Traditions of Сonfucianism in the higher education system of modern China
Keywords:
Confucianism, Chinese education, higher education, educational philosophy, core values and basic concepts of Confucian philosophy of educationAbstract
The paper examines the meaning-defining role of the Confucian tradition in Chinese culture and education. It substantiates the methodological principles of analysing the Confucian tradition as an essential component of the Chinese system of modern higher education. The paper explicates the main concepts and values of the Confucian philosophy of education. It also explores various interpretations of the role and status of Confucianism in the practical implementation of the strategy for modernising Chinese university education. The paper emphasises the ideological and axiological potential of this educational tradition. The article analyses the social and educational challenges of incorporating Confucian practices into modern Chinese society and discusses some suggestions for preserving and strengthening the influence of Confucianism in the Chinese university education system.
References
- Tang Yao, Cheng Yang , Zhou Yajun. Confucian sports thought: combining sports with education. World Journal of Educational Research. 2023;2(3):185–186. Chinese.
- Xu Dantong. Reflections on etiquette education in secondary vocational schools. China Out-of-school Education. 2009;5:11–12. Chinese.
- Kang Jian, Zhang Yajun. Confucianism and the education of young people’s outlook on life. SHS Web of Conferences. 2021;2(1):17–19. Chinese.
- Ji Jianhua, Zhang Wei. Experts suggest that Confucianism be incorporated into the national education system. Yunnan Education (Vision Comprehensive Edition). 2012;1(2):154–165. Chinese.
- Xiang Xianming. Cai Yuanpei’s thoughts on higher education management and its inspiration. Higher Education Research. 2001;22(2):4–6. Chinese.
- Lu Youzhi. In the study of Confucian political education theory [dissertation]. Jilin: Northeast Normal University; 2016. 132 p. Chinese.
- Xing Lifan. Research on Confucianism and its effectiveness [dissertation]. Tianjin: Nankai University. 2014. 218 p. Chinese.
- Wang Canglong, Billioud S. Reinventing Confucian education in contemporary China: new ethnographic explorations. China Perspectives. 2022;2:3–6. DOI: 10.4000/chinaperspectives.13630.
- Qu Xiao. Confucianism and human rights – exploring the philosophical base for inclusive education for children with disabilities in China. Disability & Society. 2022;39(2):143–146. Chinese. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2022.2143324.
- Cheng Chen. Analysis of the influence path of Confucianism in the civic education of contemporary college students in the context of big data. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences. 2024;9(1):88–96.
- Peng Jieming. Wen Liang, Gong Jing and Rang. Children’s Chinese studies. 2019;3(19):4. Chinese.
- Xiong Qingcheng. On the symbiotic orientation of pre-qin Confucian aesthetic education thought [dissertation]. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University; 2025. 79 p. Chinese.
- Tang Guojun. «Self-cultivation» and «education»: the theory of Confucian ideological and political education system – one of the theoretical models of Confucian traditional ideological and political education. Social Sciences of Guangxi. 2007;2(5):174–178. Chinese.
- Zhu Na. Menciusʼs moral education thought and contemporary value [dissertation]. Taiyuan: Taiyuan University of Science and Technology; 2024. 164 p. Chinese.
- Kuznetsova EV. Sources of Chinese mentality. Bulletin of Kemerovo State University. 2014;1(1):187–190. Russian.
- Yang Meiyu. A study on education in the middle Jin Dynasty under the Confucian thought [dissertation]. Tongliao: Mongolian University for Nationalities; 2022. 155 p. Chinese.
- Fan Ruijing. Research on Confucian benevolence and its contemporary value. Lanzhou: Lanzhou University; 2017. 51 p. Chinese.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors who are published in this journal agree to the following:
- The authors retain copyright on the work and provide the journal with the right of first publication of the work on condition of license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial. 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
- The authors retain the right to enter into certain contractual agreements relating to the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. post it on the institutional repository, publication in the book), with the reference to its original publication in this journal.
- The authors have the right to post their work on the Internet (e.g. on the institutional store or personal website) prior to and during the review process, conducted by the journal, as this may lead to a productive discussion and a large number of references to this work. (See The Effect of Open Access.)