Professor of Department of Chinese Studies, Trier University; Major research fields: Chinese Intellectual History, Ethics and Aesthetics of Modern and Pre-Modern China, Intercultural Communication and Dialogue between China and the West; Selected works: Aesthetics and Literary Theory in China: From the Traditional to Modern (2006), Chinese Ethics in a Global Context: Moral Bases of Contemporary Societies (coauthor, 2003), Chinese Thought in a Global Context: A Dialogue Between Chinese and Western Philosophical Approaches (1999).

Speech Abtract

"The World as One Community – China between Confucianism, Marxism and Democracy"

The Confucian tradition is about 2,500 years old. The teachings of Confucius have thus shaped life in China in a comparably long manner as in Europe the Christian tradition. Confucianism was especially influential in the realm of Chinese political thought. The lecture will highlight important Confucian concepts such as: "People-based thought" (min ben), "Harmony" (he), "The world as one community" (Tianxia wei gong), "Small Prosperity" (xiao kang) etc. and explore similarities to Chinese Marxism. It will become clear that not only China's pre-modern political system was a meritocracy but that also its present version shows traces thereof. Finally, the questions will be raised if modern Western notions of democracy are compatible with traditional Chinese concepts of order and whether the latter are still relevant for solving current problems. Pragmatically speaking, would it be possible to expand the existing meritocracy gradually into rule of law and ways of democracy and thus combining political ideas of order of both Chinese and Western provenance?