Confucianism traveled eastward to Japan in the Daiwa era, and after the development in the early days of Feiniao, Nara and Heian, it once became a vassal of Zen in the Kamakura and Muromachi eras, and reached its peak in the Edo era and was Japanese. It can be said that it has a very long history. In modern times, Confucianism encountered new crises and challenges in Japan. The Meiji Restoration, which took place in 1868, was the starting point for Japan to enter the capitalist era. Meiji Restoration not only led to the disintegration of the traditional social and political order, but also led to the disintegration of the traditional cultural and moral order, and Confucianism was in the fierce conflict of western cultures. From the very beginning, the new Meiji regime actively advocated a "civilized" cultural policy. On the one hand, it learns the advanced economic and political system and ideology and culture of western capitalism, on the other hand, it criticizes the old ideology, Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism. 1872, published in August, said that Confucianism "fell into the last paragraph of reciting words and sentences, and fell into the wrong path of empty talk." Although its theory seems noble, few people can practice it. " According to the new academic system, most of the private schools and "temples" that practiced Confucian education were closed, and the princes' schools were also closed. Before 1877, it was the bourgeois enlightenment that swept the Japanese ideological circle. Its main content is to introduce western philosophy, ethics, politics, law, history, education and other ideas, and comprehensively criticize feudal thoughts dominated by Confucianism. They introduced the positivism of the French thinker Comte, advocated "practical learning" and criticized Confucianism as "virtual learning"; Introduce the thought of British utilitarian philosopher Mill, advocate utilitarianism and happiness, criticize Confucianism and advocate "self-denial" asceticism; Introduce the theories of "natural human rights" and "social contract" of French enlightenment thinkers, advocate "independent self-esteem", and oppose the hierarchical concept and moral obedience expressed by Confucian feudal norms; This paper introduces the constitutional monarchy in Germany and criticizes the absolute monarchy maintained by Confucianism. Among the enlightenment scholars, Fukuzawa Yukichi is the most incisive and systematic critic of Confucianism. He criticized the Confucian theory of birthright and the morality of loyalty and filial piety in "Encouraging Learning" and "An Introduction to Civilization", and further criticized that Confucianism "half belongs to the knowledge about politics" and "is a factor that causes social stagnation".
Although Japanese enlightenment thinkers criticized Confucianism, they were influenced by Confucianism since childhood, so they borrowed the concept of Confucianism when introducing new western ideas, and their way of thinking was still deeply branded with Confucianism. It is worth noting that although some enlightenment scholars criticized Confucian ethics, a considerable number of enlightenment scholars focused on Confucian natural philosophy and did not completely deny the universal significance of Confucian ethics, which not only reflected the incompleteness of Japanese enlightenment thinkers' criticism of Confucian ethics, but also was a precursor for the Japanese ruling class to revive Confucian morality. The Japanese Enlightenment in the period of "civilization" was a Confucian critical movement dragging the tail of Confucianism.
However, the Enlightenment in the early Meiji period, after all, impacted the ideology of Confucianism and other East Asian cultures, and played an indelible historical role in cultivating the Japanese nation's scientific view of nature and political subject consciousness. The resulting freedom and civil rights movement has been vigorous for more than ten years since 1874. Liberal civil rights thinkers advocate the complete liberation of human rights and fiercely criticize Confucianism. The most representative thinker of freedom and civil rights, Shang Mu Zhisheng's criticism mainly points to the patriarchal clan system as the foundation of Confucian society. In "On Brothers", he said: Since ancient times, the thought of valuing the young and ordering "can be described as a branch of autocratic thought". In On Men and Women Couples, he condemned the bad habit of men being superior to women and shouted: "Women, abandon Confucianism and tear up the Four Books and Five Classics and primary schools. They are all your enemies. "
At the same time, in addition to this serious ideological criticism of eastern culture, there is also a wave of abandoning tradition and westernization, and a shallow understanding of western culture will bring some social drawbacks, making people who are not conservatives feel that the world is going downhill.
The most fundamental cultural conflict between the East and the West is the deep cultural psychological conflict between different nationalities. This is most prominent in the most sensitive ethical field. With the introduction of modern western ethical theories such as utilitarianism and happiness theory into Japan, Confucian moral philosophy and behavioral norms are no longer unquestionable presuppositions, so people are lost in anomie and confusion when different concepts and norms collide with each other, so some people begin to miss the stability and order of the past, think that what is happening now is the expansion of evil and the retrogression of history, and call for the return of Confucian ethics. Tian Yuan Yongfu (1818—1891) and Nishimura Shigeki (1828— 1902) are representatives of the traditional school. The former tried to revive Confucianism intact, while the latter devoted itself to the renovation of the past. They argued with Europeanizers around the school's moral education policy, which became the focus of national attention at that time. Tian Yuan Yongfu, a Confucian from Kumamoto, Kyushu, was called the "Teacher of Confucianism" of the Emperor in 187 1 year. He took Emperor Meiji as his signboard, supplemented by the conservative political attitude adopted by Meiji because of the upsurge of the freedom and civil rights movement. In the teaching information drafted by Tian Yuan Yongfu, the attack on "civilization" once prevailed. 1883, the Ministry of Palace distributed the Kindergarten Learning Program compiled by Tian Yuan Yongfu to schools and the general public all over the country. The Kindergarten Learning Outline starts with "filial piety" and ends with "encouraging behavior", with a total of 20 articles. Each article first quotes the sayings of "The Classic of Filial Piety" and "Four Books and Five Classics", and then narrates the historical cases of China and Japan with illustrations. The promulgation of "Kindergarten Learning Outline" shows that Confucian ethics occupies an important position in school moral education. 1884, Tian Yuan Yongfu published another article "On the State Religion", advocating Confucianism as the "State Religion". He said: "Expand it with the virtue of Confucius, supplement it with European studies, and regard it as the state religion." This shows that Tian Yuan Yongfu also thinks that Confucian natural philosophy has lost its effectiveness and needs to be "supplemented" to "learn from Europe", but he wants to restore the dominant position of Confucian morality intact. 1885, Ito Bowen became the first prime minister of Japan. In order to revise the unequal treaties signed with western powers, Ito Bowen continued to pursue the Europeanization policy. Therefore, the debate about moral education policy has begun again. In this debate, the representative of the traditional school is Shigeki Nishimura. Different from Tian Yuan Yongfu, he paid attention to transforming Confucianism with modern western philosophical theories, so that Confucianism could adapt to the new situation that modern western thoughts were deeply rooted in people's hearts. 1886 wrote "On Japanese Morality", taking the revival of Confucian morality as the fundamental national policy. He believes that there are two kinds of "religions" in the world, namely "secular religion" and "secular religion". Confucianism and western philosophy are "world religions" based on "truth" Buddhism and Christianity are "secular religions" and "faith-based". Because "secular religion" can only gain the belief of the lower class, it is more suitable as "state religion". Shigeki Nishimura admits that western philosophy is superior to Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity in terms of "exquisiteness of academic theory" and "precision of research". However, he believes that western philosophy should not be the "state religion" of Japan, because it emphasizes knowledge and lacks the skill to pacify people's hearts, and especially has the disadvantage of despising the monarch and parents, that is, it believes that western philosophy lacks ethical content that adapts to Japan's national conditions. The "teaching of loyalty and filial piety" in Confucianism is beyond the reach of other religions to "maintain the status of the eternal family: correct the status of monarch and minister and beautify the folk customs", but he also admits that Confucianism has many shortcomings and is not suitable for the present era. For example, in theory, it is not as strict as western philosophy, and most Confucian scholars are conservative. Both Confucianism and Taoism have the problem of over-respecting their subordinates, and both have the idea of favoring boys over girls. Therefore, he advocated "taking the essence of the two religions (Confucianism and western philosophy) and discarding its dross", thus "integrating the principles of heaven and earth" as "the basis of Japanese morality". The reformed Confucianism, which advocates Japanese morality, is more suitable for the political needs of the freedom and civil rights movement and the strengthening of the rule of the emperor system than Tian Yuan Yongfu's comprehensive theory of restoring ancient ways, so it has quickly become a textbook for middle schools at all levels. 1890, Emperor Meiji issued an imperial edict on education and completed the moral policy of restoring Confucianism. "Education Letters" does not talk much about education itself, but mainly expounds Confucian ethics and Japanese citizens' obligations to the emperor. Therefore, in fact, it is stipulated that Confucianism is the policy of moral education in schools, and it should be regarded as the moral standard of Japanese citizens and as a means to cultivate "loyal officials and good citizens." The Confucian view of nature and epistemology have become very inaccurate in the face of the development of modern western science, thus losing their attraction and effectiveness and losing in the cultural conflict between the East and the West. Confucianism, as the ideological system of Japan in the capitalist era, is no longer in the position of official learning like Confucianism in the Edo era, but has reformed and processed its ethics to win the cultural conflict between the East and the West.
But fundamentally speaking, Confucian ethics, which has had a long-term influence in Japanese history, is not conducive to the development of capitalist economy. Confucian ethics values righteousness over profit, and Japanese enlightenment thinkers have also devoted themselves to criticizing the sense of cheap business, but they have not found an effective method that is generally accepted. Shibusawa Eiichi (1840- 193 1), known as the "entrepreneur" of modern Japanese capitalism, reinterpreted the original Confucian knowledge and found the combination of traditional ethics and modern capitalist ethics. When he was young, he was formally educated by Wei Zhongchun, a Confucian scholar, and then actively participated in political activities. 1873 joined the industry and commerce and became a famous banker and entrepreneur. From 1873 to retirement1916; He has always insisted on teaching the Analects of Confucius to employees personally, and has written books such as The Analects of Confucius, The Analects of Confucius plus abacus calculation, etc., to publicize his "Theory of German-German Economic Cooperation". Shibusawa Eiichi reinterpreted The Analects of Confucius and thought that "wealth is what people want, and virtue is everywhere". Evaluate the first half sentence positively before reinterpreting the second half sentence. It is believed that if "it is based on its morality", it should not be denied in general. It is glorious for individuals or enterprises to pursue profits and increase capital. If it is conducive to strengthening the national strength, it is in line with "righteousness". In this way, through the intermediary of national interests, he unified morality and economy, righteousness and benefit, and the soul of scholars and businessmen, thus transforming the old concept of "righteousness and benefit" of cheap businessmen into an ethical concept conducive to the development of capitalist industry and commerce. This theory of "Analects of Confucius plus abacus calculation" has been accepted by most people in society and has had a far-reaching impact on the development of Japanese industry and commerce.
After Meiji Restoration, Japan regained its national independence, but embarked on the road of militarism. In the course of its vicious development, Japanese militarism has also formed an indissoluble bond with Confucianism, which is mainly manifested in China, where militarists used the Bushido spirit with Confucianism as the basic content to poison the Japanese people's thoughts; In foreign countries, the construction of "king's paradise" is used as a propaganda tool for invading Asian countries. The Japanese militarists' evil use of Confucian morality and Shibusawa Eiichi's theory of "Analects of Confucius plus abacus" provide people with a thought-provoking example of applying the positive and negative values of Confucianism.
After the Second World War, some changes have taken place in the study of Confucianism in Japanese academic circles, and most of the institutions that served militarism were cancelled. After the founding of New China, some people in Japanese academic circles and many people who study Confucianism for friendly purposes. With the improvement of China's international status and the development of Sino-Japanese relations, Sino-Japanese exchanges have become more and more frequent, and Japan's research on China has been strengthened day by day. According to the staff records of Japanese national universities published in 1978, among the more than 430 Japanese universities in 1977, there are 1322 researchers engaged in the teaching of China literature, history and philosophy, and nearly 2,500 courses about China have been offered respectively. If other researchers are added, the number is about 3,000 to 3,500, and the influential and authoritative ones are about 1000. Many of these people have been to China, some participated in the war of aggression against China in the past, and some participated in Japanese cultural exchange activities after the war. Some scholars who have experienced the hardships of war have become democratic and progressive forces in Japanese academic and cultural circles after the war, such as Kiyoshi Inoue and Ando Hikotaro, and some young and middle-aged researchers have gradually grown into a force to be reckoned with. According to incomplete statistics, the research situation of Confucianism in Japan is as follows: the main Confucian research institutions are Sven Hui, Japanese Confucianism Research Group of Oriental Culture Institute of Dadong Culture University, lectures of Oriental Culture Promotion Association, China Literature, History and Philosophy Research Association, Infinite Society Oriental Culture Research Institute, Oriental Culture Research Institute, Oriental Society, Japanese Society of China and Huaidetang Lecture. These institutions have research history, research topics and researchers. The research contents of Confucianism include translation of Confucian classics, annotation of Confucian classics, special study of Confucian classics, study of a Confucian scholar, study of the relationship between China, Japan and South Korea, study of the general history of Confucianism, study of some chapters in a Confucian classics book, special study of a certain aspect of Confucianism (such as ethics, philosophy, political thought and educational thought), and writing of series or books. The research method of Confucianism not only pays attention to the study of Confucian writings, but also pays attention to the field trip to China. Many people have been to China, such as Kiyoshi Inoue, who has been to China nearly 30 times for 25 years. In addition, seminars on Confucianism are often held or attended at home and abroad. For the study of Confucianism, Japan has also given some support and funding. For example, the Ministry of Education allocated 6.5438+0000 yen for "Zhuzi Comprehensive Research" and 654.38+0.967 yuan for the compilation of "China Classics and Zhuzi Classification Integration"; 1964 and 1966, Jing was awarded 200,000 yen to engage in "Study on Mencius' Introduction into Japan and Its Acceptance Process" and "Historical Study on Japan's Acceptance of Mencius". Most scholars at home and abroad believe that Japan is the country that has translated China's ancient books the most and studied Confucianism the most, except China.
After Marxism was introduced into Japan, a group of early socialists and Marxist thinkers, represented by Watanabe and Nagata Hiroshi, tried to critically inherit the historical heritage, opposed the despicable behavior of the Japanese ruling class using Confucius' thoughts for reactionary propaganda, and tried to make a new study and evaluation of Confucius' thoughts from the perspective of Marxism. They wrote books such as Japanese Ideology and History of Japanese Philosophical Thought. In the book History of Japanese Philosophical Thoughts, Hiroshi Nagata made a new study of Confucius and Confucianism in the preface of the book on the principle of "the past culture should not be completely denied or praised", systematically introduced the spread and influence of Confucius' thought in Japan and the characteristics of Confucianism in various historical stages in Japan, and became a research team of Japanese Confucianism.