Yu Dan and the Revival of Confucianism in China

Am currently reading one of Yu Dan's (于丹) best selling books Reflections of the Analect of Confucius (《论语》 感悟, 中华书局2008).

Yu (pictured) is a Beijing Normal University professor who had popularized the teachings of Confucianism through - among other things - a series of televised talks known as 百家讲坛 on China's Central Television.

Towards the end of the book, Yu was asked about the revival of Confucianism.

Somewhat predictably, Yu said it was due to the need for many - given the massive changes within China over the past few decades - to find a new set of value system.

"儒家思想的遭遇意味着中国文化主体血脉在二十世纪遭遇了重创，出现了断层。那么要怎么去整合呢？在这片废墟之上，人们心中的困惑太多了。我认为，我们已经用整个二十世纪走过了这么长的苦难历程，我们对历史已经批判得很多。今天，我们要赶快完成一种文化建设工作。这种建设的呼唤，存在于每个人的心里。"

("The plight of Confucianism is a sign that a central tenet of Chinese culture had been badly damaged during the 20th century, and had shown signs of discontinuity. So how should the situation be salvaged? On this piece of wasted land, people are faced with too many doubts and anxieties. We have spent the entire 20th century walking through a difficult and torturous journey, and we had constantly critiqued history. Today, we have to quickly complete a work of cultural reconstruction. This desire for cultural reconstruction is in the hearts of everyone.")

Interestingly, Yu noted that the castigation of Confucianism during the Cultural Revolution was much more damaging than criticisms of it during the May Fourth Movement, as the latter was simply an "elitist movement." (精英化的运动)