Confucianism Across Chinese History

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the evolution of Confucianism and how it was adapted to serve the changing needs of the Chinese state with which it came to be so identified. It looks at the changes in Confucianism from the time of the Warring States to the Ming Dynasty. The paper also describes the importance of Confucianism in Chinese history and the fundamental disagreements about Confucianism that extend throughout Chinese history.

From the Paper:

"This passage is interesting for its emphasis on how the Confucian focus on ritual can be oriented towards the individual and the individuals local relationships, with the broader implications for the state clearly being secondary. Clearly, this represents a profound shift from the heavy emphasis of Confucianism since the Han upon how Confucianism is useful to the state and government. Now, with Neo-Confucianism, Zhu Xi seems to suggest that the Chinese people have different needs that must be met in new ways through an adaptation of traditional Confucian thinking. In this adaptation, it may be argued, Zhu Xi is continuing int he practice of continual revision of Confucianism(s) that have defined the evolution of this philosophy in theory and practice throughout Chinese imperial history."

Sample of Sources Used:

• De Bary, Wm. Theodore and Bloom, Irene, eds. Sources of the Chinese Tradition Second Edition Volume 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
• Hansen, Valerie. The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000.

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