Daniel A. Bell – China’s Struggle between Communism and Confucianism

Speaker:
Daniel A. Bell, Professor, Chair of Political Theory with the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong

Discussants:
Peter Bol, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
Yuhua Wang, Professor of Government, Harvard University

During China’s Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao’s Red Guards denounced Confucius for fostering “bad elements, rightists, monsters, and freaks.” But in recent decades, the Communist Party embraced the ancient philosopher, who emphasized a combination of benevolence and social order. Party Secretary Xi Jinping, determined to maintain stability, is once again promoting stern Communist rhetoric and values. Will China eventually find a way to integrate these two traditions? And what can the struggle between Communism and Confucianism tell us about China’s future path?

Confucian expert Daniel A. Bell will explore these questions with Harvard University’s Peter Bol, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Yuhua Wang, Professor of Government who recently published The Rise and Fall of Imperial China. Bell’s new book The Dean of Shandong, is an insider’s view of Chinese academia and what it tells us about China’s political system.