Is there the possibility for Confucianism to have a third-phase development? In saying this we mean to regard the school of thought advocated by Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States as the first-phase development of Confucianism. After the Han Dynasty Buddhism spread to China. Under the impact of Buddhist ideas, a Confucian school of idealist philosophy emerged during the Song and Ming dynasties. It greatly pushed forward the Confucian doctrines and constituted the second-phase development of Confucianism. Over the last century, Western civilization has found its way into China. Especially around the time of the May Fourth (1919) Movement, Marxism was also disseminated into our country. That gave an even bigger and more serious impact on China's traditional thought and culture. Under such circumstances, is it possible for Confucianism to have a third-phase development? Can it be brought back to life? Can it still have a role to play in China in particular and the world at large? In my opinion, it is perhaps too early to conduct an all-round discussion of this issue. However, to raise questions and opinions from certain angles in an attempt to push the inquiry forward may prove helpful.

In discussing whether it is possible for Confucianism to have a third-phase development, we must, first of all, acquire a clear understanding about the basic spirit of Confucianism. Regarding this basic spirit, there have been in the past, and may be in the future, a variety of different views. The existence of different views is not necessarily a bad thing; it may help deepen the study of this issue. In clarifying the basic spirit, I think attention should be paid to two parts: the part of thoughts that have been constantly effective in the entire course of development of Confucianism, and the part of thoughts that still have vitality today. To combine the two for consideration, we may perhaps find out whether a third-phase development of Confucianism is possible from a certain aspect.

Running through the entire course of development of Confucianism, I believe, are two basic elements that still bear a major significance to us today: one is idealism, the other humanism; and the two are connected.

Confucianism is a kind of idealism. Starting from Confucius, this school of thought has cherished the ideal of having a society in which "right principles prevail" and has made every effort to materialize the ideal in the real world. Despite its acknowledgment of the unattainability of such a goal, it still insists that one should foster the ideal and dedicate oneself to realize it in the spirit of "doing the impossible." Therefore when Zigong asked Confucius: "What if one can generously give to the people and provide relief to them? Can that be called benevolence?" Confucius answered: "One who behaves with benevolence must be a saint! Even Yao and Shun fell short of that." Evidently Confucius did not regard the society of Yao and Shun's time as a society of man's highest ideal. Thus it involves the problem of what we should see as an ideal society. According to the Confucians, an ideal society is an ideal, which has the possibility, and not the necessity, of being realized. Despite the fact that an ideal society has never been realized before, it is a matter of fundamental importance, a problem of one's attitude toward life, whether or not one should seek to realize it. It is the Confucians' belief that one should ceaselessly seek after it. This is why, as I see it, people at that time criticized Confucians as "being ignorant of world affairs." Though it is not necessary that an ideal society be realized in the real world, it can be, as far as the Confucian philosophers are concerned, realized in their minds. Why is it that West Inscription by Zhang Zai was so highly respected by later Confucians? It was that, as I see it, West Inscription embodied the Confucian spirit of seeking to realize an ideal society, plus that Zhang Zai had already built in his mind the ideal society. True, whether the ideal society in which "the people are my brothers and I share my things with them," as Zhang Zai conceived, could be realized in the real world was important to him, but more important was whether one could have a world outlook of pursuing an ideal society. Therefore the last sentence of West Inscription says: "I carry on my pursuit when alive, and rest at ease when I die." While one lives, one has a duty to fulfill. The duty is to exert oneself for the realization of the ideal "world of commonweal." It can be said that this is an attitude of "concerning oneself only about the cultivation instead of the gains." Whoever holds such an attitude toward life has a clear conscience. Don't we today need to have an attitude like this more than ever?

Confucianism is a kind of idealism that has humanism as its prerequisite. Why is it that man must have an ideal and seek to build an ideal society? According to the Confucians, man is the most important factor in the world, because he can "formulate ethics for the universe, provide sustenance for the people, carry forward consummate learnings into posterity, and win peace for thousands of generations to come." Confucius said: "Man can enhance the Way and not the reverse." The "Way" or the "Way of Nature" is an objective existence. But it needs to be enhanced and carried forward by man; it has to be effected by man through practice. How can man embody the "Way of Nature"? If, as the Confucians envisaged, man can understand how "Heaven is integrated with man," "knowledge is integrated with practice," and "feeling is integrated with scenery," man can then attain the loftiest realm of being a man. In other words, man can congeal in his heart the ideal of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

The integration of Heaven with man, knowledge with practice, and feeling with scenery are the three basic propositions the Chinese traditional philosophy made about the true, the good, and the beautiful; they are the ideal realms the Confucian school has been trying to attain. Why is it that Confucianism is in pursuit of the three integrations? In my opinion, Confucianism is nothing more than a teaching that teaches one how to behave oneself; namely, one should set a demand on oneself and hold oneself responsible to the world and the nation. This is a very common question, but involves a task extremely difficult to fulfill. Whoever has attained such an ideal realm of the true, the good, and the beautiful is a saint.

Although the proposition of integrating Heaven with man is designed to illustrate the relations between man and the entire universe, it begins with man as the center of the universe. Zhongyong ( The Golden Mean ) stated: "Being honest is the Way of Heaven. Striving to be honest is the Way of man. An honest man hits the right Way without difficulty and understands it without deliberation. One who conforms oneself to the Way of Heaven without qualm is a saint." Therefore a saint not only behaves himself in conformity with the requirements of the Way of Heaven but also assumes as his responsibility the fulfillment of such requirements. In living a life in this world, one should not behave oneself with a passive attitude; rather, one should "make unremitting efforts to improve oneself" in order to embody the ceaseless flow and evolution of nature. In this way, man will set a demand on himself; he will find a reason for his existence and foster a lofty ideal. Since one has set a demand on oneself and found a reason for one's existence, the most important thing is for one to "integrate one's understanding with one's behavior" so that one can have a unified viewpoint on understanding and behavior in terms of morality and self-cultivation. The three programs and eight articles outlined in Daxue ( The Great Learning ) tell us exactly what this is about. It is said in Daxue :

The Way of the great learning lies in shedding light on the bright principles, being close to the people, and stopping at nothing but the utmost good. Those in ancient times who wanted to shed light on the bright principles for the world had to first bring order to their own kingdoms. To bring order to their kingdoms they had to first bring their own houses to order. To bring their houses to order they had to first cultivate their own moral character. To cultivate their own moral character they had to first set their minds straight. To set their minds straight they had to first foster a sincere desire. To foster a sincere desire they had to first carry knowledge to the utmost degree. To carry knowledge to the utmost degree they had to first inquire into the properties of things. Having inquired into the properties of things, they were able to carry knowledge to the utmost degree. Having carried knowledge to the utmost degree, they were able to foster a sincere desire. Having fostered a sincere desire, they were able to set their minds straight. Having set their minds straight, they were able to cultivate their own moral character. Having cultivated their own moral character, they were able to bring their houses to order. Having brought their houses to order, they were able to bring order to their kingdoms. Having brought order to their kingdoms, the whole world would be at peace.

This is a process of cognizance, still more a process of moral practice. Man must have an ideal, and the highest ideal is to "achieve peace" so that human society can attain a realm of "Great Harmony." And the world of "Great Harmony" requires that everyone should set for himself a demand for being a man, a reason for being a man, and "not do to others what one does not wish done to oneself." Noted Confucius: "To implement my principle is nothing more than being honest and just." Whether the ideal society of "Great Harmony" can be attained or not remains a question, of course. But a Confucian must have such a goal and find pleasure in pursuing it. To lead an existence in the world and be a man, one must find pleasure in doing it and appreciate the creation of the universe. And to have a true appreciation of Nature one must be able to display creativity and man's spiritual realm in reproducing the "creation of the universe." One must be able to show why man should be a man, to create poetry and prose "masterpieces," paintings of "superb work," and music like "sounds of nature." This is why art requires that "feeling be integrated with scenery." Wang Fuzhi observed: "In name feeling and scenery are two things, but in reality they are inseparable. Those gifted in writing poetry are capable of unlimited wit. A witty line naturally has feeling in the midst of scenery and scenery in the midst of feeling." "Once feeling is integrated with scenery, a witty remark is ready at hand." When one enters the realm of creation, it will be a realm in which the true, the good, and the beautiful are integrated with one another. This is precisely where the meaning of life and the highest ideal of mankind lie. Confucius described himself as "doing things at will without violating rules at the age of seventy." Probably it was the ideal realm as mentioned above. Indeed, it must be the realm of a saint when whatever one says and does is in harmony with the entire universe, society, and one's own frame of mind.

That Confucianism still has a value for its continued existence is perhaps due to the sole fact that it provides us a reason for being a man. It is most difficult for one to be a man, still more to maintain a harmony between oneself and nature, society and others, or between one's inside and outside in body and soul. Is such a requirement unnecessary in today's world? As Confucianism only tells us the reason for being a man, we should not set demands on it in other aspects. And it should come as no surprise that it suffers from some inadequacies. gcRy3zkoAtNfiyn3AWHb/ia0A59Ift9n3eDJRrt9+jAu4xnJuukyrisIpWL5THvg