Wagner's Shaohua Hu, associate professor of government and politics, answers the question of Confucius's relevance to modern China in “Confucianism and Contemporary Chinese Politics.” Originally published in 2007 in the journal Politics & Policy, the article was rereleased in April 2012, for the journal's 40th anniversary issue, as one of the top 10 articles of the past decade.
According to Hu's analysis, the debates about Confucianism's influence in China have “never stopped since China's entry into the modern world system.” In accessible prose, Hu surveys the history of Confucianism, assesses its values, and predicts its continuing relevance in China, where it has “reemerg[ed] out of the ashes of communist rule” since the reforms of Deng Xiaoping.
“As China has become more powerful, prosperous, and self-reliant,” Hu writes, “many Chinese take comfort from and pride in Confucianism as an expression of Chinese values, traditions, and culture.” On the other hand, he concludes, “in today's China, capitalism and communism are more influential than Confucianism.”
