Confucian Thought and Its Impact on Intellectualism in China, Japan

This essay examines the influence of Confucianism on the societies of China and Japan, arguing that it has played a significant role in achieving social consensus and fostering intellectual development. It uses secondary sources, including journals and books, to support this thesis. The paper highlights how Chinese reformers utilized Confucian ideals to transform the human condition and achieve national goals, promoting self-reflection and improvement among the people. The annotated bibliography includes sources discussing Confucianism's role in Chinese democracy, philanthropy, political theory, and its transformations in Japan, particularly in relation to neo-Confucianism and individual identity. The essay concludes that Confucianism has been instrumental in shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of both China and Japan.

Running head: CONFUCIAN THOUGHT IN CHINA AND JAPAN
Confucian Thought in China and Japan
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1CONFUCIAN THOUGHT IN CHINA AND JAPAN
Thesis Statement
The essay argues that Confucianism has helped in achieving the consensus in the
society of China along with Japan that has paved the path for the intellectual development of
the people.
Roadmap
The thesis would be argued by me with the help of stating information from various
secondary sources like the journals and the books. In the first week, the articles were
identified in relation to Confucianism within China and that of Japan. In the second week,
useful information was extracted from the articles that can help in throwing important light
on the topic.
Overview of Paper
The paper elaborates on the view that the Chinese reformers made use of the ideals of
Confucianism that has helped in making China and Japan emerge as a dominant force within
the world. It has helped in transforming the human condition and has helped in attaining the
goals of the nations. The paper has stated that it has helped the people of China along with
Japan in the area of self-reflection that has helped in bringing about improvements in the
lives of the people.
Annotated Bibliography
Ames, Roger T., and David L. Hall. The democracy of the dead: Dewey, Confucius, and
the hope for democracy in China. Open Court, 2015.
The article talks about the fact that China is being confronted by the internal along
with the external forces that would undermine the traditional foundations of the place. The
article talks about the fact that China can work as a self-governing community with the help

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of various kinds of mediating institutions like the family along with the neighbourhood. The
Confucian philosophy has helped in the area of personal cultivation along with articulation of
the Chinese people. The Confucian society within China necessitates that the consensus is
achieved at that of aesthetic along with the practical level instead of that to the claim of
reason.
Lu, Shuang, Juan Rios, and Chien-Chung Huang. "Mindfully sharing capital in modern
China: Culture of giving and influence of Chinese philosophy." The China Nonprofit
Review8, no. 1 (2016): 52-65.
This article discusses that the philanthropic giving within China has been able to enter
a new era in the present age. The changing social environment within China has been able to
change the pattern of the giving behaviour of the people of China. The article talks about the
fact that the philanthropy of China does not act as a reflex behaviour but it acts as an intrinsic
intention within that of humanity. The article talks about the fact that the process of mindful
sharing that was imbibed within the Chinese owing to the Confucian ideals has helped in
building a social culture that has empowered the vulnerable population of China.
Jiang, Yi-Huah. "Confucian Political Theory in Contemporary China." Annual Review of
Political Science 21 (2018): 155-173.
The article discusses that traditional Confucian theory has been reconstructed that has
helped China in coping with the challenges of that of the modern times. The article talks
about the fact that it has helped the Chinese a new way of life that has worked to the benefit
of the Chinese. It has paved the path for the usage of the modern technologies that has helped
in transforming the cultural pattern of China. The revival has helped in altering the attitude of
the Chinese towards the traditions. The article talks about the fact that the New Confucians

3CONFUCIAN THOUGHT IN CHINA AND JAPAN
has brought about a transformation in that of the social mores along with the spiritual life of
the society.
Berthrong, John. Transformations of the Confucian way. Routledge, 2018.
The article talks about the fact that Confucianism has been able to serve the
community of Japan. It has paved the path for the intellectual development that has taught the
people of Japan many important things. The article states that Confucianism has helped in
sustaining a continual process of the growth along with the transformation within Japan. The
Confucian tradition has expanded across East Asia that has helped it in emerging in the
modern world. The ideals of Confucianism has also undergone great amount of changes on
account of the neo-Confucian revival of Japan. It has helped in rooting out the foreign
elements and it has helped in restoring the idea that caring for the world can help in paving
the way for the growth of the society. The article talks about the fact that the people turned to
the moral philosophy that has helped the people in connecting themselves with that of the
self.
Nosco, Peter. Individuality in Early Modern Japan: Thinking for Oneself. Routledge,
2017.
The article elaborates on the fact that neo- Confucianism has helped in opening a
dialogue between that of the traditional Japan and that of the modern Japan. It has helped in
constructing the individual identity and in the aggressive pursuit of the policy of self-interest.
It has helped in understanding the happiness of the Japanese in a new light. It has been able to
extol the virtue of that of benevolence that has helped in the creation of a harmonious society.
The article talks about the fact that it has helped in giving birth to an interconnected system
or pattern that has been able to transform the condition of the society. The article talks about
the fact that neo-Confucians do not lose themselves with that of the world but they maintain

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hierarchy of the characteristics of Confucians in the early age. The article talks about the fact
that it has helped in eliminating that of self-centred desires that has helped in the area of
understanding the other people. It has helped in providing a stronger justification for that of
universal care that have facilitated the process of mutual interaction in the society. The article
throws light on the fact that it has helped people in understanding the suffering of the non-
human animals that has helped in improving the condition of the society.

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Bibliography
Ames, Roger T., and David L. Hall. The democracy of the dead: Dewey, Confucius, and the
hope for democracy in China. Open Court, 2015.
Berthrong, John. Transformations of the Confucian way. Routledge, 2018.
Jiang, Yi-Huah. "Confucian Political Theory in Contemporary China." Annual Review of
Political Science 21 (2018): 155-173.
Lu, Shuang, Juan Rios, and Chien-Chung Huang. "Mindfully sharing capital in modern
China: Culture of giving and influence of Chinese philosophy." The China Nonprofit
Review8, no. 1 (2016): 52-65.
Nosco, Peter. Individuality in Early Modern Japan: Thinking for Oneself. Routledge, 2017.