IOverview
New Confucianism is a 20th-century philosophical movement that set out to renew Confucian thought under pressure from the West and from Chinese intellectuals themselves. It accepted that science and democracy were needed but argued China did not have to abandon its Confucian roots to gain them. The root it sought to keep was the learning of mind and nature, running from Mencius through Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism.
New Confucianism lives in universities and books, not in a religious organisation. The English name is easily confused with Neo-Confucianism, the Song school. Vietnamese usage sometimes blurs the two as well, so this page reserves New Confucianism for the 20th-century movement.
IIHistory
The examinations were abolished in 1905 and the Qing fell in 1911. The New Culture and May Fourth movements of 1919 cast Confucian ritual teaching as an obstacle to modernisation. New Confucianism emerged as a response from within, accepting criticism of the old institutions while defending Confucian ethics and metaphysics.
- 1921 to 1949First generationLiang Shuming compared Eastern and Western cultures, Xiong Shili built his New Consciousness-Only philosophy, Feng Youlan wrote his New Learning of Principle in Zhu Xi's line, and Zhang Junmai worked on constitutional government.
- 1949To Hong Kong and TaiwanAfter 1949 many scholars left the mainland. New Asia College in Hong Kong became a centre of the movement.
- 1958The manifestoTang Junyi, Mou Zongsan, Xu Fuguan and Zhang Junmai signed A Manifesto on Chinese Culture to the World, published at the start of 1958.
- 1950 to 1979Second generationMou Zongsan (1909 to 1995) engaged deeply with Kant. Tang Junyi (1909 to 1978) and Xu Fuguan (1904 to 1982) were, like Mou, students of Xiong Shili.
- From 1980Third generationTu Weiming at Harvard brought Confucianism into international dialogue and proposed the idea of three epochs of Confucian learning.
- After 1978Mainland New ConfucianismAfter China's reforms, Confucian thought revived. Jiang Qing advocated Political Confucianism and Chen Ming explored Confucianism and democracy.
IIIPositions and Distinctive Ideas
The 1958 manifesto holds that Chinese culture has a fundamental unity rooted in the learning of mind and nature, and that the West cannot understand China if it treats it only as an antique to be studied. That culture is not opposed to science and democracy. It simply had not yet developed them and can do so from within.
Mou Zongsan offered a much-cited argument. For moral knowing to realise itself in the modern world, it must step back and limit itself, making room for objective knowledge and political institutions. In this way science and democracy can grow from Confucian roots. Tu Weiming stressed Confucianism as a spiritual and humanistic tradition able to contribute to dialogue among civilisations.
Some assume New Confucians want to restore the imperial order. The second and third generations broadly supported democracy and criticised the Three Bonds and monarchy. Some mainland figures such as Jiang Qing have proposed political models different from liberal democracy, and this is contested within New Confucian circles themselves.
IVActivities
New Confucianism lives in lecture halls, conferences, journals and philosophy books. On the mainland after 1978, Confucian learning has also returned through classics-reading classes for children, private academies and revived ceremonies for Confucius. These popular activities are linked to the movement, but not everyone who takes part follows a particular New Confucian philosophy.
VSpread
New Confucianism has no central organisation. Its main academic centres are in Hong Kong, Taiwan, North American universities and, since the 1980s, many mainland universities. In the United States a group of scholars known as the Boston Confucians shows that the movement has followers beyond Chinese communities.
VIIn Vietnam
No source has been found for any organisation or group in Vietnam identifying as New Confucian. Works by Feng Youlan, Tu Weiming and other New Confucians are known to Vietnamese scholars, translated and discussed in academic settings, especially around the question of what value Confucianism still holds for modern life. This is academic reception, not a community.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIISub-branches
- First generation
- Second generation
- Third generation
- Mainland New Confucianism
IXOther Branches of Confucianism
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism宋明理學 程朱學派, School of PrincipleThe school that built a full cosmology on principle and qi, with the investigation of things as its path.
Classical Confucianism先秦儒家, pre-Qin ConfuciansThe Confucianism of Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi, concerned with ethics and government rather than metaphysics.Lu-Wang School of Mind陸王心學, 陽明心學 (Xinxue)Holds that principle lies in the mind rather than in external things.Uses the common symbol of the pathHan Confucianism漢儒, Han-era Confucian learningDong Zhongshu urged setting aside other schools and making Confucianism the sole state orthodoxy.Uses the common symbol of the pathQing Evidential Learning考證學 kaozhengxue, 樸學, Han learning 漢學In the Qing, scholars turned to philological research to recover the sages' words, called Han learning in contrast to the moral philosophy of Song learning.Uses the common symbol of the pathNew Confucianism新儒家, 當代新儒學A 20th-century current answering the May Fourth critique, accepting Western science and democracy while keeping the learning of mind and nature.Uses the common symbol of the path
Vietnamese ConfucianismNho học, Hội Tư văn, Văn MiếuConfucianism became a system in Vietnam under the Lý, with the Temple of Literature in 1070, the first examination in 1075 and the Imperial Academy in 1076.Korean Confucianism, Sungkyunkwan성균관 成均館 Seonggyungwan, 유교 YugyoSungkyunkwan was founded in Hanyang on 25 September 1398 and is today Korea's Confucian body.Uses the common symbol of the path
Confucian Religion in IndonesiaAgama Khonghucu, MATAKIN (Majelis Tinggi Agama Khonghucu Indonesia)Confucianism organised as a religion with a council, houses of worship and rites, one of Indonesia's six officially recognised religions.XSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Are New Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism the same?
No. Neo-Confucianism is the Song School of Principle of the 11th to 13th centuries. New Confucianism is a 20th-century movement that inherits Song and Ming thought but places it in dialogue with Western philosophy.
Who is the most representative figure?
Mou Zongsan is usually seen as the most systematic philosopher. Xiong Shili was the teacher of the second generation. Tu Weiming did most to bring the movement to an international audience.
Do New Confucians support democracy?
Most of the second and third generations argue that democracy can and should grow from Confucian roots. Some mainland voices such as Jiang Qing propose other models, and the question remains debated.