10th Nishan Forum: Confucianism offers contemporary wisdom
(ECNS) -- Participants attending the 10th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations on Wednesday highlighted the enduring relevance of Confucianism among modern civilizations.
Opened on Wednesday in Qufu, Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius, this year's forum is themed "Traditional Culture and Modern Civilization". It aims to draw wisdom from traditional culture to find solutions to global challenges.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Yasuo Fukuda, former prime minister of Japan and chairman of the International Confucian Association, said that the Confucian concepts, which have endured for millennia, continue to play a significant role in Japanese society, proving its contemporary value.
He noted that the essence of Confucianism is to promote social and national stability by instructing people on how to live, which is applicable worldwide and in any era.
"What kind of world will it be? Confucius gives the right idea — one is harmony in diversity, and another is a shared future," said Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, who proposed using ancient wisdom to address modern challenges.
“No country is supreme on its own. We are bound together and share the world's oceans, air, biodiversity, fuel supply, and food. That is why harmony is essential. In today's interconnected world, we need to jointly explore a global ethical framework,” he said.
He believes that “benevolence” advocated by Confucius will become the core of the new global ethical framework, which will be the direction of cooperation and effort for philosophers, educators, and thinkers around the world.
Zhang Qicheng, professor of the School of Medical Classics Studies at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine elaborated on the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture and its alignment with common values of all humanity.
He believes that Chinese culture integrates the essence of Confucianism, Zen, Yi studies, Taoism, medicine, and national arts. Among these, the "I Ching" book is thought to be the ultimate source of Chinese culture. "This reflects that the basic spirit of Chinese culture is 'harmonious balance', a concept of yin and yang harmony, which highly aligns with the common values of humanity such as peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom," Zhang said.
"The ultimate goal of Confucian concepts can be summarized in 'Harmony between heaven and human,'" said Choi Young-gap, chairman of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Association, during his speech.
He said from a Confucian perspective, nature and humanity share the same origin; they are not in a confrontational relationship but rather an organic one, with human beings as a part of nature.
"Confucianism emphasizes 'putting people first,' but this does not mean that everything must obey humans. Instead, it is a love that starts with those close to us and extends outward, emphasizing differentiated love," he said.
More than 700 guests, including nearly 400 international guests from 63 countries, participated in discussions at the two-day forum on topics such as civilization exchange and mutual learning amid global challenges, Chinese-style and Western modernization, civilization inheritance, and innovation in the process of modernization.
The forum has been held 10 times since its launch in 2010, to promote shared values of traditional Chinese culture, including the Confucian concepts and mutual learning among civilizations.