The "International Confucian Forum 2019" sponsored by China Renmin University and Cui Zhongxian Academic Institute was held in Qufu, Shandong recently. The theme of the forum is "Confucianism and human peace". More than 150 scholars from home and abroad attended the meeting. The conference received a total of 124 academic papers. During the two-day meeting, besides the General Assembly, there were 24 breakout sessions. Harmony, harmony and peace are the basic ideas of Confucianism; It is the basic attitude of Confucianism to be neutral and harmonious but different; Protecting harmony and peace in the world is the fundamental pursuit of Confucianism. In the 21st century, Confucianism will continue to provide an oriental solution for human peace and contribute to China’s wisdom.
The concept of "harmony" has a long history in Chinese culture, and it came into being with the beginning of civilization. In Zhouyi and Shangshu, there have been rich meanings of "harmony among nations" and "safeguarding harmony and harmony", and Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, formally established a cultural pedigree of noble harmony, advocating harmony and respecting harmony, which became the core characteristics of Confucianism.
Conceptual analysis is an important path of philosophical research. When discussing the Confucian thought of "harmony", scholars pay special attention to the dialectical relationship between harmony and identity. Professor Huang Kaiguo of Sichuan Normal University and Professor Pan Xiaohui of Fu Jen Catholic University analyzed several debates on harmony and identity in Chinese history: Shi Bo’s "harmony with real creatures, the same will not be continued", Yan Ying’s "harmony as soup" and Confucius’s "gentleman’s harmony without difference", pointing out that "harmony" is the core and positive concept that can best demonstrate peace and oppose war, and "harmony without difference" is the most important practical principle. Scholars also attach importance to textual research on the concept of "harmony" from the source of the system. Professor Xie Guangyu of Anhui University took the idea of "great unification" as the starting point to sort out the concept of peaceful reunification from Huangdi’s "harmony of all nations", Yao’s "harmony of all nations", Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi to the present era. Professor Chen Hui of Macquarie University in Australia also reviewed the cultural inheritance of three generations of civilizations and early Confucianism.
Academic concepts must interact with human beings and then be related to social life in order to have social value. "Book of Rites University" says: "After physical training, the family will be in harmony, and the family will be in harmony with the country, and the country will be in peace with the world." Confucianism, as a practical theory, realizes the transformation from the idea of "harmony is the most important" to the social idea of "human peace" through the way of being sage inside and king outside. Professor Luo Anxian of Renmin University of China examines the possibility of realizing the Confucian concept of peace from the perspective of "conscience", pointing out that Confucianism firmly believes that "conscience" exists, and human kindness is the foundation of everything; The key to human peace and world peace is the conviction and protection of conscience. Professor Li Guanghu of Yonsei University in South Korea also said that the Confucian thought of human peace is based on the goodness of the community, and the realization of the goodness of this community is based on the Confucian theory of good nature.
Professor Zhang Liwen from Renmin University of China concluded in the keynote report "Confucianism and Peace under the World" that the Chinese nation has always pursued peace under the world, and peaceful development and win-win cooperation are the universal aspirations and aspirations of people all over the world. The concept of "harmony" contained in Confucianism has been cast into the national mentality and value pursuit of the Chinese nation, which advocates great harmony and loves peace, and it has become endless and popular.
Confucianism, which was conceived in the war-torn Spring and Autumn Period, has been full of peace genes since its birth. The advocacy of "abandoning soldiers" by Confucius’ benevolence, the lashing of war by Mencius’ senseless war in the Spring and Autumn Period, the resolution of war by the ideal of "Great Harmony in the World" in The Book of Rites, and even the theory that Taoism, Mohism, France and celebrities stop fighting and love each other without attacking & HELIP; … Focusing on peace and exploring the solution to achieve peace from a theoretical height is an endless academic tradition of Chinese culture represented by Confucianism.
At the forum, Chinese and foreign scholars fully tapped the Confucian ideological resources of respecting others, living in harmony, learning from each other, multi-dimensional consultation, resolving wars and pursuing peace, which provided theoretical reference for the coexistence and development of people, people and environment, people and society, nations, countries and civilizations. Professor Xiang Shiling from Renmin University of China looked at the Confucian theory of war and peace from the biography of Spring and Autumn Annals, and put forward that loving peace does not mean denying war, but the principle of justice is the most fundamental principle. Professor Lin Cunguang of China University of Political Science and Law believes that in the exchange of their respective ambitions, Confucius and his disciples all expressed a pacifist ideal of friendly interaction between people, peaceful coexistence between countries, and even self-cultivation and external security. Professor Xing Dongfeng from Ehime University in Japan sorted out Mencius’ benevolent pacifism based on people-oriented principle and internal and external affairs, and evaluated it as the Confucian orthodoxy that inherited Confucius’ thought. Professor Cai Jiahe of Donghai University has studied the contribution of Confucius and Mencius to Yangming’s "one-in-one benevolence" to human peace, and thinks that thinking about modern international and interpersonal problems based on this can contribute to the process of peace and civilization.
The conflict between pluralism and monism, the confrontation between harmonious symbiosis and competitive game are the hidden cultural factors behind peace and war, and many scholars have conducted in-depth research on them from the metaphysical point of view. Professor Choi Young-chen of Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea compares religious pluralism with the theory of "unity and diversity" and points out that Confucianism has two sides, and the pursuit of balance is the ultimate goal of Confucianism. Chul-Seung Lee, a professor at Korea University in Korea, believes that Confucian harmonious philosophy can actively deal with the problems caused by the rejection of "difference" caused by exclusive competitive consciousness and the blind identity consciousness trying to attribute particularity to transcendental universality in the multicultural era.
Confucianism is China’s and the world’s, and it has increasingly strong influence and appeal in the world. Observing and reflecting on the timeless Confucianism from the theoretical level and strengthening the interaction and mutual learning between Confucianism and world civilization will certainly provide theoretical help for maintaining world peace and order.
Today, with the development of world cultural diversity and economic globalization, local conflicts, terrorism and refugee crises are constantly emerging, and Confucianism, as a political philosophy, has increasingly demonstrated its practical significance for human peace. It is the mission of the times to put "Rixin" Confucianism into the political and cultural context of the contemporary world, absorb everything and learn from others, and crack the common peace code of mankind.
First, we should promote Confucianism to "live", embrace Confucian civilization with a confident attitude, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture, and provide useful reference for the construction of a harmonious society in China. When talking about cultural self-knowledge and cultural self-confidence, Professor Yang Chaoming, president of the Confucius Institute in China, pointed out that a virtuous country such as Beichen is in the middle, which is the cultural coordinate of Confucian civilization in the world. Scholars have innovatively expounded the Confucian thought of "harmony", or interpreted the modern meaning of Mencius’ "being kind to others" based on the virtue of a gentleman, the cultivation of political morality and the harmony of the world, or combed the order of harmony from family to clan to neighbors and even the world in ancient family rules, or obtained enlightenment for the harmonious success of modern economic activities from the concept of justice and benefit from etiquette to classical Confucianism, so as to make its cultural light fully bloom.
Secondly, it is necessary to push Confucianism to "go global", realize the global construction of China’s humanistic discourse system in the dialogue among civilizations, and solve the problem of balancing nationality and internationality in the dissemination of Confucian peace thoughts. Professor Yun Chen of East China Normal University reflected on Huntington’s "Clash of Civilizations" and thought that the Confucian concept of peace provided another new possibility for the human world besides western civilization.
Third, it is necessary to promote Confucianism to be "strong", draw ancient wisdom from Confucianism to resolve the peace dilemma, and provide ideological and cultural support for the construction of a world lasting peace and a community of human destiny. Professor Yin Bingnan of Xijiang University in South Korea pointed out that the construction of a community of human destiny must first establish the concept of peaceful development ideologically. Professor Kong Deli of Beijing Jiaotong University analyzed the value of the Confucian tradition of Concord, Harmony and Harmony to contemporary China, and put forward that the "Belt and Road" strategy and the new development concept of Eurasian destiny community are behind the strength of Confucian tradition. Professor Huang Yushun of Shandong University put forward the concept of "the community of human civilization" on the basis of the community of human destiny, emphasizing that Confucianism can contribute important values to the construction of a singular human common civilization facing the future. All this is the contemporary practice of Confucianism promoting human peace.
The International Forum on Confucianism was founded in 2004 and has been held for 14 consecutive sessions. The theme of the forum is distinct, exploring and studying the true meaning of Confucianism, and deeply excavating the modern value of Confucianism. Now it has developed into a Confucian grand event with important international influence.