A Lutheran Perspective on Righteousness in China

The recent history of China cannot get away from the impact of western thoughts and industrialization, including Democracy, Marxism, Republicanism, etc. For two millienium or so, the Chinese philosopher, Confucius (551–479 BCE), had dominated Chinese society through his philosophy (commonly called Confucianism) in every respect, from the hierarchical structures of governments and states to familial relations. Confucianism met its real challenge only in the recent history of China. At the collasping edge of the last feudal society (the Qing Dynasty which fell in 1911), patriotic Confucians had tried to bring what is useful of the West into traditional values and the moral milieu of China in order to save or even renew the historically dominating Confucianism they cherished so much. The total collapse of Confucianism finally happened due to the Cultural Revolution that was carried out by Chairman Mao in the 1960s to destroy everything that was from the past and revolutionize Chinese culture with the materialistic and communistic ideology. However, the direction has been shifted dramatically in favor of the ancient philosophy, Confucianism, in recent years, as the Chinese government is determined to resist the influence of the West. Neo-Confucian scholars have tried to restore Confucianism alongside the Communist government, hoping that they could use it to resist the ideological and religious invasion or penetration of the West and restore the moral order of the society. Regardless, their efforts are not as successful as expected, largely because Chinese society has already been highly- westernized and technologized