The first (hat tip for both: China Digital Times) is in China Daily and is a warning, by a Chinese analyst, Huang Qing, not to allow Confucianism to become a religion. By "religion" he seems to mean unreconstructed feudalistic dogma. What is interesting about this piece is that it seems to mark a limit to the resurgence of Confucian thought in contemporary China. Huang resurrects some of the good, old fashioned May 4th criticisms of Confucianism:
An apologist for autocratic monarchy, Confucius and his doctrine has always been explored by the elites and the ruling class to defend the established system of rule by man in feudal China.
Even though this might be a tad unfair to Confucius, who consistently argued against the bad practices of autocrats and was routinely shunned by them, it is tempting to point out that the current revival of Confucianism in China may very well be an effort to bolster the flagging legitimacy of contemporary autocrats.
In any event, Huang ends on a sensible note:
But we know Confucius' teachings have contributed a great deal to Chinese civilization. His wisdom and ethics offer some help, but do not meet all of our needs.
Confucianism has survived different schools of thought for centuries and the legacy should be passed on. But the only way to carry on his legacy is to make his teachings relevant to modern China.
The other article on Confucianism ran in the British paper The Observer (Guardian) and asks the question: "But can China square Confucianism with explosive economic growth?" It is a question raised by the journalist himself, not by the Chinese he is analyzing. And the answer - "No" - is provided in another story (linked by CDT) in the Malaysian newspaper, The Star: "China Wants to Boost Consumer Spending."
'nuff said.
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