Abstract

This chapter introduces and examines the philosophy of Liang Shuming 梁漱溟 (1893–1988). Liang Shuming was a representative of Neo-Confucians in the twentieth century. He was known as a cultural conservative who claimed that the world would move in the direction of Chinese culture, especially toward the Confucian way, in the future. He did not totally reject liberal values such as liberty and democracy but subordinated them to the Confucian ideal. He strived to build a Confucian utopia in which morality, not law, rules, and wise and moral leaders represent and maximize the people’s interests. To put his ideal in practice, he went to China’s countryside and carried out some experimental projects to educate and organize peasants. Deep down at heart, he believed in the goodness of human beings and the possibility of human perfection by education. Although his Confucian projects, to a great degree, failed, he didn’t give up his ideal, even after 1949 when Marxist ideology became dominant and Confucianism was officially denounced. His moral courage is highly admired in China even today, although his thoughts have been very controversial.