Peter K. Bol Vice provost for Advances in Learning, Harvard University Chinese nationalism appears to have an intimate connection with Confucianism. Bol expands on this relationship (or possible lack thereof). 03/11/2015
So much of his point of view is from a Western intellectual perspective and having lived briefly in Taiwan, which skews his view of what Confucianism really is. Consequently, there were a number of incorrect views based on personal beliefs and false assumptions. If he truly wants to represent himself as an "expert" of Confucius teachings, I would suggest that he spend at least 20 years living amongst the people in China to gain credible experience and proper perspective.
Confuciusism believed that every individual in the society should bring the greatest benefit to his own social group with least friction and the society working in an organism which every different class should do the best in its position for achieving a harmonious society.
Wonderful speaker! Amazing topic! Living in immigration in Canada for the last 25 years I always have been wondering: what are the common moral base for such a multicultural society? Didn't find the strong one except of: We are democracy, we are building an American dream. Easier said than done. As the society Canada doesn't have a common moral base and it's really good for people who lead as who knows where. At the moment it's still bearable. What about the future? On the other hand, China, which also has many nationalities and more than one religion is united by common philosophy. It's what each country need to be a state. And not just to have it, but to follow it. Money can't be an ideology! But first step is, certainly, is education!
Good point on how we are all raised following a set of philosophy through rituals. Confucianism (although not a religion) or Christianity, are all philosophies our society created to help organize and manage the mass for peace and harmony. As for the Chinese government, they are regarded as the guardiance of the Chinese civilizational culture and philosophies, therefore, it's good to see they are reviving Confucianism by teaching it to the younger generations. I can't think of a better way to preserve the treasures of the past.
Very accurate understanding of Chinese culture. We were all raised following the Confucian philosophy through rituals. Worshipping our ancestors was one very important aspect of it. It's almost like a pyramid system where the lower rung must respect the level above. This applies to families and government authorities. The present government of China is not Communist but Confucian. With authority, comes responsibility. Throughout history, emperors were removed for not performing their duties. This also applies to Xi. If he fails to perform his duties of managing the country well, he'll be removed.
confucianism is one philosophy not really a religion... when we look about the good thing, positive thing... it's the best philosophy teaching how to be a good person... the best ever education!
Is ritual possibly analogous to the American notion of Due Process? I ask out of a profound sense of ignorance. In other words, is the 14th Amendment Confucianist in nature?
Good speaker on Confucianism! Peter Bol has touched on great details in Chinese politics and gave a general guideline of the future of China in terms of political and social structure.
I found this to be a wonderful lecture and I love the idea of living according to moral principles. I can see that blacks and Mexicans would not like this lecture and I recognize it is un-Confucian of me to say that. I was never intelligent enough to go to a great institution like Harvard, also I could never afford it. Luckily for me I live in the age of YuTube so I attend in spirit.
I've come to the conclusion that Confucianism indirectly contributed to the palace intrigues that confounded several later dynasties. The problem appears to be the palace eunuchs. My understanding is that they were essentially volunteers, under the assumption that - without the ability to start families they would be selfless administrators, yet clearly this was not the case. Scheming eunuchs have been at the heart of corrupt intrigues, the An-Lushan rebellion comes to mind, as an example - dooming the Tang dynasty.
Peter Bol's take on Confucianism and China shows a large degree of misunderstanding of Confucianism and a lack of understanding of its relationship to traditional and modern Chinese socio-political thought. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of these misunderstandings.
