Caltech students in Hawking's lecture

UCLAri
Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:11:17 +0000

I don’t know much about Confucius, and only thought his waning influence, good or bad, was limited to the Chinese. Apparently, you are of very different opinion, for which I have respect.



I don’t know much about the rest of the argument-- nor is it of interest to me as a grad student at a program where first names are tossed around like candy-- but I do know Confucius.

And Confucius is not waning as much as some Westerners seem inclined to believe. Nor is his influence limited to China in any way. I might suggest that biggs read up on Norinaga Motoori and Fu.kuzawa Yukichi to see just how pervasive Confucian thought was in Japan (which was based on a much stricter Confucian hierarchy than China ever was!) Similarly, read up on the continuing debate on Confucianism’s place in Korea, and how in many ways Korea remains the most Confucian state in Northeast Asia.

That’s only Northeast Asia. Zheng He et. al. made sure as recently as the 15th century that Southeast Asia was a good little Confucian tributary region by the sword. The Qing wouldn’t push the matter like the Ming did, but soft power in the region alone ensured Confucian influence as far as the boundaries of Laos…

Sorry, I just couldn’t help but jump in on something that I care and know about. Oh, and a quick trip to your local Japanese secondary school will show you how despite the apostasy that the Meiji era elites committed, Confucian hierarchy still exists in some fashion even in the “liberal” state of Japan.