Benjamin J. Coffin and Drs. Edward Enhua Peng and Gary S. Williams, Asian and Near Eastern
Languages
The deterioration of society based on a definitive moral standard has become a global phenomenon. Social structures that were once reinforced by strong moral standards are being bombarded by an onslaught of dubious social norms and standards. Taiwan, an island traditionally rich in moral Confucian thought, is no exception to this phenomenon. Despite this trend, however, Taiwanese people, on the whole, still maintain a moral standard based on Confucian thought. Education, filial piety, etiquette, and human courtesy—all major thrusts of Confucian philosophy—are still evident in Taiwan’s modern society. The question remains: What exactly are the elements in Taiwanese society that preserve the Confucian philosophy?
For centuries, Confucianism has not merely been a way of thinking in China, but the way of thinking. His philosophies and teachings are literally woven into the fibers of the Chinese people. Even now, when Confucian ideals are not explicitly taught at home or in school as in former days, evidence of the Confucian tradition is still pervasive in the Taiwanese society. Despite the changing times and the centuries since his death, even the Chinese language is still peppered with Confucian ideals.
In order to understand which elements in Taiwan are preserving Confucian thought, I first began to study the Analects—a compilation of Confucius’s teachings on various subjects. I quickly realized the breadth of the broad scope of Confucian philosophy which can be found in the Analects; I chose to study four aspects of this philosophy that I thought could be observed with ease in Taiwan. In particular, I studied Confucius’s teachings on filial piety, education, government rule, and the idea of a gentleman.
From this analysis, and with the help of my mentor, I began to develop a questionnaire that would be used to survey various Taiwanese citizens regarding these four aspects of Confucian philosophy. This questionnaire included various questions relating to modern Taiwanese people’s thoughts about Confucianism, its place in modern society and other questions to measure how much Taiwanese people are influenced by Confucian thought. Further it was written to measure what elements in the society are reinforcing this traditional philosophy. 148 individuals on various parts of the island participated. The age of participants ranged from 18-65, both male and female; and all came from various walks of life.
The survey provided many interesting insights concerning the current practices and thinking of Taiwanese people regarding Confucianism. For example, 117 out of 148 people said that they give their parents monetary or material assistance. This has direct roots to the Confucian tradition, which taught that the young should take care of the elderly through monetary and material means. However, Confucius taught further that there is more to caring for the elderly than simply money or material things, that there must be a reverence for the individual the young person is providing for1. When asked if “filial piety is more than just providing food and shelter for ones parents” nearly all agreed or strongly agreed that this was true. Of the Taiwanese who took the survey, a vast majority felt that Confucian values are not outdated and that they can still apply to the current society—including a westernized government like the one that Taiwan is currently espoused to. This is the same government which most people in the survey believed was corrupt and not for the people (something contrary to Confucian teachings).
From observation and the research conducted thus far, the propitiation of the Confucian tradition seems to stem from the teachings in the home. For example, the younger generation who takes care of their parents has seen how their parents have taken care of their grandparents and are carrying on the tradition. Due to the repetition in school on Confucian teachings, children learn what Confucianism is. However, it is in the Taiwanese home that the younger generation learns how to apply Confucian philosophy to everyday life. Because of their parent’s strong ties to the Confucian tradition of “” (pronounced yi shen zuo ze, meaning “by means of the body act as the principle” (i.e. Be an example.)), the younger generation has learned first hand what is necessary to fulfill this cultural expectation.
During the course of my research I had a few difficulties. One of the major difficulties I had was actually getting to Taiwan. With the onslaught of SARS, my trip was postponed until the beginning of September and was cut to an eight day stay rather than a month. The biggest problem that came of this was that I was unable to interview individuals and had to rely strictly on the surveys for answers to more subjective questions. This restricted my ability to ask follow up questions and clarify. Being able to interview would have put less restriction on the understanding of some issues concerning Confucianism that are becoming increasingly relative for Taiwanese citizens.
The second difficulty was that my focus was too broad. If I could adjust the research I would focus on one aspect of his teachings (instead of four) and find out how that one aspect is being preserved in the modern Taiwanese society.
Another difficulty was the survey itself. When it was first administered, many people found it cumbersome and did not want to do it. As a result I changed the format of the survey. This was a set back and took a lot of time. However, when the survey was adjusted the overall response was much better, but a little too restrictive.
Overall, doing this research has been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot about how to do research and the amount of work that is required to produce meaningful information that is helpful to others. Specifically, I am learning how to do qualitative analysis more effectively and am learning how to implement an appropriate database. Most importantly, I have gained a greater appreciation for the Chinese mind and how, as a people, they are preserving a very rich tradition. I look forward to continuing this research project and applying what I have learned up to this point in order to make the research more informative in the future.