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Article: China's Confucius and Western democracy.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- June 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CHINA'S reaction to the protests in the name of human rights in Tibet which have greeted the Olympic flame in several countries has focused attention on the way in which the authorities in China regard such fundamental Western values as freedom of speech and expression. In particular it has made people wonder how far Chinese values, strongly influenced by the tradition of Confucius, can be reconciled with Western democracy.
Confucius (Kong Fuzi, 551 BC-479 BC) was a local administrator, thinker and philosopher, whose writings have had an important role in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. His influence became prominent in China during ...