I realise I'm cutting our discussion short.
There is so much more we can discuss about the basic concepts in Confucian philosophy.
And how such concepts as Ren,
Li and Xiao can be variously interpreted.
But, I'm eager to turn our attention to another major issue.
And that is, to what extent does Confucianism still have a role to play in society today?
I wouldn't count as being very filial to my parents.
But there are times when this Confucianist value of,
being filial kicks in. The entrance to the toilet,
it gets wet sometimes,
and I'm worried that they will slip and fall.
So, I will remind myself that after using the toilet,
I will always wipe it up and make sure that it's dry.
Right.
So, when the elderly people,
when they step into the washroom they don't fall down.
But I don't tell it to my parents, I do it secretly.
So, sometimes they will ask me,
"Why do all these things?"
And I don't know.
If you ask me this question I can't answer it.
But all I know is there is an intuition telling me
that you must do this, is the right thing to do.
So, I guess you're right that we are all anonymous Confucianist in a certain way, yeah.
Why you will have this intuition may also be because a lot of
the Chinese families actually inculcate Confucian values in their children,
even though our parents might not know explicitly that these are Confucian values.
Right.
For example, filial piety is one of the very key virtues that
my parents themselves have tried to instill in me.
Filial piety, that concept is definitely very prevalent.
But I'm not sure if on the idea of practicing filial piety,
and knowing that because the basis of it is because of Ren.
I'm not sure if that idea is passed down.
Because sometimes it feels like we need to be
filial to our parents because of this concept of filial piety.
I agree very much of How Wei most if not all Chinese are secret Confucians.
I remember in primary school,
we had this lesson called "Civics and Moral Education."
I realised that there were some motives in
that syllabus that struck up to me as being very Confucian,
or appealing to Confucian ideals.
There were some features that were given more emphasis.
For instance, filial piety.
So, that was a bit strange for me
because I thought filial piety was something that everyone had.
And I didn't understand why do you need to isolate filial piety,
and you have to teach me how to be good to my parents. What's that about?
I guess not only just Chinese,
but even non-Chinese people who were brought up in
societies that are driven by Confucian principles are,
or can be considered secret Confucius.
So in this sense, me and Harisan are secret Confucian too.
There was a very popular book.
I don't know, you wouldn't know this.
It's called, "Excuse me, are you a model?"
Have you come across that phrase?
Was the best seller at one point.
I've always wanted to go down Orchard Road and ask,
"Excuse me, are you a Confucian?
What do you think the answer will be.
Regarding this I won't say I'm a Confucian.
I also disagree with that part of being secret Confucian.
Because our society, Chinese culture is not just influenced just by Confucian philosophy.
I mean do we practice filial piety,
we also practice other ideas from other philosophy like Buddhism or Daoism.
I have friends who proclaim that they are Confucians.
In a sense that whenever they do something it's like oh,
it's because of Confucian values.
So, I'll say "Well, what has Confucian said?"
And have you read them?
Usually the answer is no they have not.
Is it really such a bad thing?
Could this possibly mean that Confucian values have become second nature to people?
In the Chinese language, there's a lot of
idioms or sayings that it can actually be found in Analects.
And it wasn't until I took Chinese philosophy
that I saw some of these concepts coming up.
Sometimes people might say, ni yao wenguzhixin.
So that in the Analects,
it means that you have to study the old to learn the new.
So in one sense,
it can always be used in my instance like,
you have to revise the work.
Right.
Revise your textbooks and your notes,
because that's how you gain new insights as well.
And so, I guess I unconsciously many of us Chinese
are actually influenced by
the Confucian values and some of their ideas even though we don't realise it.
A lot of Confucian ideas, some very universal.
I feel like it's kind of strange to us,
one whether or not they are Confucian,
because if it is so universal then do we need to put a name to it?
Is asking like, are you a human being or something like that.
Yeah, so it's quite tricky.
How many of you have visited a Confucian temple?
Does that not suggest that Confucianism should be regarded as a religious tradition?
The question of whether there is a religious dimension to
Confucianism has to depend on how we define religion as well.
Right.
So, if we understand religion in the common way
of thinking of it as the worshiping of supernatural beings or being,
then I don't think Confucianism has that kind of religiousness.
Confucianism is like more this-worldly,
like there isn't really explicitly a worship in God,
or it's more like how should we lead an ethical way of life.
As we keep performing Li, it also reinforces our Ren, our humaneness.
So in that sense,
there is the sense of religious.
Do you see Confucius as a conservative or as a liberal reformer?
How do you see Confucianism as being conservative?
If you are stubbornly sticking to what Confucius say like,
"You must do this in this manner".
Right.
And overlooking the fundamental,
the driving force behind his teachings,
they become very conservative.
I feel that Confucius framework is actually very flexible,
because it allows us to have a manipulation with the aspect of Li.
So such that we can have new rituals,
but driven by the same concerns or principles that Confucian said.
I guess you have to look at what we mean by traditional values as well.
Because I think a lot of values in Confucianism although they come from a time past,
but this values they can actually cut across time and space.
So for example, Confucius placed
a lot emphasis on trustworthiness on being cautious with your words,
and not overstepping the roles to let the father be a father, the subject be a subject.
All this values actually they mean that we can still remind ourselves.
In that sense, perhaps Confucianism is not about conserving traditional values,
but just a reminder of what would be the proper conduct of ourselves in the society.
I think it is fair to say that Confucian philosophy continues to be a living tradition,
influencing values, behaviour especially in Asian communities.
Of course it is very difficult to pin down what that influence is.
How is it conveyed?
How is it expressed?
Is it through family values,
through bringing up children, through education?
So, all these are important elements in our reflection on
the possible significance of Confucianism in contemporary society.
But on this note, I want to thank you once again for joining us in this course.
You have made us even more aware of
the richness and complexity of the Confucian tradition.
So thank you very much.
Alan K. L. ChanToh Puan Mahani Idris Daim Chair Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vice President (Alumni and Advancement)
