The Confucian idea that the family is crucial to a moral society, an idea that has been very important to Chinese civilization, was the focus of attention at an international seminar held over the weekend.
“The family is the school of love,” Joon Ho Seuk, president of the New York-based International Educational Foundation, said at the seminar. “Where there is a stable family background, there are less social problems.”
Joon’s observation was based on what Confucius and his students thought 2000 years ago.
In “Great Learning (Daxue),” a Confucian canon, it is written that to rule a country well, one has to first be able to deal with family affairs, and to be able to deal with family affairs, one must first cultivate the self.
The conference mainly focused on ways to better utilize Confucian theories to overcome the moral deterioration and social disintegrations of the modern world.
The conference was sponsored by the China Confucius Foundation, the China Senior Professors Association, and the International Educational Foundation.
“The west should learn more from the teachings of Confucius on the family and society unity to offset the negative side effects of individualism,” said Thomas Phillips, vice-president of the International Educational Foundation.
Chinese scholars also admitted that China’s fast economic development has loosened familial links.
Professor Chen Yijun, a famous sociologist, suggested at the seminar that a course to teach how to deal with family affairs should be added to the curriculums of China’s colleges and high schools.
Participants also suggested that to revive Confucian doctrines, legislation to consolidate familial links should be strengthened.
These discussions happen to echo the revision of China’s Marriage Law, the second draft of which is being reviewed by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress.
“It is time for the west and the east to learn from each other, for legal measures and moral education to be introduced to promote peaceful and happy familial relations,” said Phillips.
More than 150 scholars and educators from across the world participated in the conference, which was named “Building a Culture of Peace - Family Ethics & Spiritual Civilization.”
(China Daily 12/18/2000)
