On Carine Defoort’s “The Many Faces of Confucianism: How to Better Understand China”

Abstract

This essay outlines Carine Defoort’s lecture on “The Many Faces of Confucianism: How to Better Understand China.” Using loyalty as her guiding example, Defoort explores some general differences between Western and Chinese approaches to understanding concepts, to addressing vagueness, and to learning. In doing so, Defoort also describes six fairly distinctive types of Confucianism, all of which are rooted in early classics and continue with modern examples until today. The underlying message of the talk is even broader than these sections as Defoort ultimately intends to demonstrate to “European intellectuals, journalists, and scholars” that Chinese thinking is far more complex than they often suppose, and that adjusting one’s attitude to learning from China would be beneficial.

Notes

1 Carine Defoort is Professor in Sinology at the University of Leuven, Belgium.

2 The recording of this lecture is available at: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/recordings.

3 Defoort highlights that both types of thinking can be seen everywhere. She says that Frank’s way of thinking is perhaps somewhat clearer in European thinking, and Lilly represents what she has learned from China. Though she shows examples of both types of thinking in various cultural contexts to demonstrate the complexity of traditions.

4 See www.sihaiweixue.org

5 Prior to discussing the six “types of Confucianism,” Defoort gives an interesting meditation on what might be considered “Confucianism” and how people argue over the meaning of this term. It is outside the scope of this summary to detail this part of her discussion, though readers are encouraged to watch the recording (previously cited).

6 Defoort happily says there are many other types, and she is simply pointing to some that are clear to her.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Linda Jiayue Song

Linda Jiayue Song 嘉玥宋 is a graduate student in the Department of Philosophy at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. Her research is in Chinese philosophy, mainly Pre-Qin and Wei-Jin periods, and she works on questions concerning the conception of the person, the relationship between persons and society, as well as sincerity, genuineness, and authenticity.