Confucius Institutes: A Planetary Philosophical Gift

Abstract

The article discusses the philosophical component of the Chinese project for the harmonization of cultures promoted by modern Confucius Institutes. The author research the formation of the Confucian culture of Tao, the creation by Confucius (551–479 BC) of the first Chinese philosophical school as well as the dictionary of universals of Confucian culture. In Confucianism, on the basis of the archetype of the Tao culture, a model of “moderate prosperity” ( xiaokang ) is built. This model involves the implementation of five programs: the global foreign policy program (pacification of all four cardinal points around the Middle Country), the cultural program (the Middle Country is chosen as the meeting place for all peoples), the internal political capital-government program (the calming and integration of internal provinces around the Capital of the Middle Country), the moral and ethical program (peace of mind and peace of the people of the Middle Country), the program of state unity (ensuring the integrity of the Middle Country). The key role in the xiaokang project is played by the perfection of man, the achievement of a harmonious balance of physical and mental virtues, the formation of personality of junzi as the ideal person of future civilization. Although the concept of xiaokang appeared in separate medieval treatises of the epochs of Jin (265–420) and Song (960–1279) dynasties, the xiaokang returns to the forefront of Chinese history at the end of the 19 th century during the movement for the modernization of the country. Xiaokang is interpreted by the reformers of China, in particular, Kang Youwei, as a necessary stage in building a society of “great unity” ( datong ). The “Architect of Chinese Reforms,” Deng Xiaoping, introduced the concept of “modestly prosperous family” ( xiao kang zhi jia ), the xiaokang of the “Four Chinese Modernizations.” The project of the formation of “community with shared future for mankind,” currently implemented by China, is based on a Confucian vision of the development of society and the world. In 1994, the International Confucian Association was created in China, and, since 2004, the deployment of a network of Confucius Institutes around the world began. The author concludes that Confucian culture has a supra-ethnic value because it opens the prospect of a new type of globalization, when cultures, preserving their originality but complementing each other by archetypes, form a single universal human paradigm.