Choose A,B,C or D as answers to questions 1
10 by referring to the spread and influence of Confucius 'teachings in 4
different foreign countries.
Note: Some choices may be required more than once.
A =Japan B=Italy C =France D =America
Confucianism has its greatest effect among European
countries in_____. |
71._______ |
The first person who used Confucianism to express Christianity was
from. |
72._______ |
More than one thousand years ago, students were sent to China to study
Confucianism. They came from_______. |
73._______ |
Centuries ago,in_______,the government even set up universities and hold
ceremonies in memory of Confucius. |
74._______ |
Confucius has been given a thorough study and review for the sake of capital
expansion in_______. |
75._______ |
War and development motivated the study of Confucianism in________. |
76._______ |
In_______,Confucius' teachings can even find its reflection in the
declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen. |
77._______ |
The earliest classical books of Confucius translated into European
language appeared in________. |
78._______ |
Confucianism has its most influential power upon foreign countries
in_______. |
79._______ |
In recent thirty years,Confucius and Confucianism are introduced
and discussed systematically in_______. |
80._______ |
In
Japan It has been a long history of 1750 years ever
since Confucianism was introduced into this country. Confucius' teachings are in
every field of the social life in Japan. Its influence on the people's moral
concepts and views about education are the deepest in Japan.
It
was in the 16th year of Mikado (285 A.D.) that Confucius' teachings began to be
introduced to Japan. In the year the suggestion of a Korean envoy was adopted
and Wang Ren, a Chinese court academician was sent to Japan to present to the
Mikado ten copies of Lun Yu (The Analects of Confucius) and a copy of an Article
of a Thousand Words (Qian Zi Wen).Wang Ren's arriving at Japan is generally
regarded as the beginning of Confucianism being spread in the country.
Confucius' teachings were accepted by both the government and the public.
Confucianism quickly took its roots among the people and developed constantly.
Combined with the conditions in Japan, Confucianism has gradually become part of
the national culture of the country.
During the time of Sui
Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, Japan sent many students to China to study
Confucianism. Under the influence of Confucius' theory about a unified domain,
Japanese successfully carried the DAIKA Reform after which Japanese society
started to transit from a slavish society to a feudal society. The person
pulling strings behind the scenes of the reform was a great Confucianist who had
studied in China for 20 to 30 years. During the 200 years after the reform,
Japan had sent to China 19 groups of envoys. The country did its utmost to
import the culture of Tang Dynasty, develop national education based on
Confucianism, spread the thought of the sage, set up universities and hold
ceremonies in memory of Confucius. In the years of EDO, Confucius' teachings
were unprecedentedly popular. The ruling class people took the lead in reading
the classical books of Confucianism, setting up education based on Confucianism,
building Confucius' Temples. Education was developed, people of talents came
forth in large numbers and the academic circle reached to its flourishing time.
The major schools include, School of Yonego, School of Yang Ming, School of
Mito, School of Kogaku, School of Eclecticism, School of Textual
Research.
Since the beginning of 20th century, especially in the
late thirty years, among countries except China the study of Confucianism is
best developed in Japan. Not only that Confucianism influenced Japanese society
in the past 1,000 years, it also has great effect on the people at present
time.
In Italy China is one of
the birth places of human civilization. As the kernel of the traditional culture
of ancient China, Confucius' teachings greatly influenced not only the
historical development of Oriental society, but also the social life of some
European countries. Confucius' influence on Italy has something to do with the
missionaries who came to China to do missionary work. In 1582, the Society of
Jesus sent Matteo Ricci to China. In order to do their missionary work well, he
studied Coufucianism very hard. Matteo Ricci was the first person who used
Confucianism to express Christianity. He arrived in Beijing in 1601 and lived
there for years. He published the Latin version of the Four Shus which were the
earliest classical books of Confucius translated into European Language. Matteo
Ricci had made some contributions to the cultural exchange between the East and
the West, so in Italy he was called "the first man who facilitated the flow of
culture between China and Western countries", "Learned Western Confucianist" and
"Christian Confucius". The study of Confucius in today's Italy has made some
progress and several groups of books about Confucius have been
published.
In France Among
European countries, Confucianism has its greatest effect in France. It was
introduced to France soon after it was introduced to Italy. During the
Enlightenment and the French Revolution, Confucianism had made some positive
contributions to the bourgeois revolution in France. Among the great thinkers
Confucianism mainly influenced the Encyclopedism school and Physiocratic school.
Its influence on the French Revolution can be seen in the Declaration of the
Right of Man and of the Citizen, drafted by Robespierre, leader of Jacobin Club,
the declaration says that freedom is the right belonging to all those who do not
do harm to others, the principle of freedom is nature, the rule is justice, the
guarantee is the law and the moral limits are in the following, "Don't treat
others in the way you do not want to be treated."
The Chinese
Study Institute of Paris University is the major one that studies Confucianism
in France. The subjects include Confucianist Classics and Confucianism. In Grand
Larousse Encyclopedique (published in 1973), under the entry of Confucius,
Confucius and Confucianism are introduced and discussed systematically. As are
presentative work of Confucian study in France, it starts its discussion with
Confucius and ends with Mr. Feng Youlan, a Chinese expert at Confucian
study.
In America Through
missionary activities Americans began to study Confucianism, motivated by
capital expansion. The study has been pushed forward while the US China policy
and international conditions are changing frequently. From the end of the 19th
century to the early 20th century, especially during World War Ⅰ and Would War
Ⅱ, more attention was paid to the work because of political and military
reasons. The founding of the People's Republic of China and the triumph of China
and Korea over America in Korean War made Americans feel it is necessary to work
even harder in the study of Chinese history and present conditions. As a result,
Confucianism which has influenced Chinese in the history and at present time was
paid great attention to, especially in the years after 1960's because of the
international conditions, especially the SinoUS relationship, Chinese study in
America, including the study of Confucius, developed quickly. In the American
academic field Confucius has been given a thorough study and review. More and
more Americans began to understand and respect Confucius as a famous
intellectual in Chinese history and Confucianism as the representative of
Chinese feudal traditional culture. In People's Almanac Handbook, published in
1985 in America, Confucius heads the list of the ten great thinkers in the
world.