Is confucianism compatible with liberal constitutional democracy?

Journal of Chinese Philosophy

Volumn 34, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 195-216

  Chen, Albert H Y ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 61049104195     PISSN: 03018121     EISSN: 15406253     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6253.2007.00409.x     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (99)

1. The Manifesto was first published in 1958 in Hong Kong and Taipei in the magazines Minzhu Pinglun (Democratic Critique) and Zaisheng (National Renaissance)
2. The full Chinese version has been republished under the title of Zhongguo Wenhua yu Shijie (Chinese Culture and the World) as an appendix in Tang Junyi, Shuo Zhonghua Minzu zhi Huaguo Piaoling (On the Withering Away of the Fruits of the Chinese Nation) (Taipei: Sanmin Shuju, 1974), 125ff
3. (Also published in Tang Junyi, Zhonghua Renwen yu Dangjin Shijie [Chinese Humanities and the Contemporary World] [Taipei: Xuesheng Shuju, 1975]
4. Tang Junyi Quanji [Complete Works of Tang Junyi] [Taipei: Taiwan Xuesheng Shuju, 1991], vol. 4, part II
5. and Zhang Junmai, Zhong Xi Yin Zhexue Wenji [Essays on Chinese, Western and Indian Philosophy] [Taipei: Xuesheng Shuju, 1981], 849ff.)
6. An abbreviated English version of the Manifesto has been published under the title of "A Manifesto for a Re-appraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture" in Carsun Chang (Zhang Junmai), The Development of Neo-Confucian Thought (New York: Bookman, 1962), 2:455ff
7. For an English summary of and commentary on the Manifesto, see Hao Chang, "New Confucianism and the Intellectual Crisis of Contemporary China," in The Limits of Change, ed. Charlotte Furth (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976), 276-302
8. Chang, Development of Neo-Confucian Thought, 469
9. See, e.g., Li Minghui (Lee Ming-huei), Ruxue yu Xiandai Yishi (Confucianism and Modern Consciousness) (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1991), 1-18
10. Li Minghui, Dangdai Ruxue zhi Ziwo Zhuanhua (The Self-transformation of Contemporary Confucianism) (Taipei: Academia Sinica, Wenzhesuo, 1994), 1-21
11. Li Minghui, Mengzi Chongtan (Re-exploring Mencius) (Taipei: Lianjing, 2001), 143-50
12. He Xinquan, Ruxue yu Xiandai Minzhu (Confucianism and Modern Democracy) (Taipei: Academia Sinica, Wenzhesuo, 1996), 1-11
13. Lin Yusheng (Lin Yü-sheng), Zhengzhi Zhixu Yu Duoyuan Shehui (Political Order and Pluralistic Society) (Taipei: Lianjing, 1989), 337-49; and Joseph Chan's article in this issue
14. See, e.g., Ming K. Chan and Alvin Y. So, eds., Crisis and Transformation in China's Hong Kong (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2002)
15. See, e.g., Steve Tsang, "The Confucian Tradition and Democratization," in Democracy: The Challenges Ahead, ed. Yossi Shain and Aharon Klieman (London: Macmillan Press, 1997), 30-47
16. John Fuh-sheng Hsieh, "East Asian Culture and Democratic Transition, with Special Reference to the Case of Taiwan," Journal of Asian and African Studies 35, no. 1 (2000): 29ff
17. See, e.g., Hahm Chaibong, "The Confucian Political Discourse and the Politics of Reform in Korea," Korea Journal 37, no. 4 (1997): 65ff
18. "Proposition 1," "Proposition 2," and "LCD" are named by me
19. Tang, Withering Away, 166 (my own translation from the Chinese original)
20. See Mou Zongsan, Zhengdao yu Zhidao (The Way of Politics and the Way of Administration) (Taipei: Taiwan Xuesheng Shuju, 1991), 55-62
21. For a summary and commentary on this theory, see, e.g., Wang Dade, "The Interpretation of Mou Zongsan's Theory of the Self-Negation of Conscience," in Mou Zongsan Xiansheng yu Zhongguo Zhexue zhi Chongjian (Mou Zongsan and the Reconstruction of Chinese Philosophy), ed. Li Minghui (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1996), 399ff.
22. Cai Renhou, "On the 'Theory of Development' (kaichu) and the 'Theory of Negation' (kanxian)," in Ruxue yu Dangjin Shijie (Confucianism and the Contemporary World), ed. Yang Zuhan (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1994), 15ff.
23. Fang Yingxian, "The 'Self-negation of Conscience' and Chinese Modernization," Ruxue yu Dangjin Shijie (Confucianism and the Contemporary World), ed. Yang Zuhan (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1994), 29ff.
24. Yan Binggang, "Mou Zongsan's Theory of Self-negation and the Problem of Contemporary Culture," in Dangdai Xinruxue Lunwenji: Waiwang Bian (Essays on Contemporary Neo-Confucianism: Outward Kingliness), ed. Huang Meiying and Cai Senchang (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1991), 197ff
25. Tang, Withering Away, 160-61
26. See Lin, Political Order and Pluralistic Society, and Zhang Hao (Chang Hao), Youan Yishi yu Minzhu Chuantong (Consciousness of Darkness and Democratic Tradition) (Taipei: Lianjing, 1989)
27. Chang Hao, "The Intellectual Heritage of the Confucian Ideal of Ching-shih," in Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, ed. Tu Wei-ming (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996), 72-91
28. Li, Self-Transformation of Contemporary Confucianism, 127
29. See generally Jiang Qing, Zhengzhi Ruxue (Political Confucianism) (Beijing: Sanlian Shudian, 2003), particularly chap. 1
30. See his article in this issue
31. Jin Yaoji (Ambrose King), Zhongguo Shehui yu Wenhua (Chinese Society and Culture) (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1992), 166ff.
32. discussed in Li Minghui, Self-Transformation of Contemporary Confucianism, 6-10
33. See the following works by Kwang-kuo Hwang: "Two Moralities: Reinterpreting the Findings of Empirical Research on Moral Reasoning in Taiwan," Asian Journal of Social Psychology 1 (1998): 211ff.
34. "Filial Piety and Loyalty: Two Types of Social Identification in Confucianism," Asian Journal of Social Psychology 2 (1999): 163ff.
35. "Chinese Relationalism: Theoretical Construction and Methodological Considerations," Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 30, no. 2 (2000): 155ff. I am grateful to Professor Hwang for sending me the offprints of these works
36. Lin Anwu, Zhongguo Jinxiandai Sixiang Guannian Shi Lun (On the History of Modern Chinese Thought and Concepts) (Taipei: Taiwan Xuesheng Shuju, 1995), chap. 1
37. See Jiang, Political Confucianism, 1-249
38. See generally the works cited in n. 3 above and the following works: Deng Xiaojun, Rujia Sixiang yu Minzhu Sixiang de Luoji Jiehe (The Logical Combination of Confucian Thought and Democratic Thought) (Chengdu: Sichuan Renmin Chubanshe, 1995)
39. Lin Yü-sheng, "Reflections on the 'Creative Transformation of Chinese Tradition,' " in Chinese Thought in a Global Context, ed. Karl-Heinz Pohl (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999), 73ff, esp. 91-100
40. Heiner Roetz, "The 'Dignity within Oneself: Chinese Tradition and Human Rights," in Chinese Thought in a Global Context, ed. Karl-Heinz Pohl (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999), 236ff.
41. Heiner Roetz, "Confucianism and Some Questions of Human Rights" (in English), in Xiandai Rujia yu Dongya Wenming: Wenti yu Zhanwang (Modern Confucianism and East Asian Civilization: Problems and Prospects), ed. Liu Shuxian (Liu Shu-hsien) and Lin Yuehui (Lin Yueh-hui) (Taipei: Academia Sínica, Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, 2002), 155ff.
42. Heiner Roetz, "Rights and Duties," in Chinese Ethics in a Global Context, ed. Karl-Heinz Pohl and Anselm W. Müller (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002), 301ff.
43. Joseph Chan, "A Confucian Perspective on Human Rights for Contemporary China," in The East Asian Challenge for Human Rights, ed. Joanne R. Bauer and Daniel A. Bell (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 212-237
44. Joseph Chan, "Moral Autonomy, Civil Liberties, and Confucianism," Philosophy East & West 52, no. 3 (2002): 281ff.
45. Yang Guorong, "Mengzi and Democracy: Dual Implications," Journal of Chinese Philosophy 31, no. 1 (2004): 83ff.
46. Wejen Chang, "The Confucian Theory of Norms and Human Rights," in Confucianism and Human Rights, ed. William Theodore de Bary and Tu Wei-ming (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 117-141
47. and Chung-ying Cheng, "Transforming Confucian Virtues into Human Rights," in Confucianism and Human Rights, ed. William Theodore de Bary and Tu Wei-ming (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998), 142-153
48. For a similar position in an older work, see Huang Kejian and Wu Xiaolong, eds, Zhang Junmai Ji (Collected Works of Zhang Junmai) (Beijing: Qunyan Chubanshe, 1993), 468-82
49. Lu Xichen and Chen Ying, eds, Jingshen Ziyou yu Minzu Wenhua: Zhang Junmai Xinruxue Lunzhu Jiyao (Spiritual Freedom and National Culture: Selected. Works of Zhang Junmai on New Confucianism) (Beijing: Zhongguo Guangbo Dianshi Chubanshe, 1995), 588-94
50. See also Jiang's latest book, Shengming Xinyang yu Wangdao Zhengzhi (Faith about Life and the Politics of the Kingly Way) (Taipei: Yangzhengtang Wenhua, 2004)
51. See generally Ernest Gellner, Plough, Sword and Book: The Structure of Human History (London: Collins Harvill, 1988)
52. See generally Honghe Liu, Confucianism in the Eyes of a Confucian Liberal: Hsu Fu-kuan's Critical Examination of the Confucian Political Tradition (New York: Peter Lang, 2001)
53. See, e.g., Tu Wei-ming, "Confucianism," in Our Religions, ed. Arvind Sharma (New York: Harper Collins, 1993), chap. 3, esp. 193-94
54. See, e.g., Chang, "The Intellectual Heritage."
55. See Lin's works cited in n. 3 and n. 20 above
56. Charles Wei-hsun Fu, "Philosophical Reflections on the Modernization of Confucianism as Traditional Morality," in Religious Issues and Interreligious Dialogues, ed. Charles Wei-hsun Fu and Gerhard E. Spiegler (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989), chap. 13, 303
57. Chenyang Li, "Confucian Value and Democratic Value," Journal of Value Inquiry 31 (1997): 183ff., 189
58. See generally "Confucianism and Liberalism: A Dialogue with Professor Tu Weiming," in Rujia yu Ziyouzhuyi (Confucianism and Liberalism), ed. Harvard-Yenching Society and Sanlian Shudian (Beijing: Sanlian Shudian, 2001), 1ff
59. Li Minghui, Confucianism and Modern Consciousness and Re-exploring Mencius
60. See Joseph Chan's article in this issue
61. Seung-hwan Lee, "Was There a Concept of Rights in Confucian Virtue-based Morality?" Journal of Chinese Philosophy 19 (1992): 241ff.
62. Seung-hwan Lee, "Liberal Rights or/and Confucian Virtues?" Philosophy East & West 46, no. 3 (1996): 367ff
63. Cheng, "Transforming Confucian Virtues."
64. Yu Kam-por, "Human Rights and Chinese Ethical Thinking" (PhD diss., University of Hong Kong, 1996)
65. See Joseph Chan's works cited in n. 20 above
66. See Roetz's works cited in n. 20 above
67. Huang Junjie (Huang Chun-chieh), "Confucianism and Human Rights," in Rujia Sixiang yu Xiandai Shijie (Confucian Thought and the Modern World), ed. Liu Shuxian (Liu Shu-hsien) (Taipei: Academic Sinica, Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, 1997), 33ff
68. Li Minghui, "Confucian Tradition and Human Rights," in Chuantong Zhonghua Wenhua yu Xiandai Jiazhi de Jidang (The Dynamic Interaction of Traditional Chinese Culture and Modern Values), ed. Huang Junjie (Beijing: Shehui Kexue Wenxian Chubanshe, 2002), 207ff
69. See generally Li Minghui, Confucianism and Modern Consciousness, preface at 3-4
70. Li Minghui, Self-Transformation of Contemporary Confucianism, v. 12
71. "Mencius said, 'For a man to give full realization to his heart is for him to understand his own nature, and a man who knows his own nature will know Heaven. By retaining his heart and nurturing his nature he is serving Heaven' " (Mencius VII.A.1, trans. D. C. Lau [London: Penguin Books, 1970], 182)
72. Analects VI.30, James Legg, trans., The Chinese Classics (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960), 1:194
73. John C. H. Wu, "Chinese Legal and Political Philosophy," in The Chinese Mind: Essentials of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, ed. Charles A. Moore (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1967), 213ff., 214-15
74. H. B. Nisbet, trans., Kant: Political Writings, 2nd enlarged ed. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 74
75. See also the discussion of this passage in Norberto Bobbio, The Future of Democracy, trans. Roger Griffin (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1987), 149
76. Quotations from the last two chapters of Daxue; trans. from Daxue Zhongyong, with English trans. by He Zuokang (Beijing: Huavu Jiaoxue Chubanshe, 1996), 35, 45
77. See the discussion in Wei Zhengtong, Rujia yu Xiandaihua (Confucianism and Modernization) (Taipei: Shuiniu Chubanshe, rev. ed. 1997)
78. (originally published under the title Chuantong yu Xiandaihua [Tradition and Modernization]), 51ff
79. The Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing), trans. Liu Ruixiang and Lin Zhihe (Jinan: Shandong Youyi Shushe, 1993), 29, 35, 43, 51
80. Lin Anwu, Dao de Cuozhi: Zhongguo Zhengzhi Sixiang de Genben Kunjie (The Fallacy of the Misplaced Dao: The Fundamental Problem of Chinese Political Thought) (Taipei:Taiwan Xuesheng Shuju, 2003), esp. v-xii
81. See also Lin Anwu, Ruxue yu Zhongguo Chuantong Shehui zhi Zhexue Xingcha (Confucianism and Philosophical Reflections on Traditional Chinese Society) (Taipei: Youshi, 1996), 131-156
82. See generally Lin's books cited in n. 18 and n. 49 above
83. Lin, Confucianism and Philosophical Reflections, 17-32
84. Lin, Fallacy of Misplaced Dao, x and 119-156
85. Lin, Modern Chinese Thought and Concepts, 95-121
86. See Mou's Zhengdao yu Zhidao
87. For a commentary, see Situ Gangsheng, "Mou Zongsan's Theory of Politics," in Mou Zongsan and the Reconstruction of Chinese Philosophy, ed. Li Minghui (Taipei: Wenjin Chubanshe, 1996), 387ff
88. See the works cited in n. 9 above
89. On Mou's modernized interpretation of "inner sagehood and outward kingliness," see Li, Confucianism and Modern Consciousness, preface at 4
90. Li, Re-exploring Mencius, 164-65
91. See generally Cheng Zhongying (Chung-ying Cheng), He Wainei zhi Dao: Rujia Zhexue Lun (Combining the Outer and Inner Ways: On Confucian Philosophy) (Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe, 2001), essays at 333ff., 398ff., and 413ff. I am grateful to Professor Cheng for his drawing my attention to these essays
92. Baogang He, "New Moral Foundations of Chinese Democratic Institutional Design," in China and Democracy, ed. Suisheng Zhao (New York: Routledge, 2000), chap. 5, 90-92
93. See, e.g., Liu Shuxian (Liu Shu-hsien), "From People-as-the-Basis to Democracy," in his book, Rujia Sixiang yu Xiandaihua (Confucian Thought and Modernization), ed. Jing Haifeng (Beijing: Zhongguo Guangbo Dianshi Chubanshe, 1992), 17ff
94. Lee Seung-hwan, "Liberal Rights or/and Confucian Virtues?" Philosophy East & West 46, no. 3 (1996): 367ff
95. Daniel A. Bell, "Democracy with Chinese Characteristics: A Political Proposal for the Post-Communist Era," Philosophy East & West 49, no. 4 (1999): 45 1ff
96. See his contribution to this issue
97. See my discussion of this issue in "21st-century Chinese Political Thought," in Zhengzhi Lilun zai Zhongguo (Political Theory in China), ed. Chen Zuwei (Joseph Chan) and Liang Wentao (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2001), 12ff., 18-20
98. This article of his is collected in Mou Zongsan, Shengming de Xuewen (The Scholarship of Life) (Taipei: Sanmin Shuju, 1970), 207ff
99. It is interesting to note that these four characters were prominently displayed on the banners of the "Red-clothed" demonstrators led by Mr. Shih Ming-teh in the mass movement calling for the resignation of President Chen Shuibian (Chen Shui-bian) in Taiwan in 2006