyckich, Wydział Nauk Humanistycznych, Uniwersytet SWPS.

With China’s ever increasing position as a rising economic superpower, international relations specialists wonder how did its success come to pass. It is a fact grounded in reality that in terms of raw economic output, China has become an industrial powerhouse of the global community and its voice matters more than ever. Naturally, this has sparked a keen interest in the Middle Kingdom, not only in its ability to supply the majority of the world but also its heritage. The language, the culture, the traditions – the world wishes to understand the mechanisms of its rising champion in the international arena. This article takes interest in the political thought of Confucianism and its relevance to modern China, particularly in the postMao Zedong era.

Historical context

It is important to note that the European perspective on the Chinese values will be, to some extent, twisted. While Europe has gone through a major cultural shift throughout the centuries, starting from the discovery of Americas, the Reformation Period, Hundred Years War, The Napoleonic Wars, First and Second World War, China had not gone through the same cultural change as European states have. Because of that, Chinese political philosophy had not gone through a vast period of transformation as Confucianism became a predominant political thought until the modern period, while European states have gone from simple tribes to kingdoms; from kingdoms to republics; monarchs gave way to the people; people were usurped by dictators; dictatorship crumbled to democracy – China, in the meantime, was ruled by the sage kings. At first glance, Confucianism cannot be pinned down as a political philosophy or even something as akin to a religious system. The Chinese Empire, as opposed to Europe, operated more as its own separate entity. An attempt at analyzing the Middle Kingdom’s political structures through the use of Western interpretations and tools may yield disappointing results. It is a Herculean task to try to showcase the entirety of Confucian legacy so the main focus of the following paragraph will be a simplified explanation of how a Confucian state operated. A Confucian state operated on the idea of the sage-king, meaning the Emperor who stood at the top of the hierarchy. The sage-king was aided by a class of sophisticated bureaucrats dubbed the Mandarin. The Mandarin acted as the administrators of the country who watched over the Empire’s internal affairs and took part in establishing the cultural, social and economic structures of China1 .

What needs to be highlighted are the peculiar differences between the Mandarin and the Western elites. First of, the position of the Mandarin could be taken by anyone who passed specialized state exams that were based on a detailed knowledge of classical literature and

works. What is most peculiar is that even peasants could take up the exams. This form of meritbased social acceleration seemed revolutionary, when compared to the Western social hierarchy which operated mainly on the idea of being born into a given social-class. There were of course exception to who could participate as merchants and soldiers where barred from taking the exams2 . Another aspect of a Confucian state was its administrative division. The idea that ancient China operated as a unilateral, centralized state is a huge point of contention. At its basic core, the society of China operated on a set of clans, which could be interpreted as ‘family’ although that could be an oversimplification. A clan could constitute a large community, counting to thousands of inhabitants. Each clan had its own varies traditions, laws and even codes of conduct3. Communities would constitute a larger administrative body –a province which could be governed by one of the imperial bureaucrats who were appointed by the Emperor. The result was a complicated bureaucratic system with multiple mini-states inside of a larger province-state that had its own distinctive identities, yet they all existed in a state of harmony. In order to highlight the most crucial elements of Confucianism, there are five core values that have constituted the fundamental teachings of Confucianism, dubbed the Five Elements. That is the (ren) which means benevolence, (yi) which stands for righteousness. Another key value in Confucianist canon is (li) which encompasses such terms as conduct or rite. (Li) represents a set of rites and rituals which aim to maintain an established social or cosmic order. A value of (zhi) represented wisdom and making correct judgement. The final value termed xin constituted trustworthiness and a capacity to uphold promises made to people4 . These core values constitute an ideal morality of an individual, specifically a morality of a ruler. The ruler then upheld these principles and followed them. The idea was that the sageruler followed a way of road (dao) – creating a moral and virtuous social order. The sage-ruler attained almost a god-like status amongst the population – he not only was the administrative head of the country but also a spiritual leader and guide for all the others to follow. What emerged was a kind of social system that had a quasi-religious character to it where it was believed that by following the way of road (dao), a certain state of harmony was going to emerge that was characterized by a peaceful order and an absence of conflict5. It was believed by the Confucianists that such state of harmony (he) could enrapture the world which would

2 Ibidem, s. 101. 3 Ibidem, s. 97. 4 Research Institute For Creating New Paradigms based on Eastern and Western Vision, Essence of Confucius and Confucianism: “Yi”, “Zhi” and “Xin”, https://inst-east-and-west.org/en/learning/2019/002725.html (Accessed: 10.09.2021) 5 D. A. Bell, Comparing Political Values in China and the West: What Can Be Learned and Why It Matters, Annual Review of Political Science 2017, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051215-03182, s. 105.

bring humanity “All Under Heaven”, chi. Tianxia6 . This term was meant to describe a world which achieved an ultimate state of peace. It is important to highlight Confucianists’ apparent desire for benevolence. Their founding father, Confucius, lived during the ancient times called “The Warring States Era”. During those times, China was divided into multiple dynasties, the main ones being the Qin, Zhao, Yan, Qi, Wei, Han and Chu dynasties. Confucius believed that the ideal order of society existed during the legendary times of Zhou dynasty and that the remaining dynasties were trying to regain that lost order7. Confucius would go on and influence multiple of his students to go out and influence the ruling elite of ancient China. In a way, a parallel can be drawn to the ancient school of Sophists who were viewed as the scholarly elite of ancient Greece –Confucianists were highly regarded scholars and molded the intellectual grounds of Chinese civilization.

Their time, like that of any school of thought, would subside with the arrival of European empires from 17th to 20th century as China began to mold itself after the example of Western leaders. With the eruption of Second Sino-Japanese War, the country would fall into turmoil as it was forced to endure a brutal Japanese occupation. At the same time, two prominent groups were vying for power – one was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Mao Zedong. The other was the Kuomintang, led by the general Chiang Kai-shek. After the defeat of Japan, China was thrown into another deadly war, this one being a civil one. The conflict, dubbed Chinese Civil War would last from year of 1945 to 1949 which ended with victory of CCP and with the withdrawal of the remaining forces of Kuomintang onto the island of Taiwan – an issue that has prevailed into the 21st century and drives a wedge between China and Taiwan.

The revival of Confucianism

With the victory of CCP, Mao Zedong assumed leadership over the Chinese state and began instituting a series of reforms which were intended to transform China from an agricultural state into an industrial one. The most infamous being the Great Leap Forward which led to a country-wide famine, resulting in around 20 million deaths8. A second most disastrous reform was the Cultural Revolution which aimed to eliminate any social or intellectuals elements which obstructed Mao from the creation of a full socialist state. It was

also for a way for Mao to eliminate any opposition inside the party. The Cultural Revolution led to another huge death toll, ranging from a couple hundred thousands to as close as 2 million

6 D. Demin, Reviving the Past for the Future?: The (In)compatibility between Confucianism and Democracy in Contemporary China, “Asian Philosophy”, 2014, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 148. 7 Y. Zhang, op. cit, s. 176. 8 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Great Leap Forward". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Leap-Forward. Accessed 26 February 2021.

deaths9. The Mao Era lasted from 1949 to 1976, the year when Mao Zedong passed away. With the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese officials had to make a choice. The effects of the Cultural Revolution and of the Great Leap Forward had ruined the country and the decision was made to reverse the Maoist system. A long period of transition was started by the CCP’s next chairman, Deng Xiaoping, who focused on the economic reforms. Deng is credited with opening the China to the world and with the development of the Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Theory10. This was a start for the ideological transformation of the CCP. In 1989, when Jiang Zemin ascended into power, Chinese officials realized that Marxist-Leninist philosophy was losing its ground. The Eastern Bloc was experiencing an ideological shakedown of existing communist regimes. Many opposition movements in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia were gaining the support of their respective populace, resulting in the erosion of pre-existing political systems. What is more important is the leniency given by the USSR, the de-facto country which spearheaded the spread of communism during the early days of the Cold War. The country was experiencing major economic breakdowns due to military spending, economic stagnation and internal power struggle. The writing was already written on the wall. The time of communism was already ending. Chinese officials had acknowledged that it was necessary for the stability of the state to introduce certain reforms. However, CCP leaders didn’t plan to restructure the entire system but decided to modernize certain aspects while trying to minimize a chance for a complete and total breakdown to occur. For this purpose, the term ‘modernization’ (Xiandaihua) was coined to mark the beginning of a new era in Chinese political reforms11 . Deng Xiaoping is regarded as the father of modern China. While Mao Zedong is considered to be the founding-father for the Chinese state, it was Deng Xiaoping who made sure that the country was ready for the challenges of the upcoming 21st century. Through the use of pragmatic planning and strategizing, Deng Xiaoping set out a program of Four Modernizations to improve the situation in the country. These included: industry, agriculture, science and technology12. In addition, Deng Xiaoping called for a long-term planning of Chinese international strategy. A plan dubbed 28- Character Strategy (Ershiba Xianfa) in simplified terms called for China to secretly build up its economic and strategic potential while maintaining a low profile as to not attract attention from potential future rivals such as United

9 Lieberthal, Kenneth G.. "Cultural Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Mar. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Cultural-Revolution. Accessed 26 February 2021. 10 J. Zhu, Chen Yun and Deng Xiaoping in the Early Period of Reform and Opening, [w:] Z. Xingxing (red.), Selected Essays on the History of Contemporary China, Boston 2015, s. 7. 11 W. Shufang, Modernizing Confucianism in China: A Repackaging of Institutionalization to Consolidate Party Leadership [w:] Asian Perspective 2015, vol. 39, no. 2, s. 308. 12 S. Prosekov, Confucianism and Its Influence on Deng Xiaoping’s Reforms, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, Vol. 233 (2018), s. 1529.

States13. In a Confucianist way, Deng Xiaoping left a plan of action for the next generation of CCP leaders.

Another real mention of Confucianism in the post-Mao era could be traced to Jiang Zemin’s policy plan of ‘Three Representatives’. The policy focused on the economic, social and cultural advancement of the Chinese nation. This is when Confucianism was introduced as

a tool for promoting Chinese traditional culture. Further reinforcement of Confucianism being a sociopolitical tool in the hands of the CCP was done by Hu Jintao who was in favour of spreading harmony in the world as a virtue in Chinese foreign policy. Hu Jintao called for a creation of a harmonious society (hexie shehui) which calls back to the traditional values of Confucianism aiming to bring benevolence to the world14. However, Confucianism would be further promoted through China’s growing soft power influence under the guidance of Xi Jinping, the latest chairman of the CCP. With Xi Jinping ascension to power, a term ‘Chinese Dream’ was coined. It was to be used as a Chinese equivalent of the ‘American Dream’. Its Asian counterpart entails the creation of prosperous state with a nation being led by an invigorated youth, ready to lead the country as a global superpower. According to Xi Jinping’s interpretation of the Chinese Dream, the country must return to the origin of its culture, one of which would be Confucianism15. Not only has the chairman advocated the importance of Confucian works such as The Analects as a backbone of Chinese culture but doubled the efforts to promote the culture outside of China. The most famous example are the Confucius Institutes which provide the opportunity to learn about the Chinese language, culture, values and promote China’s visage as a modern state. Today, the institutes are viewed with suspicion as a way for the CCP to spread propaganda as it has connections with the central government16 . To what extent is Confucianism a foundation for the modern political system in China? Confucianism in its traditional interpretation is no longer a viable option for a modern society that is being created in the Middle Kingdom. Confucianism for the modern Chinese state is not a simple political dogma. It is a pragmatic tool for the CCP to provide a reasoning for the introduction of a variety of authoritarian policies, in the eyes of the Western world. Particularly, the case of the Social Credit System which breaches the notion of a right to privacy, promotes behavior which are viewed as ‘desirable’ in the eyes of the CCP. However, Confucianism still permeates strongly throughout China. Its values and teachings can still be seen in how Chinese

13 B. Góralczyk, Wielki Renesans. Chińska transformacja i jej konsekwencje, Wydawnictwo Akademickie DIALOG, Warszawa 2018, s. 161. 14 W. Shufang…, s. 310. 15 Y. Zhang, Xi marks Confucius anniversary, Chinese news website, https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/883309.shtml (Accessed: 26.02.2021). 16 W. Huang, J. Xiang, Pursuing Soft Power through the Confucius Institute: a Large-N Analysis, Journal of Chinese Political Science/Association of Chinese Political Studies, 2018, s. 253.

people view their society – a well-woven strings of individuals who build a great organism that has been able to achieve a rapid growth in a spectacularly short amount of time. It is certainly difficult to try and pinpoint the exact purpose of why Confucianism has been pulled out of the proverbial bookcase of Chinese history. Has the CCP been trying to create a chimeric system from the already existing Maoist foundation which had to be stripped down and remade by such figures as Deng Xiaoping or Jiang Zemin? In some sense, yes. China in 1989 wouldn’t have survived those turbulent times during which calls for democracy were becoming more rampant and students were starting to demand personal freedoms. The response to a communist state in an identity crisis was either to dissolve and risk an unknown future or to stay on the already taken path but try to rehabilitate the worst parts of the system. Chinese elites chose the latter option. With that, a remedy was needed to give the country a new ideological stepping ground. Confucius seemed like a fitting option – after all, Confucius is viewed more as a teacher than a leader to the Chinese civilization. Perhaps new teachings could be found after China had been humbled by the losses it suffered in the first half of the 20th century?

Conclusion

It would seem that despite the turbulent times of the Mao Era which brought upon rapid changes in the Chinese society – from an agricultural state to a nuclear regional power; from a stagnating economy to the powerhouse of the world, China will certainly not let go of its heritage. Even when Mao tried to blame Confucianism for its for the regression of the Chinese society, it is now more discussed than ever before. With the rising position of China as a superpower, much more interest will be focused on analyzing the methods thanks to which the Middle Kingdom owes its status. As for the future of Confucianism, it could be further molded to fit the interests of the CCP. It can be said that today’s Chinese system operates as a political chimera – combining domestic as well as foreign ideologies, values and tweaks them to meet the challenges of a developing Chinese society as well as to keep the ruling party in its position as a guiding presence for the ordinary people. If a country adheres to the usage of political violence, repression of minorities, monitoring of its own citizens, is it still possible for such a country to achieve harmony? If so, how can harmony be defined?

BIBLIOGRAPHY Books:

Góralczyk, B., Wielki Renesans. Chińska transformacja i jej konsekwencje, Wydawnictwo Akademickie DIALOG, Warszawa 2018 Fan Ruiping, The Renaissance of Confucianism In Contemporary China, Springer 2011. Jiamu Zhu, Chen Yun and Deng Xiaoping in the Early Period of Reform and Opening, [w:] Z. Xingxing (red.), Selected Essays on the History of Contemporary China, Boston 2015. Gawlikowski K., Konfucjański Model Państwa w Chinach, ISP PAN, Warszawa 2009.

Articles:

Wu Shufang, Modernizing Confucianism in China: A Repackaging of Institutionalization to Consolidate Party Leadership [w:] Asian Perspective 2015, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 301-324. Wu Shufang, The Revival of Confucianism and the CCP’s Struggle, Journal of Contemporary China, 2014, p. 971-991. Duan Demin, Reviving the Past for the Future?: The (In)compatibility between Confucianism and Democracy in Contemporary China, “Asian Philosophy”, 2014, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 147-157 Bell D. A., Comparing Political Values in China and the West: What Can Be Learned and Why It Matters, Annual Review of Political Science 2017, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci051215-03182. Yongjin Zhang, The idea of order in ancient Chinese political thought: a Wightian exploration, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2014, p. 167-183. S. Prosekov, Confucianism and Its Influence on Deng Xiaoping’s Reforms, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, Vol. 233 (2018), s. 1528-1531.

Internet articles:

Yiqian Zhang, Xi marks Confucius anniversary, Chinese news website, https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/883309.shtml. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Great Leap Forward". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Leap-Forward. Lieberthal, Kenneth G.. "Cultural Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Mar. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Cultural-Revolution. Research Institute For Creating New Paradigms based on Eastern and Western Vision, Essence of Confucius and Confucianism: “Yi”, “Zhi” and “Xin”, https://inst-east-andwest.org/en/learning/2019/002725.html.