Confucian Values and the Chinese Political Tradition

Abstract

Culture and politics are inseparable. How to realize the cultural factors of Chinese traditional politics and its influence and enlightenment on the contemporary era has been one of the most important issues with great concern of the academic community. Starting from Confucianism, this paper uses qualitative analysis and Marxist theory of cultural criticism to provide an in-depth interpretation of traditional Chinese politics. The main content of the paper is divided into three parts. The first part provides a systematic study of the background of the emergence of Confucian political philosophy in the pre-Qin period. Its main content covers the economic, political, and cultural aspects of the Warring States period. The second part analyzes the values of pre-Qin Confucian political philosophy. This part mainly deals with the theories of heavenly and human nature of three Confucian scholars, Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. The third part interprets traditional Chinese politics in the context of Confucianism by focusing on the blood patriarchal culture, the social-based culture, the ethical culture, and the political culture of the sages, respectively. Through a summary of the characteristics and contradictions of traditional Chinese politics, an objective understanding of the emergence, development,...