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.Eventually, those responsible for the Red Guards movementand the Cultural Revolution fell out of favor and becameknown as the Gang of Four.As the movement lost its power,there was an attempt to reinstate and reacknowledge the roleof traditional Chinese culture, and with it, Confucianism.The Confucian Temple and Confucius s tomb were eventu-ally restored.Today, there is greater recognition in China of Confucianism,and toleration for the role played by traditional culture.Nounderstanding of the general interpretation of Confucianismin the People s Republic of China is possible, however, with-out knowledge of the systematic attempt by the CulturalRevolution to rid China of all vestiges of its traditional ways.As we have seen, even the Cultural Revolution did noteliminate Confucianism entirely, but it certainly did raise Defining Moments in Confucian History 119questions about how contemporary Confucianism may bedefined or described.Anyone, even today, who would like toadvocate Confucianism must be aware that a movement like theCultural Revolution makes it far more challenging to present aConfucian agenda that fits within the contemporary world, andcertainly within the People s Republic of China. 10Confucianism inthe World TodayIf you can practice these five thingswith all the people, you can be called jen.Courtesy, generosity, honesty,persistence, and kindness. Analects 17:6 Confucianism in the World Today 121istorically, Confucianism has played a central role in theHcultures of East and Southeast Asia.It permeated politicaland social elements of each of the cultures to which it waslinked.It was essentially the Confucians who determined muchof the character of each of the countries under Confucianinfluence.Confucianism touched the lives of all segments of thepopulation, both the educated and uneducated.With the advent of modernization within East and SoutheastAsian cultures beginning in the nineteenth century, Confucian-ism s traditional role was challenged.Modernization essentiallymeant the introduction of Western culture.Because Westernculture was very different from Asian custom, it was often difficultto implement.Though the various Asian cultures modernizedin their own ways, there was one similarity among all of them.That common feature was a rejection, often radical in nature,of traditional worldviews in favor of embracing Western ideas.Although it is now recognized that Confucianism had beenin large part responsible for the successful modernization ofEast and Southeast Asia, when the new wave of modernizationbegan it was the first tradition to be thrown out.Confucianismrepresented everything that was wrong with the past, and itwas viewed as a conservative force that was holding backAsian culture from becoming part of the modern world.Because of this radical rejection of the ways of the past,Confucianism as a living tradition had been, by the beginning ofthe twentieth century, largely eradicated.Its role in governmentcame to an end with the adoption of more radical and, in somecases, democratic structures.Its role in education ceased withthe discontinuance of the civil service examination system.Education was now developed around Western models.Even theinstitutional traditions of the Confucian Temple died out as allritual activity stopped.CONTEMPORARY CHARACTER OF CONFUCIANISMWas the Confucian tradition truly dead? Some observersbelieved that it had, in fact, been destroyed, and that it would 122 CONFUCIANISMplay no future role in Asian cultures, let alone a role in the globalcontext of late-twentieth-century ideas.Such reports of thetradition s demise, however, turned out to be premature andsimply inaccurate.Old ideas and practices do not die easily.Those who argued that Confucianism was dead did not takeinto account the fact that Confucianism was a deep-seatedtradition that had formed a central part of the cultures inwhich it had played a role.Doing away with the formal insti-tutions that had supported Confucianism took the traditionout of the limelight, but did not completely eliminate it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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