Is Confucianism still relevant today?

The answer is yes, different people will have different experiences. I found an article titled "The Practical Significance of Confucian Thought" for reference.

Abstract Confucianism is the mainstream of traditional Chinese culture. Its ideas of putting the people first, benevolent and loving others, and governing with virtue are of great significance to today's "ruling the country by virtue"; its ideas of the unity of nature and man The ideas of "harmony without uniformity" and "righteousness for benefit" are in line with today's sustainable and harmonious development between man and nature, and between man and man.

Since the founding of Confucius, Confucianism has gradually formed a complete system of Confucian thought through the development of scholars and the transformation of rulers, and has become the mainstream of traditional Chinese culture. Its profound cultural character has an important influence in the history of world culture and is still of great practical significance to today's society.

1. Confucianism and today's "ruling the country with virtue"

China has had an ideological tradition of "ruling the world with virtue" since ancient times. After the Duke of Zhou, Confucius clearly put forward the idea of ??"virtue governance" for the first time, pioneering Confucian virtue governance. Emphasize the important role of morality in human social life, and regard morality as the foundation and starting point for governing the country, coordinating interpersonal relationships, and improving personal moral quality and realm. Later, through the systematic development of Mencius and Xunzi, the theories of "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" were sublimated and formed a rigorous and complete system of state governance strategies, which became an extremely important part of traditional Chinese political culture. Later Confucians, whether it is Dong Zhongshu's cosmology or the ontology of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties, only demonstrated the importance and inevitability of virtue in government at a theoretical level.

In today's society, although the ancient thought of governing by virtue cannot be directly used by us as a way to govern the country, its ideological essence and rational core still have significant value and provide guidance for the implementation of the strategy of governing the country by virtue of today. necessary ideological resources.

(1) People-oriented

"People-oriented" is the foundation of Confucian moral governance. The so-called "people-oriented" means recognizing the important position of the people in the country. If the ruler deviates from the people's support and cannot get the support of the people, the state power cannot be consolidated and may even be overthrown by the people with force. Mencius' theory of "benevolent government" is based on the people. He said: "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least." In Mencius' view, the people are precious, and the interests and sufferings of the people cannot be ignored. Xunzi quoted an ancient saying: "The king is a boat, and the common people are water." Water can carry a boat or capsize it. The Confucian "Government by Virtue" thought with people-oriented thinking as its core value shows its great progress and people-oriented nature. Although Minben is not democracy in the modern sense, it has great practical significance.

When we develop socialist democratic politics, we must first establish the sacred concept of the people being the masters of the country and regard it as the most essential feature and requirement of socialist democratic politics. In order for the people to truly become the masters and core of social and political life, the people must dominate power instead of power dominating or even dominating the people. The Communist Party of China in power must handle all party and government affairs in the spirit of "building the party for the public good and governing for the people", making the people the masters of the country as the essence of its governance, actively organizing and leading the people to exercise power, Enable the people to gradually master their own ability to manage themselves and the affairs of the country, and realize the democratization of the power system.

At the same time, popular support is the fundamental factor that determines the rise and fall of a political party and a regime. To truly win the hearts of the people, that is, to win the people's heartfelt support and support, we must always keep the people's safety and security in mind, do everything for the people, rely on the people in everything, and serve the people in everything. And these must not be just empty words and clichés on the surface, nor can they be used as slogans, but should and must be transformed into real actions, showing that our party, our Our government and our leading cadres are indeed serving the people wholeheartedly, in a way that is based on integrity and is close to the people.

(2) A benevolent person loves others

"A benevolent person loves others" is the core of Confucius' thought. Confucius said: "A benevolent person loves others." (Yan Yuan) It is clear that the essence of benevolence is to love others.

People should not only love their parents and children, but also love ordinary people. The Confucian spirit of benevolence that "all men are brothers in the four seas" ("The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan") treats those who are in a disadvantaged position or difficult situation in society, such as widowers, widowers, lonely and disabled people. People with diseases are particularly concerned. This fine tradition is most worthy of being promoted today. In the process of socialist modernization, "leading cadres at all levels must persist in going deep into the grassroots and the masses, listen to the voices of the masses, care about the sufferings of the masses, always have the safety and security of the people at heart, and ensure that their power is used by the people and their feelings are for the people. We must pay special attention to those who encounter difficulties in production and life, and go deep into poverty-stricken areas, enterprises in difficulty, laid-off workers, rural poor, urban poor residents and other people in need. , and do everything possible to help them solve practical difficulties through solid and effective work, to truly benefit the people and lead them to create their own happy lives. "

(3) Governance with virtue

Confucianism believes that morality is the foundation of politics and has significance that transcends the times. From the perspective of "Government by Virtue", Confucianism emphasizes that politicians should set an example in terms of morality, and especially advocates that the monarch should use his great personality to inspire the world, rather than using punishment and force to subdue the world. In the words of Confucius, this is: "Government with virtue is like Beichen, where it lives and the stars align with it." ("The Analects of Confucius: Governance")

Today we refer to "ruling a country with virtue" "As one of the basic governance strategies in the process of socialist modernization, this requires that the rule of morality should be regarded as a major aspect of the construction of socialist political civilization. Of course, the most important thing to say now about moral governance should and must be to carry forward the moral spirit of socialism and communism, but it also needs to draw on the essence of historical and cultural traditions. In fact, there is no contradiction between the two. For example, Confucianism emphasizes that "the world is for the public" and "governing with virtue". Using this excellent traditional resource to think about reality requires that the Communist Party in power must "establish the party for the public and govern for the people" and require leadership Cadres must have a correct view of power and truly serve the people wholeheartedly and be good public servants of the people as their most fundamental purpose. "Party members and leading cadres must "firm the ideals and beliefs of the Communists, improve their ideological and political standards, strengthen their moral character, keep in mind the 'two musts', and truly transform the subjective world while transforming the objective world, and incorporate transformation into In the process of transforming the objective world, the subjective world uses the effectiveness of transforming the subjective world to promote the transformation of the objective world. "

2. Confucian Thought and Sustainable Development

In the long journey of pursuing civilization and prosperity, mankind has increasingly understood a truth, that is, to develop the economy and develop the economy sustainably .Such a big change is bound to have a profound impact on people's lifestyles, thinking habits and values, and also makes people feel the need to re-understand the value of Confucianism in traditional Chinese culture.

(1 )The Confucian idea of ??"harmony between man and nature" is consistent with the principle of sustainable development

The rapid economic development will inevitably increase human beings' ability to conquer nature. At the same time, it also further strengthens human beings' control over nature. The desire to transform and dominate. The excessive expansion of this desire has led to global ecological crises in the 20th century, such as land desertification, environmental pollution, energy shortages, sharp decline in forests, extinction of certain species, etc., which have seriously threatened humankind. Survival and development. In order to solve the global ecological crisis, more and more countries have accepted the principle of sustainable development. The orientation of the principle of sustainable development in the relationship between man and nature is actually similar. The concept has long been expressed in the Confucian thought of "the unity of heaven and man"

Confucianism believes that the entire universe is composed of three parties: "heaven", "earth" and "man". The harmony of the universe is formed together. The destruction of any party will destroy the life of the universe and destroy the perfection of the universe. The theoretical resources of Confucianism contain unique ecological ethics, that is, human progress must not only ask for nature, but also destroy the universe. In order to strive for the benefits of nature for mankind, we should love nature, care for nature, protect nature, and treat nature as our kindred spirit and friend. "Mencius: King Hui of Liang" said: "If you don't violate the farming season, you can't eat enough grain." If even a few grains of rice don't enter the pond, the fish and turtles will be unable to eat.

When the ax weighs a pound and enters the forest, the wood cannot be used. "Zhu Xi, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, notes: "The fish are not full enough, there is no porridge in the market, and people are not allowed to eat. The mountains, forests, rivers and swamps are in harmony with the people, but there are strict prohibitions, the vegetation is scattered, and then the axes are thrown in... Because The natural benefits of heaven and earth are also a matter of caring and nurturing. "The saying here means to care for and protect nature, and to comply with the growth laws of all things, so that we can have inexhaustible supplies. It points out the principle of harmony between man and nature to maintain sustainable development. Confucianism does not regard conquering nature as its own responsibility , but to put humans and all things in nature on an equal footing, as one body connected by flesh and blood; instead of regarding all things in nature as a resource bank for human beings, it is to pour human love and affection into all things in the world. This is what it means to be benevolent to the people, benevolent to the people and love things.

Since the Confucian idea of ??"harmony between man and nature" is consistent with the modern principle of sustainable development, its value has been increasingly recognized The attention of contemporary thinkers.

(2) Confucian thought of "harmony in diversity" contributes to the diversity of sustainable development

Different nations and countries have their own views on sustainable economic development. This is due to different histories, systems, religions and cultures. With the advancement of globalization, the economy seems to be increasingly borderless, which is accompanied by conflicts of interests and cultures. Countries should correctly understand this. We should pay attention to economic cooperation and cultural exchanges while pursuing the maximization of our own benefits, reserving differences while seeking common ground, and seeking development.

Confucianism has encountered this many times in history. The general idea of ??how to deal with the issue of heterogeneous cultures is that "Tao goes hand in hand without contradicting each other" and advocates the diversity of cultures. Therefore, historically, Chinese culture is not a monolithic pattern of Chinese culture, nor is it a single school of Confucianism. Rather, the Chinese culture and the surrounding ethnic minority cultures are "diversified into one", and the "three religions" of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexist. Confucianism starts from observing social reality and believes that people's needs in modern life are multi-layered and multi-faceted, not uniform. Therefore, different multiculturalism has its own position and role. The traditional Chinese cultural pattern formed is Confucianism-based, but it is also diverse and complementary. Even within Confucianism, there are various factions of controversy. Such openness and tolerance of cultural diversity are based on the theoretical basis of "harmony without diversity".

Confucian culture emphasizes "harmony without diversity", which means respecting differences, advocating harmony, and opposing monotony. The homogenization of things also opposes the conflict and confrontation of different things. Applying such an idea to the development of human culture today means recognizing differences and respecting diversity, and not only recognizing the culture of one's own nation, but also treating it with a spirit of broad tolerance. The cultures of other nations have replaced "clash of civilizations" with "civilizational dialogue", in which differences of knowledge and understanding have arisen, and they have gradually moved towards the harmony of diverse human civilizations. Only "harmony without difference" can promote the development of human culture. Prosperity and development are what "harmony creates". If there is hegemony of a certain culture, or conflicts and confrontations between different cultures, it would be "harmony without difference". We believe that "harmony without difference" is what we want. Only by acknowledging "difference" and forming "harmony" on the basis of "difference" can things develop. If we blindly pursue "sameness", we will not only fail to develop things, but will instead make things decline. The idea of ??"different" as a principle for dealing with the relationship between different national cultures in the era of economic globalization will help eliminate the so-called "clash of civilizations".

(3) The Confucian idea of ??"using righteousness to benefit" is beneficial to resolving conflicts between people and between people and groups

It is undeniable that in the pursuit of economic development and the creation of huge material wealth, At the same time, it also creates emotional indifference between humans. Because in the face of huge material wealth, people often arouse greater greed than ever before to possess these material wealth. As a result, we increasingly feel that the world is deteriorating and people's hearts are not as old as before. In order to satisfy their own greed, many people harm the interests of others and the group, and increasingly become indifferent people who have no emotions towards others and the group. This requires advocating transcending material interests in value orientation, pursuing moral realm, transcending oneself, and pursuing the interests of the group and even mankind. In this regard, the Confucian idea of ??using justice to control profit is undoubtedly beneficial.

Because Confucianism believes that when there is a conflict in interests between oneself and others or the group, the conflict can only be resolved with checks and balances based on righteousness, that is, morality. The Confucian concept of "using righteousness to gain benefit" is a value standard for adjusting the relationship between righteousness and benefit and a universal principle for coordinating the value orientation of human society. Emphasizing "righteousness" and emphasizing "profit" are two ways of behavior and two value orientations before human beings.

The core of the Confucian view of justice and benefit is: putting righteousness first, thinking about righteousness when seeing benefits, and using righteousness to control benefits. This may become the basis for building common values ??and fair moral standards in the new century. Because the righteousness discussed by Confucianism is often related to collective interests and the interests of others, and interests often refer to personal interests. Correspondingly, Confucianism advocates "the beauty of a gentleman as an adult" ("The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan"), and in social life "comes in and out of friends, watches and helps each other, and supports each other in illness" ("Mencius·Teng Wengong"). This is also beneficial to eliminating self-interest at the expense of others and forming a social atmosphere of solidarity and mutual assistance. In the era of economic globalization, the market economy is highly developed. With the increasing specialization of social division of labor, market competition has become increasingly fierce, and people are increasingly busy pursuing economic interests. But perhaps the more important thing about being a human being is that it is a spiritual existence. According to Confucianism, the latter aspect better reflects human characteristics. If we pursue material interests as the only goal, we are lowering ourselves to the level of animals. Therefore, we should regard unjust material interests as floating clouds and pursue the moral realm of contributing to society and serving others.

As a social being, humans are different from animals in that they have rationality, morality, and social norms. Therefore, they must not only improve their own moral cultivation and inner spirit, but also improve social ethics and social order. In modern society, only by caring about others and assuming their due social responsibilities can everyone achieve reasonable distribution and a harmonious economy, thereby promoting sustainable economic development.

Of course, our current reappearance of Confucianism and even Confucius does not mean that we want to put Confucius back on the original altar. Instead, we must "adopt a scientific attitude and use scientific methods, strive to strengthen the excavation, organization and research of Confucian culture, extract its essence and discard its dross, closely integrate Confucian research with the construction of advanced socialist culture, and truly make the past serve the present." , serve reality. "