The statue of Confucius in the Deyue Garden in Berlin, Germany. On the base is written: Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. It is common knowledge that Confucius and his teachings have been influencing China, as well as the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Southeast Asian countries that also belong to the East Asian cultural circle, for thousands of years. But what is less known is that as early as 400 years ago, the influence of Confucius’ teachings had spread to European and American countries. Missionaries’ deliberate use became a channel of open source. In 1582, Italian Catholic Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci came to China to preach. Some Western missionaries had arrived in China before him, but they had little success. After long-term observation and research, Matteo Ricci came to the conclusion that only by combining the teachings with Confucianism, which is most respected and respected by the Chinese public, can the door to the Chinese people's hearts be opened. As a result, the Society of Jesus appeared as "Western Confucianism" and adopted practices such as making friends with scholar-bureaucrats, allowing Chinese believers to honor Confucius and worship their ancestors, and appending Christian teachings to the Four Books and Five Classics, and gradually opened up the situation of missionary work in China. However, the atmosphere in Europe at that time was still very conservative, and the Holy See of Rome, which strictly prohibited idol worship, found it difficult to accept the legalization of respecting Confucius and worshiping ancestors. In order to avoid being regarded as heretical by the Holy See, Matteo Ricci and his successors began to systematically introduce Confucius's teachings to the west. In 1662, the Jesuit missionary Guo Najie translated The Analects of Confucius and The Great Learning into French and published it in Paris under the title "Synopsis of Chinese Science", which quickly attracted attention from all walks of life; in 1672, Yin Duoze published "Chinese Politics" "Moral Science", a translation of "The Doctrine of the Mean", and "Chinese Philosopher Confucius" was published 15 years later; in 1711, "The Six Classics of China" was published in Latin, which was a new translation of "The Four Books", plus "The Classic of Filial Piety" and "primary school". These books, together with the "Collection of Chinese Letters of the Jesuits" collected by Du Hede and serialized over a period of 74 years, and his 1735 masterpiece "Records of the Chinese Empire" based on this, provide a relatively complete picture to the West. It outlines the outline of Chinese culture, especially Confucianism as its core. Although only one of these works, the Analects of Confucius, is truly directly from the mouth of Confucius, Western readers who cannot distinguish the similarities and differences among Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Xi refer to it as "Confucianism" in general, and with "Confucius" (Confucius). transliteration) named. Promoting the spiritual liberation of the West In order to avoid respecting Confucius being understood as worshiping idols, the Jesuits tried their best to interpret the teachings of Confucius and Mencius as "materialistic pure morality and philosophy" and criticized the "atheistic tendency" in it. Although this was a misinterpretation without too much malice, it was this misinterpretation that made Confucianism unexpectedly popular in European countries at that time. Due to the confinement of medieval theology, Europe at that time was in the abyss of exhaustion of ideological inspiration. The sudden introduction of "materialistic pure morality and philosophy" from the East opened the eyes of European intellectuals who longed to get rid of the shackles of narrow spirituality and cheered. The great French philosopher Voltaire was so excited about the introduction of Confucianism that he even changed the portrait of Jesus in his home to a portrait of Confucius, worshiped day and night, and wrote a pious hymn: "Confucius, the interpreter of truth, he made the world Without confusion, he developed people's hearts. He said that the way of saints was definitely not that of prophets. Therefore, people who believed in him were both at home and abroad. "The French "Encyclopedia School", the main force of the Enlightenment Movement at that time, also respected Confucius. Diderot lamented that Confucianism could govern the country and bring peace to the world by using only "reason". Holba even used Confucianism as a basis in his representative works "The System of Nature" and "The System of Society" and advocated replacing it with the Chinese social system. The Western social system replaces Christian morality with Confucian morality. Quesnay was a famous representative of the French Physiocrats School and was hailed by Marx as the founder of modern political economics. He highly respected Confucianism and believed that the value of the Analects of Confucius exceeded all the works of the Seven Sages of Greek Philosophy. His Physiocraticism originated from the Confucian "agriculture-based" thought. In countries outside France, Confucianism also spread rapidly. The British translated The Analects from Latin into English as early as 1691. In Germany, the Enlightenment thinker and scientist Leibniz not only carefully read Confucian classics, but also directly corresponded with the Jesuits in China to learn more about Confucianism. He also became the first person to systematically introduce Zhouyi and Sixty-Four another German mathematician Wolff praised Confucius even more, believing that China "relyed on statecraft (Confucianism) to make this country surpass all other countries in all aspects." Unlike Leibniz who used Latin, he directly used German to lecture in various universities, which had a greater impact. Interestingly, Confucius also aroused the interest of the royal family. As early as 1688, French "Sun King" Louis XIV sent five priests including Zhang Cheng and Bai Jin to visit China. They introduced Confucianism more systematically and accurately through letters and statements back home. Under their promotion, the Confucian "loyalty to the emperor" idea was vigorously promoted by Louis XIV, who advocated great unification, and China's imperial examination system was also considered or adopted by some royal families. It should be said that the royal family and the Enlightenmentists each saw a corner of Confucian thought and Confucianism. The result of the struggle between the two "Confucius" was that the Enlightenmentists, who represented public opinion, won a complete victory. This kind of Confucianism, which has been misunderstood in good faith, has therefore become one of the driving forces of the modern Western Enlightenment and even the French Revolution. Once fell into a dark period. However, the good times did not last long. With the spread of Confucianism, different voices became louder and louder. One voice comes from Catholicism itself.
The policy of allowing Chinese believers to respect Confucius and worship their ancestors is controversial among the Jesuits. The Franciscans, who arrived in China relatively late to preach, continue to stir up opposition to Confucianism in the Holy See and throughout Europe in order to compete for the dominance of missionary work in China. controversy. Under the instigation and pressure of these voices, the Holy See went back and forth several times. Finally, on November 20, 1704, Pope Clement XI issued a prohibition, calling Confucianism a heresy and strictly prohibiting Chinese believers from respecting Confucius and worshiping their ancestors. This move not only angered Kangxi and led to the banning of Catholicism in China, but also became a charge for religious forces to encircle and suppress Confucianism in Europe. Under this pressure, many conservatives began to counter Confucian propaganda in the name of "blasphemy against God." However, at that time, the Enlightenment thought was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the criticism from the Holy See actually stimulated greater interest in Confucianism from all walks of life. Another voice comes from rational speculation on Confucianism. The great French philosopher Montesquieu, on the one hand, praised Confucianism for its emphasis on morality and advocating etiquette, but on the other hand, he pointed out that its one-sided loyalty to the emperor would lead to the monarchy's autocratic power and deprive the "people of their sense of honor." Rousseau believed that Confucianism made China economically and culturally developed, and this development happened to be a "hotbed of moral corruption." Unlike the Holy See’s attacks based on religious prejudice, these voices are the product of rational thinking. Although they are not based on an in-depth understanding of Confucianism, this trend of thought reflects the fact that Europeans have awakened from blindness and begun to restructure their own thoughts. system. The Great Revolution, ideological emancipation and the industrial revolution made Europe's politics, economy and culture advance by leaps and bounds. The original envy and admiration for China was gradually replaced by contempt. Confucianism was also declining in the West under this background. In the late 18th century, the German philosopher Herder publicly stood up against "Sinophilia" and believed that Chinese society was still in its "infancy" and was not worth learning at all. Hegel also saw from the "desire to destroy humanity" of Confucianism (actually Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties) that Chinese culture and society neglected and destroyed individuality, and even devalued Chinese culture as the lowest culture in the world. British economist Adam Smith even criticized Confucian agrarian thought as a negative example in "The Wealth of Nations" to promote his mercantilism theory. These scholars were influential and well-known. They almost unanimously beat Confucius to death with one stick, causing Confucius to fall into a dark period in the West. When Western powers invaded China one after another, the decadence of the Manchus and the fragility of the Chinese army made the image of Confucius even darker. As a result, a trend of Western thought represented by Max Weber emerged that completely denied Confucius and even the entire Chinese culture. . Regaining attention and recognition As history moves forward, people's reflection on thought becomes more active again, and Confucius, who has been lonely for a long time, gradually gains attention and recognition from Westerners. In France, which was the first country to actively introduce Confucianism, the Collège de France has never relaxed its research on Confucius and Confucian thought. Confucianism research has the best mass foundation and social soil, and has the fastest recovery. Maxims such as "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and "The Master does not speak, but strange power confuses the gods" are widely circulated among the people, and even "Confucius said" has become a mantra on the lips of intellectuals. In the United Kingdom, the missionary James Legge had preached in China for a long time and had close contacts with Hong Rengan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After returning to China, he devoted decades of his efforts to completing the translation of the Four Books and Five Classics as well as "Laozi" and "Zhuangzi", and became famous as a result. He became the first professor of Chinese at Oxford University. The Dutch physicist Bohr was also very interested in Confucianism and Chinese culture, especially the Book of Changes. According to him, the philosophical thoughts of the Zhouyi greatly inspired his scientific research. When the Dutch royal family awarded him a knighthood after the war, he used the Taichi diagram in the Zhouyi as the theme of his official emblem. Americans did not pay much attention to Confucianism in the early days, but after the war it reached a higher level. "Confucius and the Way of China" by Creel (Gu Liya) reflects on the reasons behind the rise and fall of Confucius in Europe, bringing the study of Confucius in the West to a new stage. Nan Leshan raised the issue of the compatibility of Confucianism and modernization, arguing that Confucianism must show its affinity with modern science so that Confucianism can find a foothold in the scientifically developed West. With the rise of the "third wave" in the West as the industrial society transforms into the information society, the crisis of faith and moral crisis forces Westerners to turn more of their attention to the East and to Confucianism. The rise of the "Four Little Dragons" in Asia, who belong to the traditional oriental cultural circle and are deeply influenced by Confucian culture, has made them more interested in Confucius. Many European and American media have begun to discuss the feasibility of using Confucianism to partially modify and transform the existing social model. More people are beginning to talk about the relationship between Confucianism and modernization, and are trying to integrate the essence of Confucianism into modern disciplines such as administration, management, and business management as well as social and economic practices. If it can be said that Confucianism, which once suppressed Chinese thought and suppressed the development of Chinese society to a great extent, greatly promoted the ideological emancipation of Western Europe, was due to lack of understanding or even misunderstanding of Confucius, then today Europe and the United States have little understanding of Confucius and Interest in Confucianism is more based on rationality and in-depth research. In today's globalized world, Confucius belongs to China and the world.