Talk:Boston Confucians

clarify
The Boston Confucian, or New Confucian movement, includes Tu Wei-ming of Harvard (now Peking University) and John Berthrong of Boston University. Dr. Tu gave a statement for a Life magazine anthology back in 1988 called The Meaning of Life. Dr. Tu linked Confucianism with process theology, noting that we are co-creators with God. He proclaimed that we serve Heaven through common sense, the lack of which has nearly brought us to disaster. www.academia.edu/1703755/The_New_Confucians Shouldn't this page be more about the Boston Confucians themselves, and less about the portability of ethical systems in general? The article talks a great deal about whether ethical systems can flourish in different cultures, but tells me almost nothing about the actual Boston Confucians. --Cholling 21:12, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)


 * I noticed that. It seems a bit unnecessary to elaborate on it that much. That some kind of Confucianism can be adopted by non-Chinese people is already proved in history. In some Korean dynasties the population was more Confucian than the Chinese. There were Jesuits in China who essentially believed in a blend of Confucianism and Catholicism. Giuseppe Castiglione maybe being one of the furthest on that path.--T. Anthony 10:41, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

Dr. John Berthrong of Boston University states that the Western Inscription by Chang Tsai (also Zhang Zai) (1020-1077) has become "the favored Confucian response to the ecological crisis" WESTERN INSCRIPTION: "Heaven is my father and earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst. Therefore, that which extends throughout the universe I regard as nmy body and that which directs the universe I consider as my mature. All people are my brothers and sisters and all things are my companions. Respect the aged...Show affection toward the orphaned and weak...The sage identifies his character with Heaven and earth, and the virtuous man is best. {among the children of Heaven and earth}. Even those who are tired and infirm, crippled and sick, those who have no brothers or children, wives or husbands, are all my brothers who are in distress and have non one to turn to." http://dcommon.bu.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2144/49/20001022-exploring_the_dao.html

The Harvard Forum on Religion and Ecology summarizes the Western Inscription as, "Describing the essential kinship of all beings with heaven and earth, it maintains that compassion is the highest expression of kinship." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bohemiotx (talk • contribs) 21:20, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

It seems important to focus on the favorite Neo-Confucian passage of a leading Boston Confucian because that shows what is particularly meaningful for the contemporary movement-- a spirit of compassion for humanity, including the disadvantaged. By doing so, the Boston Confucians dodge the outdated aspects of the tradition, such as a hierarchical social order. Moreover, efforts to stress the "portability of Confucianism" are responding to objections that the philosophy should stay in East Asia or the past.

In its current form this page is consists of a couple of short sentences describing the group the article is named after, then spends three times as long on tangents and disputing of the original statements. It seems imbalanced to devote more attention to peripheral issues than to the topic of the article. If the group is controversial that should be discussed explicitly. It seems to me that the article should either be tightened and marked as a stub requiring further expansion, or the article should be deleted as having little relevance. 142.167.5.180 (talk) 04:38, 7 March 2012 (UTC)

https://bohemiotx.wordpress.com/2018/12/20/the-five-virtues-of-ruism-confucianism-%e4%bb%81%e4%b9%89%e7%a4%bc%e6%99%ba%e4%bf%a1-by-j-d-meyer/ This Word Press article is a description of the Five Virtues of Confucianism. Importantly, two modern translations are provided. Appropriate-Assertiveness has better a connotation than righteousness for i, and it was introduced by David Nivison. Trustworthiness accurately depicts the etymology of a person standing next to his/her word--the completion of the other four virtues. Faith in the West can mean proper beliefs about God and the Universe that can cover up failings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bohemiotx (talk • contribs) 18:25, 11 December 2020 (UTC)