Confucianism In Asia

Current research in the field of human rights and culture in Asia have mainly three aspects, that is the moral argument, model of Relativism and Universalism, and the feasible implementation of human rights in Asia. With the mutual communication of moral argument in different civilizations, selective concepts of Confucian virtues have been recognized as a philosophical basis of human rights in Asia. Surrounding the humaneness (ren), the central moral concept in Confucianism, other virtues have partly been mentioned, like righteousness (yi), frankness (cheng), filial piety (xiao).1 However, the Confucian practical meaning based on the ethical foundation has been paid less attention.2 Besides, the ambivalence of translation of the Confucian

However, during the intercultural understanding an overstatement of a new concept may also appear. Joseph Chan claimed that the fundamental goal of improving the economic wellbeing can be seen as a performance of social rights. Apparently, this similarity of a concept, which refers to a view social prosperity, do not imply a claim for rights. Also, Chan's analogy disregards the consideration of four principles of contemporary human rights, universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.5 By comparing rights contents within cultures may improve the understanding of the UDHR, however, without considering common responsibility and the states' duty, a supposed new interpretation within cultures shall be a misleading

Although the studies on Sinology, Asian Studies, and China study deal with the correspondent moral foundation of human rights within Confucianism, it is still hard to reach a consideration of institutional implementation of human rights in a Confucian-affected society. This trend of study had changed by Alison Conner and Ron Guey Chu, who focused on the rules of propriety and due process within Confucianism to respond to a Confucian pan-moralism which considered Confucian politics as a sole moral politics.10 Besides, considering human rights studies in Taiwan and China, there have more concerned on an introduction of international human rights mechanisms and its local infrastructure with the rights discuss in a format of rights discourse construed by the United Nations system, rather on the integration of semantic phrases used in a cultural context. In the text of mimi Zhou and Tom Zwart has advocated a receptor approach for connecting human rights norms to values, principles, customs, and practices in the local culture.11 Only with an investigation into values and principles in the local culture seriously, and mutual reflecting and judging the barriers of human rights simultaneously, a modern concept of human rights can be rooted in a cultural