The Confucian Revival and its Impact on Contemporary East Asian Societies Through the Lens of the Relation between Individual and Society

Confucianism is a widespread cultural heritage in East Asia and its revival in the early 20th century had a significant impact on redefining the cultural and ideological foundations of modern East Asian societies. Its revival, which manifests itself in the Modern New Confucian stream of thought (现代新儒学), aimed to modernize traditional Confucian ideas by incorporating Western theories while still maintaining its core values. The current is defined as the search for a synthesis between Western and traditional East Asian thought, in order to elaborate a system of ideas and values capable of resolving the social and political problems of the modern, globalized world. The intellectuals belonging to this stream of thought, have namely attempted to reconcile “Western” and “traditional Chinese” values, in order to create a theoretical model of modernization that would not be confused or equated with “Westernization”. The current of Modern New Confucianism has been well-researched in the Sinophone sphere, including Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. However, despite its significant influence in other East Asian regions such as Korea and partly also Japan, the research on Modern Confucianism and its impact in these areas is limited. This calls for further investigation and examination of the subject to gain a comprehensive understanding of its development and impact in the wider East Asian region. Hence, the proposed project aims to provide a comprehensive examination of Modern New Confucianism by studying its theoretical approaches, ideas, and methods, as well as exploring the political, social, and ideological context of the Confucian revival and its specificities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Japan. Our research will first establish the global significance and intercultural framework of the subject matter and then move on to examine the general characterization of East Asian modernity and the historical and political conditions that shaped its multifaceted modernization processes. Our study will proceed from Confucian ethics, particularly in the form of traditional “relationism,"" which is based on a specific form of role ethics. This model of social ethics is rooted in the concept of the so-called “relational self”, which emphasizes the importance of relationships in shaping the individual's identity. On this basis, we will highlight any culturally divergent issues that may arise. In this regard, we will particularly focus on the investigation of two agendas: firstly, we aim to shed light upon the question of why and in which specific ways the relicts of traditional Confucianism influence modern East Asian societies in spite of their different political and social systems. Subsequently, we shall elaborate upon different structures of the relation between the individual and the society in all regions under observation. This examination will provide a nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between the Confucian revival and the development of East Asian contemporalities. The project team, consisting of four well-known experts in East Asian Confucianism (two Sinologists, an expert in Korean studies, and one in Japanese studies) will study the interweaving of modernity and tradition in East Asia, striving for a comprehensive understanding of the modernization of Confucian heritage and its different manifestations in Korea, Japan, China Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The goal is to foster intercultural exchanges to enhance cultural, economic, and political ties with East Asia and to promote intercultural awareness and sensitivity in the context of multiple modernities. This is important given the current globalized nature of the world's crises, which require intercultural cooperation and the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and ideas. Additionally, effective cross-cultural communication, a secondary outcome of this project, is crucial for Europe, with its diverse cultural, linguistic, and traditional backgrounds.