Confucian Parentalism and the late Qing's Modernization Dilemma: An Analysis through the Cases of Li Hongzhang and Yung Wing.

• Date: 01 December 2024
• Published date: 01 December 2024

While Parentalism or Confucian filial piety may be familiar concepts to some, few realize that they are a continuation and extension of the ideal of the absolute monarchy system that originated in the Zhou Dynasty. More than three millennia ago, the Western Zhou dynasty instituted am absolute monarchy in China, based on the principle of the Mandate of Heaven. (4) "The king of Zhou was the son of Heaven," (5) and delegated authority to his relatives and loyal vassals, who governed different regions as feudal lords. This system fostered a hierarchical and paternalistic society, where loyalty and moral virtue were expected from the subjects. The societal structure also emphasized respect, or as they called it "respect for elder"; in reality, it was a sociopolitical system where people of a "lower rank" such as sons or citizens had to "respect" their father or the emperor, taking their words as the sole reference and executing whatever they desired. (6)

Inspired partly by the Zhou system, Confucianism emerged around 500 BCE (7) as the teachings of Confucius and his disciples on the modes of life and human interactions. Confucius highlighted the concepts of Ren (Humaneness), Yi (Righteousness), Zhong (Loyalty), Xiao (Filial piety), and Li (Rites) as the core values of human relationships and stressed the importance of education, moral cultivation, and social order. Initially, Confucianism had few followers and encountered competition from other schools of thought, such as Legalism, Daoism, and Mohism. (8) However, as early as the Western Han period, Legalist doctrines were incorporated into the Confucian philosophy. They contained two aspects: emphasizing criminal law and reward-punishment measures. They were added, "to make the common people comply with methods that the rulers govern by." (9) This gave rulers perfect legitimacy for their rule, complementing the idea of the mandate of heaven. Moreover, it also served to stabilize the country by suppressing individual thoughts that differed from the emperor's desires. This is why during the latter part of the Han dynasty this modified Confucianism was made into the dominant ideology of China. Confucian classics, such as the Analects, the Mencius, and the Book of Rites, were canonized and studied by scholars and officials. (10) Moreover, the civil service exam, which tested scholars on The Four Books and The Five Classics of Confucianism, was introduced to select qualified candidates for government positions. (11) At the heart of this modified Confucianism was the ideal of Parentalism.

Parentalism is a set of expected social and ethical behaviors that emphasize the importance of order, filial piety, loyalty, and obedience. The ideal is based on the Confucian conception of the integration of the family, country, and the world under heaven. (12) For the Han Dynasty, Parentalism was a way to legitimize and stabilized their rule by integrating the philosophy into sociopolitical norms emphasizing obedience and loyalty. The emperor was expected to act as a father to his people who are like children or family members, who in turn owed him gratitude and obedience. In this modified Confucianism, Parentalism culture was seen as the root of all other virtues and the foundation of social order, (13) slowly molding it into a stable combination of sociopolitical "deep structure": like "the [stable] bottom rock layer of the riverbed, even though the river itself is 'ever-flowing day and night'." (14)

After the Han Dynasty, Confucianism did face challenges and transformations. Buddhism and Daoism emerged as rival schools of thought that offered alternative views on salvation, nature, and metaphysics. Some Confucians tried to reconcile or synthesize these traditions and a new wave of Confucianism, known as Neo-Confucianism, arose during the Song dynasty. (15) Neo-Confucianism attempted to restore the purity and vitality of Confucianism by incorporating elements of Buddhism and Daoism, as well as developing a more systematic and rational framework of metaphysics, ethics, and cosmology. (16) However, the sociopolitical "deep structure" of Parentalism continued with Neo-Confucianism.

Confucianism Parentalism continued to exert a profound influence in the Qing dynasty. Confucianism in the Qing dynasty "combined morality and politics, and integrated social order and cosmic order." (17) It was a key factor in maintaining the legitimacy and stability of the Qing dynasty, which was ruled by the Manchus, a non-Han ethnic group that conquered China in 1644. (18) The Manchus adopted Parentalism as a way of presenting themselves as exemplars of Confucian kingship and winning the allegiance of the Han Chinese majority. They also used Parentalism to justify their expansion and domination of other regions and peoples, such as Tibet, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Korea.

With regard to diplomatic interactions, Confucian Parentalism also shaped the major Qing policies of inclusivism and exclusivism. (19) Inclusivism entailed the policy of accepting and integrating foreign states and peoples into the Qing Empire, contingent upon their recognition of the Qing emperor's supremacy and their payment of tribute to him. This policy derived from the Confucian notion of Tianxia (All under heaven), which was a unique feature of Chinese and Qing Confucianism as compared to Korean or Japanese Confucianism. Originating in the Zhou dynasty, Tianxia implied a universal moral order that transcended national boundaries, it gave China and its ruling dynasty the status as the center of civilizations and the source of legitimacy for other states. (20) The Qing Empire was the epitome of this order and the source of civilization for the rest of the world. (21) Conversely, exclusivism entailed the policy of rejecting and isolating foreign states and peoples that did not adhere to the Qing empire's norms and values, (22) implying a hierarchical distinction between civilized and barbaric peoples. Those who did not submit to the Qing authority, such as Russia, Britain, and France, were deemed barbaric adversaries or intruders. (23)

The Qing's conservative policies preserved China's tradition and maintained its sociopolitical "deep structure" intact. Furthermore, following the precedent of the Ming's isolationistic policy, the Qing Dynasty focused primarily on preserving the political hierarchy while disregarding foreign relations, believing that, as told by Zheng He's voyages, foreign nations are still far behind China technologically and culturally. (24) However, these traditional policies also precipitated China's dramatic downfall as the second half of the nineteenth century approached. During those decades, China confronted various internal and external challenges that endangered its sovereignty and integrity. The Opium Wars revealed Qing's weakness and backwardness in contrast to the Western powers, who imposed humiliating and unequal treaties on Qing that undermined its economic and political rights. (25) The Taiping Rebellion nearly overthrew the feeble Qing, causing millions of deaths and widespread devastation. (26) The Nian Rebellion and the Muslim Rebellions further ravaged Qing and depleted its resources. (27) And the Sino-French War and the Sino-Japanese War not only caused Qing to lose its territory but also its influence in Vietnam and Korea. (28) This was a time when China had to face the stark reality of its frailty and backwardness in comparison to the Western powers and Japan and seek ways to modernize itself and reclaim its dignity and autonomy.

In reaction to these crises, some Chinese officials and intellectuals recognized that China needed to emulate the West and adopt Western technology and institutions to fortify itself and restore its dignity and autonomy. This wave of movements to transplant Western ideals into Chinese institutions was spearheaded by scholar-generals like Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang who had fought with the government forces in the Taiping Rebellion. (29) From 1861 to 1894, leaders such as these, now turned provincial governors or ministers, initiated and supported various reforms or policies that aimed to modernize China technologically, institutionally, and structurally. (30)

However, Modernization for the late Qing is a complex and multifaceted process that entails not only adopting Western technology, but more importantly, according to the Max Webber's Modernization Theory, (31) transforming its conservative Confucian Parentalism based sociopolitical structure into a modern one that encompasses individualism, democracy, and education. The late Qing faced a unique dilemma: how to harmonize its collective centered Confucian traditions with Western individual-centered mindsets in only a few decades?

This eventually proved to be an insuperable challenge, and the Qing Dynasty crumbled. Even today, the cornerstone of the modernization process is still not fulfilled: China is still a collective-centered society entrenched with conservative Confucian Parentalism values. However, it is not to say that modernization efforts were a total failure, as they stimulated the emergence of Xin Wenxue (New Literature) and Xin Yinyue (New Music) (32) movements. Moreover, reform efforts also inspired many eminent scholars and thinkers such as Li Hongzhang, Yung Wing, and Sun Yat-sen who devoted their lives to reforming China. Li Hongzhang and Qing Court.

One of the most influential figures in China's early modernization efforts was Li Hongzhang, who rose as a conservative Confucian scholar to become one of the most influential and pro-modernization officials in the Qing court. Through a recount and analysis of three frequently overlooked yet significant events of Li's life, this section aims to illustrate and comprehend Li's changing perspectives about Western ideals of modernity and modernization. Through these events, this section aims to reveal the underlying prevalence and deep integration of the...