What Is Most Impressive About Confucianism, and What Is the Impact of Confucian Philosophy on the Chinese Society?

1238 Words5 Pages
Confucianism is an influential philosophical and teaching system that originated in China. The influence of Confucianism, however, goes beyond China and reaches the border of many East Asian countries, namely Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Among all the characteristics of Confucianism, the fact that its influence can cast a shadow upon different countries and that we can still see the features of Confucianism in modern-day society, 2400 years after the death of Confucius, are the most impressive. This paper aims to elaborate more deeply about the regional impact of Confucianism as well as how it still plays a big role in modern Chinese society. Japan adopted Confucianism in the 6th century (Ping & Lili, 2010), and it has developed in Japan since then. The early stage of Confucianism in Japan did not see much growth in Japanese society, as Confucianism was considered a foreign culture. In a society that emphasizes nationalism as much as Japanese society, foreign culture does not usually easily make an impact. In the Kamakura period, Confucianism in Japan had to co-exist with Buddhism, and failed to achieve individual development. Not until Edo period did Confucianism in Japan flourish and entered its peak era, becoming what is known as Japanese Confucianism (Ping & Lili 2010). The three dominant schools of philosophy in Japan were led by Yamaga Sokou, Ito Jinsai and Ogyuu-Sorail. Although the leaders were separated by the differences in their thoughts, they all agreed that Japanese society should be guided by the theory and philosophy of classic Confucianism (Ping & Lili, 2010). While the essence of Confucianism was absorbed by Japanese thinkers at that time, it adopted some unique factors of Japan’s folk customs in order to make it closer to Japanese society. Classic Chinese Confucianism stressed the harmony among social members. Japanese Confucianism gave more

More about What Is Most Impressive About Confucianism, and What Is the Impact of Confucian Philosophy on the Chinese Society?

Open Document